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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 whole wheat flour
- 1 cup warm water
- 2.5 tbsp maple syrup or other sweetener of choice
- 1 tbsp active yeast, 1 tablespoon = 3 tsp
Bread:
- 2 cups whole wheat flour
- 1 tsp salt
- 2 tbsp oil
- 1 to 1.5 tsp lemon or lime juice
- 1/4 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 / 180ยบc. 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
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
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.
Hi, for less to barely any crumbs when slicing, you don’t need to add gluten or anything.
All you have to do is *not *allow your bread to completely dry. Just cover it after a while of taking it out from the oven, when it is still warm. The crust will soften (because less dry) , and will cut nicely without a fireworks of crumbs all over your kitchen!
If you were talking about crumbs from inside the bread, that’s a different story.
Its for the crumbs from inside the bread. The crust is soft already.
I tried this recipe yesterday and loved it! But mine didn’t rise as much as yours did. I hand-kneaded it for 15 minutes. Also, I used Aashirwad atta. What would you recommend?
Hi nandini,
How was the dough when you were done kneading? Was it tight/stiff or very soft? Did the sponge batter rise and triple in size in the first step? I would think the chapati atta might need a bit more water (since it is a different wheat and generally more finely ground), or add 1.5 cups flour to the sponge, and add more only if the dough is sticky. You want the dough to be smooth and very soft, it will be sticky but should get somewhat smooth as you knead. If the bread doesnt rise enough, let it sit for longer. Maybe keep it in a warm overn (that is at 110 to 120 degrees f). The cooler ambient temperature adds more time to the rise time. Hope this helps!
Post-kneading, the dough was softer than chapati dough. The sponge certainly doubled, didn’t triple though. Next time I plan to use a different variety of wheat flour. What is the one you used?
I use Bob’s red mill organic whole wheat flour. If the bread hasnt risen enough before baking, Spray water on it and let it sit in a warm oven for another 10-20-30 minutes till it does double and then bake. sometimes it just gets too cool and the yeast activity slows down.
Thanks Richa!
Is there a way to adapt this recipe for use in a bread machine? (Including using instant yeast.) I think I’ll try it today, but I’ll most likely fail. Just wondering if I can get some pointers for next time.
Hi Crystal, the sponge step is important for a moist and airy bread. You can make the sponge batter in a bowl and once doubled, you can transfer the sponge batter, and flour, salt, etc to the bread machine, run the dough cycle and set rise time to about 45 mins and then bake. Instant yeast should work, use the same amount as active yeast in the sponge. Let me know if it works out.
Such a gorgeous loaf yet such simple instruction. I made this last night, and already it’s gone and a second loaf is setting right now! It was nice and light, and not abnormally sweet for a bread. Everyone in the house enjoyed it; made toast with it and everything. So lovely, thank you so much Richa(:
Yay! It is a great loaf. I often add some other flavors for variations to make it savory or sweet.
Hi, I’ve never baked bread before and am very excited to try your recipe. This may be a foolish question… I just bought some dried active yeast and it says I need to reactivate the yeast in water before use. Do you know how much dried active yeast makes 1 tablespoon. Also, will the additional liquid required to activate the yeast affect the recipe?
yes dried active yeast the active yeast I use in the recipe. It gets activated at step 1 when you mix with with warm water and flour to make a batter. measure out the yeast into 1 tablespoon or 3 teaspoons and use.
Just noticed that not only do you mention here that you use dried yeast (sorry, I asked below), but you appear to equate 1 tablespoon to 2 teaspoons.
Here in the UK, a tablespoon is 15ml, a teaspoon is 5ml and a tablespoon is therefore 3 teaspoons.
I really need to get this right!
Thanks very much for anticipated clarification….
Helen
It is 3 teaspoons. thats a typing error. Changed now.
Yes, dried yeast. you can use dried yeast or instant dried yeast in the recipe.
Xx
What do you mean by make a sponge?
Can you mix all the dough at once and rise it?
See the recipe instructions and ingredient list. Sponge is the yeasted flour batter mix that will sit for an hour to rise before you add more flour to it to make a dough.
“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)”
The sponge capture a lot more moisture which is essential for a whole grain bread like this, else the breads can be dry, and might end up too dense.
Thank you so much for this recipe! Countless other “perfect” sandwich loaf recipes out there call for milk and my daughter has a milk allergy. ๐
Have you every successfully doubled the recipe? I’ve made many a yeast bread before but I’m new to using the stand mixer; not sure if it could handle double the load.
Hi Rebecca, Double the recipe should work fine in a 5 Qt or larger stand mixer. With yeast breads when you double the recipe, you might need a bit more flour than double. You will know while it is getting kneaded in the mixer if you do need any. Add flour 1-2 tbsp at a time to make a soft smooth dough. If you are not sure, make the recipe as is in your stand mixer as the first try and double it for the next.
Hi,
Can Spelt flour be substituted for whole wheat?
Thanks!
You can use Spelt, but you will need to add 2 to 3 tbsp vital wheat gluten to help the bread rise and be airy, and not dense.
Hi there! The bread is rising right now. ๐ I was wondering if the lemon juice is for flavor, or if it plays an active role in the bread making process?
for taste.
Can I use instant yeast instead of active?
yes.