100% Whole Wheat Bread Recipe

At last a loaf recipe, for everyday toast and sandwiches, that is made only with whole wheat flour! The process is quite traditional and the hands-on work is not much. The crumb is soft and delicious, and it's the perfect bread to have sliced and frozen at all times.

My experience with 100% whole wheat bread is that it was hard to create a soft crumb. They usually ended up being too dense and tight. That is because this type of flour is much heavier and doesn't have as much gluten as its white counterpart. Well, this recipe comes along to put an end to that!

I'm not much of a big breakfast eater but I do love freshly made toast in the morning with my coffee. And that bread needs to be more nutritious than the regular white type. I also make this easy rye sandwich bread recipe or the popular whole wheat mountain bread, but they now hold second and third places to this recipe today.

Why this recipe works

• Crumb. It's soft but has structure, not too dense and heavy as many breads that don't contain white flour.
• Easy. It can be made by hand or with a stand mixer (both options are in the recipe card). And even though it has a sponge, it's a straight dough bread and that means that you mix and knead the dough, let it rise, form, let it rise again, and bake it. Different from overnight (or retarded) doughs that need to rest in the refrigerator.
• Flavor. It has a clean, balanced wheat flavor, not too coarse and just a whiff of sweetness from the honey.
• Versatile. It can be made in loaf pans and also as individual rolls, similar to the Whole wheat Oatmeal bread recipe. And it freezes wonderfully!

Ingredients

They are few, easy to get and you probably have them all in your kitchen right now.

• Yeast - I use dry (active dry or instant) because it keeps very well for a long time when stored in the refrigerator. You can also use fresh yeast. This recipe works with all of them.
• Whole wheat flour - superfine or fine is the type you want to achieve a fine, tender crumb.
• Oil - any type works. I use organic sunflower or olive oil. Melted butter also can be used.
• Honey - it works really well with whole wheat. But sugar can be used also.
• Liquid - milk (any type, regular or low-fat) and water.
• Salt - I like to use kosher, but you can use table salt or even sea salt.

How to make this bread

I put together a step-by-step video to guide you 👇🏻

1

For the sponge, mix all ingredients and let stand 10 minutes (if using a stand mixer use the mixer’s bowl directly)

2

For the dough, add the rest of the ingredients and mix with a spoon

3

Knead (by hand or in the stand mixer) for about 10 minutes until soft, smooth but slightly sticky

4

Let rest in an oiled bowl until doubled, punch down and pat into a rectangle the length of the loaf pan

5

Form into a log, pressing after each roll to avoid air holes during baking

6

Press into the oat-sprinkled loaf pan, cover and let double in size

7

Bake as directed and let cool completely before slicing

8

Store for a week in the refrigerator or freeze (I highly recommend slicing it first) for up to a month

Check out my other content @VintageKitchen on Jumprope.

My top tips

• Yeast: if the sponge doesn't bubble and/or puff up in some way, that means that it's not working, so don't go ahead with the rest of the recipe because the bread will not rise. Buy new yeast and start again.
• Resting time: it's important to let the yeast do its job and double the size of the bread dough. The place where you put the bowl has to be tempered, that is mild temperature. If it's too hot it will rise too quickly and if it's too cold will not rise as much as it should. Both situations are not good. I sometimes put it inside the turned-off microwave or wrap the bowl in a blanket or sweater (yes I do) when the kitchen is too cold.
• Kneading: make sure the dough is kneaded until soft and smooth, yet slightly sticky. This is fine because after the first rise it will lose most of its stickiness. Make sure you knead 10 minutes by hand or about 8 minutes in the stand mixer because the gluten needs to develop for the bread to rise as it should.
• Storing: this bread keeps well for a week in the refrigerator and for a month in the freezer. In both cases make sure it's well wrapped so that it doesn't dry out quickly. If freezing, I highly recommend slicing it first. That way you can make fresh toast whenever you want. Otherwise, you will have to defrost the whole bread.

