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A simple and delicious recipe for the perfect homemade 100% whole wheat bread loaf. It’s great for sandwiches, toast, and beyond!
Use “SSV20” for 20% off
What’s better than the smell of freshly baked bread? Making your own 100% whole wheat bread loaf at home with ease ????. It’s seriously the most rewarding (and delicious) thing to make your own fresh bread. If you haven’t already, please try it out, it’s a lot easier than you may think. If you have, then you’re already a pro, and we’ve got a delicious new recipe for ya!
Why is 100% whole wheat bread better? It’s more nutrient and fiber-rich as opposed to bread made with white flour. It won’t spike your blood sugar and cause for a mid-day crash after smashing an epic sandwich. Trust me, I’ve been there, it’s not fun! ????
For this 100% whole wheat bread, we used our favorite whole wheat flour from Bob’s Red Mill. Their flour and other products have been a pantry staple of ours for years, and we’ve always got at least a few Bob’s Red Mill flour bags ready to go in case the urge to bake something tasty strikes.
Now that you’ve got a fresh, homemade loaf of bread, it’s time to decide what do to with it. First and foremost, the sandwich options are endless. We’ve got a few recipes that would be the perfect complement to this bread:
- Mushroom, Lettuce, Tomato, and Avocado Sandwich
- Barbecue Tofu Sandwich w/ Homemade Coleslaw
- Baked Tofu & Pest Sandwich
If you want to think beyond the sandwich, we’ve got some other recipes that you might fancy:
Make sure you tag us on Instagram @sweetsimplevegan and @consciouschris and hashtag #sweetsimplevegan if you recreate any of our recipes, we love to see your photos!
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Homemade 100% Whole Wheat Bread (Vegan + Perfect for Sandwiches)
- Total Time: 2 hours 5 minutes
- Yield: 24 slices (1 loaf)
Description
A simple and delicious recipe for the perfect homemade 100% whole wheat bread loaf. It’s great for sandwiches, toast, and beyond!
Ingredients
Sponge
- 1 cup whole wheat flour
- 1 cup warm water
- 1/4 cup maple syrup (or liquid sweetener of choice)
- 1 tablespoon active dry yeast
Remaining ingredients
- 1/2 cup + 1 tablespoon water
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 3 1/2 cups Bob’s Red Mill Whole Grain Whole Wheat Flour
- 1 tablespoon vital wheat gluten (optional but recommended for a higher rise)
- 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
Topping (optional)
- 2–3 tablespoons rolled oats (or sunflower seeds, flax seeds or a mix of the three)
Instructions
- In a large mixing bowl, mix together all of the ingredients for the sponge until a smooth batter is formed. Set it aside to activate for 15 minutes. You will know when it is finished when it bubbles and almost doubles in size.
- Once it has activated, add in the water and olive oil and mix through. Add in the remaining whole wheat flour, vital wheat gluten, and salt, and mix with a standing mixer or a wooden spoon until a smooth dough is formed. Add more water (1 tablespoon at a time) if it is too dry or add more flour (1 tablespoon at a time) if it is too sticky. Once you have reached a smooth dough, knead it for 10 minutes with a dough hook or by hand on a clean work surface.
- Grease a bread pan. Roll the dough into a long log and place it into the bread pan. Spread it around as best you can to be sure it is mostly even on both sides (it does not necessarily have to touch the sides of the pan).
- If you are topping the bread: Spray a light layer of water on top of the dough. Sprinkle on 2-3 tablespoons of rolled oats, pressing them in lightly with your hand to allow them to stick. Spray on another thin layer of water on top of the oats to ensure that they stick.
- Place the bread pan in a warm area and allow the bread to rise for 1 hour, or until doubled in size. We turn our oven light on (while the oven is off) and place the bread on the top rack to rise. We just make sure to remove it before we start preheating the oven.
- Preheat the oven to 425°F. Once heated, place the bread into the oven and bake for 35-40 minutes, or until golden brown.
- Remove the bread from the oven and cool completely before slicing. It is important to allow the bread to cool as it still continues it’s baking process as it cools down on the counter. Slicing it too early will disrupt that process and may result in a doughy, gummy, and sticky texture.
- Slice as thin or as thick as you would like it and serve as desired. We love ours toasted with a smear of vegan butter or as sandwich bread.
Notes
- We have used both a 6 x 11.75″ pan and a 5 x 9″ pan and both worked well. The smaller pan will yield a taller bread.
- If you are not going to eat the loaf right away, we recommend slicing it and freezing it in a freezer safe bag, making sure to press out all of the air before sealing. When you are ready to eat it, don’t let it defrost. Instead, add the frozen slices into a toaster and toast as desired OR pop them into an oven preheated to 325°F for about 5-7 minutes.
