Soft Airy 100% Whole Wheat Bread. This Sandwich bread is 100% whole grain, no refined flour and is soft and delicious. Vegan Recipe Jump to Recipe
A good sandwich bread is a like a dream. Soft, airy, gorgeous crumb, all whole grain, no unknown additives, dough conditioners and most importantly great tasting. Now the last part is the most difficult of the lot.
Most whole grain or grain and seed breads from the market fall a bit short on the taste factor. I don’t know what they do, but the breads are just too sweet tasting and generally have an odd after taste. And they never work out great to make sweet or savory french toasts (they get so soggy). Its not like they make great sandwiches. Grill them, and taste cardboard. On the other hand some of the artisan style breads dislike my teeth. I mean can you ever bite into them without breaking something!
Or maybe I am too finicky. :). Anywho, some of those problems are non-existent with this gorgeous loaf of bread. This bread has just 3 main ingredients, whole wheat flour, water, yeast! No other flour. And it is soft and delicious! And not dense.
Makes perfect sandwiches and french toasts. I add lemon juice and cumin to change up the flavor a bit from the earthy wheat. Try it. Add orange juice instead of lemon. You can add some vital wheat gluten so the bread doesnt make too many crumbs when sliced.
Make this 100% Whole Wheat Bread !
Look at those slices!
More Sandwich loafs from the blog
- Whole Grain Seed Bread Recipe
- White Bean Sandwich Bread Loaf. Vegan Recipe
- Vegan Sprouted Wheat Millet Sandwich Bread Recipe
- Strawberry Sandwich Loaf. GF V
Steps Pictures: Scroll below for recipe.
Make the sponge mixture (see recipe instructions below). Let it sit for an hour. Knead with the rest of the flour. Press the dough into a rectangle, fold the edges. Then fold into a jelly roll. Place in bread pan.
Spray water on top, sprinkle sesame seeds or oats, spray water again. Cover with a towel and let rise.
Once the roll doubles or rises well above the pan edge, bake.
Remove from the pan after 10 minutes. Then cool completely before slicing with a serrated knife. Adapted from Dave’s Whole wheat bread.
100% Whole Wheat Bread Recipe
Ingredients
Sponge:
- 1 cup (120 g) whole wheat flour
- 1 cup (250 ml) warm water
- 2.5 tbsp maple syrup or other sweetener of choice
- 1 tbsp active yeast 1 tablespoon = 3 tsp
Bread:
- 2 cups (240 g) whole wheat flour
- 1 tsp salt
- 2 tbsp oil
- 1 to 1.5 tsp lemon or lime juice
- 1/4 tsp (0.25 tsp) ground cumin
- 2 tbsp water
- oil or vegan butter as needed.
Instructions
- Mix the ingredients under Sponge in a bowl. Mix for 2 to 3 minutes until a smooth batter and you can feel the gluten forming. It will start to get a bit stringy
- Let the bowl sit for 1 hour in a warm place. (Use a large bowl as the sponge will triple)
- In a stand mixer, add the sponge. Mix the salt into the 2 cups flour and add the flour to the stand mixer. Start kneading. Add in the oil, cumin, lemon juice and water and continue to knead for 5 minutes. Let the dough rest for 5 minutes. Check the dough to see if it needs more flour or water (it should be soft and smooth. not stiff and not sticky). Add more water if needed. .
- Knead for another 5 to 8 minutes. The dough should not break immediately when a small portion is pulled out. (I knead at setting 2 on my kitchen aid). You can let the dough rest for 15-20 minutes at this point.
- Shape the dough into a fat 9 by 5 rectangle. Fold in the 5 inch side. then roll the longer side like a jelly roll. Seal by pinching. Roll the log a little to even it out in thickness. Place in the parchment lined or well greased bread pan (9 by 5 inch). Spray water on top. Sprinkle sesame seeds or oats. Spray water again. Cover with a towel and let rise for 50 minutes to an hour or until it doubles or the bread domes over the pan edge. (You want to give the bread enough time to rise and get airy. the time depends on the ambient temperature.)Spray water, then spray oil on the top.