Other recipes you might like:

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100% Whole Wheat Bread Recipe

★★★★★ 5 from 9 reviews

• Author: Paula Montenegro
• Prep Time: 30
• Cook Time: 45
• Total Time: 3 hours 15 minutes
• Yield: 2 medium loaves 1x
• Category: Bread
• Method: Baking
• Cuisine: International

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Description

At last a loaf recipe, for everyday toast and sandwiches, that is made only with whole wheat flour! The process is quite traditional and the hands-on work is not much. The crumb is soft and delicious, and it's the perfect bread to have sliced and frozen at all times.

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Ingredients

Scale 1x2x3x

For the sponge:

• ½ cup (125ml) water, warm
• 3 teaspoons (9g) dry yeast 
• 1 teaspoon honey
• 1 cup (125g) fine whole wheat flour 

For the dough:

• 1 cup (250m) milk, warm
• 1 cup (250ml) water, warm
• ¼ cup (80g) runny honey
• 4 tablespoons (60g) oil, or melted butter 
• 4-5 cups (500-625g) whole wheat superfine flour
• 2 teaspoons salt

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Instructions

For the sponge:

1. By hand: in a bowl put the warm water, flour, honey, yeast, and mix a little. 
2. Leave 10 minutes. It will bubble and become spongy. If it doesn’t don’t go any further because it means the yeast is not working. 
3. Stand mixer: mix the sponge in the mixer bowl directly. 

For the dough:

1. Stir the sponge and add the milk, honey, oil, 2 cups of the flour, and mix a little.
2. Add the salt and half of the warm water. 
3. Mix well and add flour until it becomes a heavy mixture, adding the rest of the water as needed. You might not use all the liquid, maybe a tablespoon or two less. The batter will be thick but soft, it will not be floury. 
4. By hand: turn onto a lightly floured counter and knead for 8-10 minutes. It will be a little sticky but add flour only if necessary.
5. Stand mixer: attach the dough hook and knead for about 8 minutes at medium speed, adding extra flour only if needed, if the dough is not pulling out from the sides after 5-6 minutes. 
6. Put in an oiled or greased bowl, turn so that the entire surface is greased, cover, and let rise until it doubles in volume in a draft-free, tempered place.
7. Transfer the dough to a clean countertop and punch down lightly to let out the gas.
8. Divide the dough into two parts and sprinkle two loaf pans with oats or polenta.
9. Form into logs, rolling the dough (as for cinnamon rolls) but making sure to press the edges with each roll to ensure there are no (or very few) air holes when the bread is baked. There is a video with the step-by-step in the post above, showing how-to from the loaves. 
10. Put the formed logs in the prepared pans, cover, and leave to rise until doubled, about 30-40 minutes. Being all whole wheat, this bread will rise very, very little in the oven so allow it to rise well this last time.
11. Turn the oven to 350°F/180°C about 15 minutes before baking. 
12. Bake loaves for about 50 minutes, or until golden brown, dry and bottoms sound hollow when lightly tapped. 
13. Let cool completely on a wire rack before cutting.

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Notes

Yeast: if the sponge doesn't bubble and/or puff up in some way, that means that it's not working, so don't go ahead with the rest of the recipe because the bread will not rise. Buy new yeast and start again.

Resting time: it's important to let the yeast do its job and double the size of the bread dough. The place where you put the bowl has to be tempered, that is mild temperature. If it's too hot it will rise too quickly and if it's too cold will not rise as much as it should. Both situations are not good. I sometimes put it inside the turned-off microwave or wrap the bowl in a blanket or sweater (yes I do) when the kitchen is too cold.

Kneading: make sure the dough is kneaded until soft and smooth, yet slightly sticky. This is fine because after the first rise it will lose most of its stickiness. Make sure you knead 10 minutes by hand or about 8 minutes in the stand mixer because the gluten needs to develop for the bread to rise as it should.

Storing: this bread keeps well for a week in the refrigerator and for a month in the freezer. In both cases make sure it's well wrapped so that it doesn't dry out quickly. If freezing, I highly recommend slicing it first. That way you can make fresh toast whenever you want. Otherwise, you will have to defrost the whole bread.

Keywords: whole wheat bread

Paula Montenegro

I'm Paula, a baker for more than 30 years and your designated recipe finder, sharing the best ones on this blog, with simple ingredients + easy-to-follow instructions.