- Prep Time: 1 hour 30 minutes
- Cook Time: 35 minutes
- Category: Bread
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: Vegan, Whole-Grain
Nutrition facts label provided by Nutri Fox.
Disclaimer: The information shown is an estimate provided by an online nutrition calculator. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional’s advice. This page may contain affiliate links, which simply means that we earn a commission if you purchase through those links, but your price remains the same. Thank you for supporting Sweet Simple Vegan!
This is a fabulous recipe and so easy. Our oven must run hot. It is old and we don’t have an oven thermometer. It was done in less than 25 minutes. That said this is so yummy! So glad to find such a great Whole Wheat Recipe! I used Bob’s Red Mill whole grain Whole wheat flour as in your recipe. I used molasses as sweetener and it did not dominate. What a great crust and yummy bread! Will make again. Thanks so much! 💗
Yes yes love this bread ????
thank you so much for this recipe and video – I have been too scared to try making my own bread, but this loaf turned out perfectly! I didn’t have wheat gluten so I went without and it still came out really tall and full.
Thanks for quick response Chris! Highly appreciate it.
One more Q – I have Instant Yeast. Can I replace 1 tablespoon active dry yeast with exact 1 tablespoon Instant yeast?
In that case, I can directly add it to flour and gluten, right?
We haven’t tried this with instant yeast, so it’s hard to say. Sorry about that!
Hi,
I am going to try this recipe as a friend recommended it. I want to add mix seeds in dough itself. At which stage should I add them? Do I neec to soak them before adding? Please help!
That’s a great idea! I would add them in during the dough mixing process before the rise. From the research I’ve done, you can soak the seeds overnight or in boiling water for 30 mins to an hour. Hope this helps!
Bread tasted great and nice and moist. I daresay, better than what I bought at the supermarket last week. Definitely going to do it again. Added flax and chia seeds. Didn’t need to add the gluten…haha didn’t have anyway.
How much fiber is in this bread? Excited to try it out!
Hey Mary,
There’s approximately 2.6g of dietary fiber per slice.
I love this recipe – thank you, thank you.
Hi Jasmine, I saw that in the Youtube video, you put in 2 1/2 cups of flour, but in the written recipe, it calls for 3 1/2 cups of water. I made the bread using the same amount written here, and had to add a lot more water to it. Could it be a mistake in the written recipe? Thank you!
The recipe written in this post is correct! I am not sure which video you are referring to? I checked it and there are no measurements in the video.
You don’t say it but there is a full cup less in the video. I had to add more water.
We sometimes cut videos a certain way to make them flow better. The written recipe should be correct 🙂
This is great! Thanks!
Is the olive oil with high cooking temperature not a problem?
In this recipe it works well! 🙂
Thank you for this super yummy whole wheat bread recipe!! I’ve been looking for a long time for ALL wheat bread and this one works! It’s delicious, rises really well, has great texture, and is easy! The only thing that I would add is that it must be made for a stand up mixer to get all the flour in. I’ve tried your recipe several times and have yet to get all the flour in! There’s always about 3/4 c left. Nevertheless, even without this, it’s great! (you look so cute perched on your countertop! and I like the photo of you and your honey!)
Thank you for this wonderful recipe. It came out just like in the pictures. I used Organic whole wheat flour from Whole Foods Market. I baked in a pan that has 1.5 lb capacity that measures 9″L x 5.25″W x 2.63 “H inside the pan.
Hello!
Thank you for this recipe!! I have been looking for a 100% whole wheat bread recipe for a while and I didn’t like the outcome of any… until this one.
Super easy, moist, great flavor.
Loved it!
We are so happy to hear that, thanks for sharing!
Is it possible to use this recipe for buns? I have not been able to find a decent wheat bun for my most delicious vegan Sloppy Joes.
Hi Bobi! We haven’t tried this bread out with sloppy joe’s ourselves but it would definitely work!! 🙂
Flavor is good but I recommend using 1/2 – 3/4 cup less flour than is called for. If you use the full amount, the bread comes out very close textured and dense.
I didn’t see the code. I like adding seeds in the dough itself, really good. Do you have to use Bob’s Red Mill, bc being on a budget I use cheaper flour. Love you guys!
Thanks
Use “SSV20” for 20% off <3 you can use a cheaper flour if it is better for your budget but we do want to add that higher quality flour will yield higher quality bread! 🙂
What size bread pan is supposed to be used here?
We have used both a 6 x 11.75″ and a 5 x 9″ and both worked well. The smaller pan will yield a taller bread.
This recipe is fantastic! I used King Arthur 100% whole grain flour. With this flour I recommend using 1/2 cup less than the recipe calls for. I’ll try Bob’s next time.