- Pre-heat the oven to 350 degrees F / 180ºc. Bake the bread for 40 minutes.
- Remove the bread pan from the oven and brush oil or vegan butter on top. Remove the bread from the pan after 5 to 10 minutes. Let it cool completely before slicing with a serrated knife.
- Store in a bread container on the counter for upto 2 days or refrigerate for upto a week.
Notes
Add 2 tsp molasses for deeper flavor and color.
Add 2 tbsp orange juice instead of water and omit lemon juice.
Note: If using other flours like white whole wheat flour or chapati atta, you might need a bit more or less water.
If kneading by hand. Knead a few minutes longer. Throw the dough onto the counter a few times between kneading to help with the gluten formation. Nutritional values base on one serving
Nutrition
Troubleshoot:
If the bread dough rises well before baking and the dome falls during baking:
- The dough got over proofed / over risen. Depending on the ambient temp in the kitchen or wherever you leave the bread to rise you might need less time for the bread dough in the loaf to rise to just about double the original dough size. Anything more than double means the bread is over rising and the gluten will not be able to hold the dome eventually.
- Too much moisture. If the dough is too sticky and has too much moisture, the bread will rise but the dome will be too wet to hold its shape during baking
- bread dough was not kneaded enough. Any of the above issues (in small amounts i.e slightly over risen, slightly over moist) can be handled by the gluten if the bread was kneaded enough to form the gluten well. You want to knead the bread till it is smooth (at least 5 to 7 minutes) and when you pull the dough apart, it doesn’t just break off, but gets elastic before breaking.
If the bread dough does not rise much
- The yeast is old or died somewhere in the steps. Too hot water or salt directly added to the yeast will kill the yeast.
- Ambient temperature was too cold. Yeast activity slows in cooler temperature. Let the bread sit for longer time until it is just about double the original dough size before baking.
- Bread dough was too stiff/had less moisture. Spritz water on the dough every 10 minutes during rising to incorporate some moisture and let the dough rise for longer time until it is almost double.
For Softer, more moist bread, add a bit more oil. Let the dough rise for half an hour before shaping into a loaf. Knead the dough really well for good gluten formation, which will help hold the bread structure with more air.
Natalia says
April 7, 2019 at 9:42 amHi, I can use rye flour?
Richa says
April 8, 2019 at 3:20 pmyou can use a combination of rye and whole wheat. Just ryr doesnt have enough gluten formation
PamelaB says
September 5, 2019 at 10:21 amYou might experiment with vital wheat gluten in place of whole wheat flour. Am thinking you would/might be able to keep a larger percentage of rye.
I use a few tablespoons in my whole wheat bread to increase rising because the kids like a less dense bread.
Kavita says
April 20, 2019 at 6:56 pmcan I make this recipe without maple sugar or sweetner?
Richa says
April 20, 2019 at 7:37 pmyes, use flour with the yeast to activate it
sandy says
May 5, 2019 at 8:34 amThanks for sharing the receipe. Can you please suggest a receipe which can have 7 to grams of carbs in each slice. I used to by from Marioanos, but lately they stopped selling that bread.
Richa says
May 5, 2019 at 10:42 amyou can add some soy flour instead of wheat flour to reduce carbs and slice thin. The calculation is for 12 slices, but with a good bread knife you can get thinner slices.
Alice says
May 9, 2019 at 12:51 pmCan you omit the cumin and the lemon juice?
Richa says
May 9, 2019 at 3:39 pmyes
md says
November 12, 2019 at 8:05 pmI followed the recipe n was great!!! Had to add more flour, but I guess it’s due to the tropical weather here.
Just wonder what lemon juice does to the dough… ?
Richa says
November 12, 2019 at 9:46 pmit adds a bit of flavor to reduce the earthy flavor of the whole grain flour
Deepti says
May 13, 2019 at 9:38 pmDoes the quantity of yeast changes incase replaced with instant dry yeast?
Richa says
May 13, 2019 at 11:37 pmno, same amount
Deepti Dsouza says
May 14, 2019 at 1:48 amThank you very much will definitely give it a try… I love all your recipes and the creativity goes into using a substitute… Keep flourishing 😍😍
Kathy says
June 4, 2019 at 12:54 pmHi I love this bread but I notice a couple of things. 1. A 9 by 5 bread pan is too big. The bread rises up to the top of the pan and no higher. don’t get me wrong, the bread is still delicious and it doesn’t impact the rise, but it rises sideways as much as it rises upward. I used the 8 1/2 by 4 1/2 or even a tad smaller and the bread rises more upward than sideways. All variations taste the same but it really depends on whether you want the bread short and wide or taller and a bit narrower.
In baking bread I think if you use 3 cups of flour they tend to recommend the 8 1/2 by 4 1/4 and 4 cups the 9 by 5 or maybe even a tad larger. between 3 and 4 cups, can be either depending on the flour.
Richa says
June 4, 2019 at 1:18 pmThanks Kathy. i use a 9 by 5 in the pics, and bread is a few inches taller above the rim. Maybe let it rise for a bit longer? Or just use the 8.5 inch pan. Maybe the pan style and type also matter and the glass 9 by 5 is smaller in some way and hence it is rising taller.
Kathy says
June 4, 2019 at 3:54 pmOh thanks I’ll bet that’s a factor. It also explains why it doesn’t brown as well on top. I’ve used a mental pan and have turned the temp up the last 7 mins to brown the top.
Richa says
June 4, 2019 at 5:20 pmCould also be the oven. The bread rises quite a bit during baking as well. what flour did you use?
Kathy says
June 4, 2019 at 8:41 pmKing Arthur Whole Wheat
Kathy says
June 5, 2019 at 9:05 pmSo just an FYI. I tried again in a glass bread pan and perfect. I also switched flours(although the King Arthur has not expired) and used a new whole wheat organic flour from One Degree. I also went back to using the fresh yeast. For some reason I never have good luck with dry. Thanks
Richa says
June 5, 2019 at 9:57 pmOh great! Yes could be mainly the yeast as thats what is rising and a good yeast will give a good rise.
Claire Hengesbaugh says
June 5, 2019 at 9:36 pmThis recipe is excellent!! I had never made bread before, so I was a bit nervous before I began. I followed to recipe nearly exactly– I did not have cumin, and I added slightly more oil and water after the first kneading period. Nevertheless, the recipe was easy to follow, and the loaf turned out delicious! thank you!
Richa says
June 5, 2019 at 9:57 pmyay!
Liz says
June 6, 2019 at 2:21 pmI used one cup of whole wheat and two cups of spelt flour. Omit cumin and lemon and used agave syrup and made in my bread machine. This is the best recipie I have tried. Thanks for this great recipie!
Ella says
June 11, 2019 at 9:40 pmThis is a perfect 100% whole wheat bread. I doubled the recipe because this is my second time making it. I love it. This bread is so beautiful. I had been looking for a whole wheat bread recipe without white flour for a long time . Thank you very much for sharing!
Richa says
June 11, 2019 at 9:45 pmawesome!
Nimai says
June 21, 2019 at 12:46 amFor how many minutes should I mix and knead the sponge and dough by hand, if I don’t have a stand mixer at my place?
Richa says
July 14, 2019 at 11:07 pmthe sponge is mixed by hand with a spoon anyway. For the dough, you can knead for atleast 8 mins and then check to see if the dough is getting smooth and not too sticky and then continue
Sid says
August 13, 2019 at 7:16 amI have tried a few 100% whole wheat recipes but this one is far better than the rest which asks you to add all purpose or bread flour. This recipe baked the bread beautifully soft and looked exactly like the picture. The only reason I gave it a 4 star is because the flavour was too strong (very yeasty). It is the best recipe if you like that taste.
However can this be made with less yeast(1tsp or 11/2 tsp) and perhaps longer proofing (4-6hrs)?
Please advise.
Thank you.
Richa says
August 13, 2019 at 10:53 amawesome! it might be the yeast type or brand maybe? mine usually cooks out. You can try it with half the amount and a longer rise.
Sid says
August 13, 2019 at 11:12 amThanks for the quick response. I used Fleischmann’s Traditional Active Dry Yeast. Is there a quantity of yeast to proofing time ratio that you can suggest?
Thanks again.
Richa says
August 13, 2019 at 2:19 pmjust proof until the dough is almost double the size.
Val says
September 6, 2019 at 1:00 pmAny way you can make this without oil?
Richa says
September 6, 2019 at 1:46 pmyes just omit it.
Melody says
September 11, 2019 at 9:24 amWould whole wheat pastry flour work as a substitute?
Richa says
September 11, 2019 at 1:04 pmpastry flour has lower gluten, it will work if you add 1-2 tbsp vital wheat gluten
JulieT says
September 18, 2019 at 6:29 pmWhat a great recipe! I have in the past been a total failure at bread making. I buy books, I follow the directions, (or so I think) I make loaf after loaf and they are all miserable-until now! The bread I made from your recipe was beautiful! And each subsequent loaf was just as good! My poor husband who has suffered through so much bad bread was ecstatic I got this one right! It is great sandwich bread! Thank you!
Richa says
September 18, 2019 at 10:23 pmAwesome! so glad you tried the recipe and it came out so well!
Sunanda Gautam says
November 9, 2019 at 4:00 amHi Richa!
I have tried your wwf bread recipe with some variations and got some great results. Your recipe has become my go to base recipe for 100% whole wheat bread. I add flaxseed meal and reduce the yeast to just 1 teaspoon instant yeast in he sponge. I don’t like my bread smelling yeasty plus I live in India where the dough rises very quickly. Thanks for this really good recipe.
Richa says
November 9, 2019 at 9:17 pmAwesome! Thanks!
Justine chifumpu says
December 10, 2019 at 1:02 amI use baking powder in place of yeast and a traditional oven, is there any problem when you use baking powder.
Richa says
December 20, 2019 at 11:53 amyes they work differently and the bread willbe dryer with baking powder
Justine chifumpu says
December 10, 2019 at 1:07 amIs there any problem if I use baking powder in place of yeast.
Richa says
December 10, 2019 at 11:51 amyes, the recipe is for yeast. yeast activates and rises outside theoven first. Baking powder activates only when heated in the oven.It wont work.
Katherine Willian says
January 9, 2020 at 2:18 pmMy first attempt was relatively successful. The bread turned out of the pan beautifully, it tastes great, but it is rather dry. What would cause this? I hand kneaded the dough. Should I use a bit more water or oil?
Richa says
January 9, 2020 at 6:35 pmyes add more oil to the dough. You can use vegan butter on toastetd bread or convert it into breadcrumbs to wherever breadcrmbs are needed
Sandy Levy says
January 23, 2020 at 8:53 amThis is a great recipe. Very easy. It is a light, airy and beautiful loaf! The only “change” I made was to skip the cumin as the flavor of cumin in bread doesn’t appeal.
Shirley says
March 30, 2020 at 12:15 pmThis is an EXCELLENT recipe. I have made this a few times now and everyone is very impressed!!
Just a few questions….can I substitute pizza yeast for regular…and also, can I make this same bread
with white flour??
Thanks!!!!
Richa says
March 30, 2020 at 2:11 pmyes
Donna says
April 6, 2020 at 1:16 pmThis is the best recipe I have seen!
I grind my own wheat and have red wheat berries to grind into flour. I also have white wheat.. Which do you think would be better to use? I have a Bosch mixer and the recipe that they use make 5 or 6 loaves with more ingredients than this one.
I can’t wait to make this.. It will be a great not to have to go to the store at this time….
Thank you so much for your help.
Richa says
April 6, 2020 at 3:45 pmtry a mix of a the 2
Natrisha Choonilall says
April 8, 2020 at 10:56 pmHi Richa..
Is chappati Atta the same as wheat flour?
Thanks 😊
Richa says
April 9, 2020 at 4:28 pmNo they aren’t, they both come from different wheat and also have different gluten content.
Shanaya says
April 16, 2020 at 7:59 amHi,
I tried making this with freshly ground whole wheat flour and hand kneaded the dough for around 15-20mins. And I let it rise for more than 1 hour but my dough didn’t double in size and the final bread turned out to be a lil dense.
What do you think could have gone wrong? Do you think I should knead the dough more or change something else?
Vegan Richa Support says
April 19, 2020 at 8:42 pmsounds like the gluten was over-worked. were you kneading by hand?
Patricia Ayoung says
April 18, 2020 at 2:01 pmtried a few times to make 100% whole wheat bread but it always comes out dense and doesn’t really rise enough. Need some good advice. my white bread comes out excellent! HELP!
Vegan Richa Support says
April 19, 2020 at 3:14 pmdid you follow the recipe exactly?
Monica says
April 19, 2020 at 5:36 pmI just made this bread this afternoon. So soft and delicious!
Vegan Richa Support says
April 24, 2020 at 11:24 amGlad you enjoyed it.
Patrick McCabe says
April 22, 2020 at 8:59 amWhat a perfect recipe! This was my very first attempt at making bread and by using this recipe I made what I think is the perfect loaf of bread the first time out.
The only change I made was to substitute molasses for maple syrup, which because I like the taste of molasses, made it even better.
Thanks so much for the recipe!
Barbara says
April 24, 2020 at 12:23 pmHi, can you add whole sunflower, flax and sesame seeds to the dough? If so, how much, and when should they be added?
Vegan Richa Support says
April 27, 2020 at 11:38 amDepends how much you want in your bread. Toasting the seeds first really brings out their flavor but you don’t have to, heat in a pan over low heat until slightly brown (about 5 mins) then cool before adding to dough mixture. Add the seeds in just before you’re about to form your dough. Flax and chia seeds will soak up water from the dough so toasting these first help.
aisha says
April 27, 2020 at 1:48 pmcan I knead the dough in a food prosessor??
Richa says
April 27, 2020 at 2:31 pmYes, just make sure to use a big enough processor as the dough will be heavy
Zena says
May 2, 2020 at 7:10 amCan I use this recipe to make cinnamon raisin bread? At the step of the 9×5 rectangle that I roll in can I spread cinnamon sugar and raisins , roll it up and then bake it?
Richa says
May 2, 2020 at 8:17 amYes
Karen Lindstrom says
May 11, 2020 at 11:42 amAfter leaving the sponge to rise, it collapsed while moving it to the stand mixer. It seemed really gooey. What did I do wrong?
Vegan Richa Support says
May 11, 2020 at 1:19 pmwere you exact with the liquid & yeast measurements and follow everything exactly? it sounds like there may have been a tad too much liquid or yeast.
Karen Lindstrom says
May 11, 2020 at 1:23 pmOk, I’m going to try another one. I’ll double check my measurements. The bread just turned out pretty dense but tastes good!!
Richa says
May 11, 2020 at 5:25 pmThe first sponge is liquidy but the added flour after kneading will make a soft non sticky dough
Melanie McDaniel says
May 20, 2020 at 1:06 pmMy husband has been making this bread every week for about six years. He eats two pieces faithfully, every morning for breakfast with two eggs. Our family loves this bread and we share the recipe often. Thank you so much for your culinary expertise!! He follows the recipe exactly as it is written and it is perfect every time. 😋
Vegan Richa Support says
May 20, 2020 at 1:34 pmwow. that is so nice to hear. thank you so much.
Claudia says
May 20, 2020 at 10:44 pmReally good bread, nice and soft for a whole wheat bread. I liked the cumin but my son didn’t. Will be making it again!
Richa says
May 21, 2020 at 1:18 pmGreat! Just omit the cumin!
R. Parthasarathy says
May 21, 2020 at 10:43 pmExcellent recipe. Comes out very well. I am not a vegan. Hence milk and butter were used instead of water and oil. Skipped lemon juice and cumin seeds
Vika says
May 22, 2020 at 5:23 pmAmazing, replaced the yeast with baking powder and lemon, looks just like in the photos
I love you and thank you, never thought anything would come out 100% whole wheat, will try to add banana next time
Vegan Richa Support says
May 22, 2020 at 8:57 pmThanks Vika! Love to hear it =)
Disha says
May 28, 2020 at 11:56 amDidnt worked for me, will try one more time.
Richa says
May 28, 2020 at 12:15 pmWhat happened? I might be able to tell you what could be the problem