You know, I always wanted to be the kind of person who makes their own hummus and bakes their own wholewheat bread. So I’m pretty chuffed that I have become this person!
So now I can feel all wholesome and earth-motherish. Well, at least I would if I had some kiddos other than my two cat babies.
Recently someone was saying to me that they’re ‘eating clean’ now.
And ‘eating clean’ is quite the popular phrase in diet culture. But depending on which diet camp you’ve found yourself, ‘clean’ can have vastly different meanings. Like for some it means eating plenty of meat but cutting out grains and processed foods. And of course that is NOT what it means in the vegan community!
But anyway, I am not a fan of labelling foods like this because it’s a value judgement, like ‘good’ or ‘bad’. Which some can take to extremes and it can lead to eating disorders (not good!).
But that being said, lately it can be hard to find a loaf of bread in the store that doesn’t have a heap of crap in it. There is one particular loaf of wholewheat bread that I bought, and we just didn’t get around to eating it (or throwing it out). However, it was just as perfectly fresh 3 weeks after purchase as it was on the day I brought it home from the store! Hmmm!
So I do like to make some wholewheat bread myself, and when it’s as easy as THIS, then there’s no reason not to!
I have literally never come across a recipe as easy as this. It’s just 5-ingredients, and you don’t even have to knead it!
In fact, kneading is out with this recipe. You just throw in some wholewheat flour, a packet of dry yeast and a little salt, then mix in some maple syrup with some warm water, add the wet ingredients to the dry, mix in to just combine (no kneading! I’m not going to tell you again you super-keen kneading fan), move it into a greased loaf pan (a little parchment paper on the bottom is also a good idea), cover it and leave it to rise for 20 minutes.
It does all its rising before it even hits the oven. So the height it is when it goes in is pretty much the height it is when it comes out!
Put it into the oven and bake for 40 minutes. And bingo you have freshly baked bread!
I mean really I don’t think it could be easier even if you used a bread machine. Well, I’ve never used a bread machine so I can’t really compare, but with a recipe as easy as this, who needs a bread machine?
Well, don’t quote me on that, maybe I’ll get one, one of these days. I do like nifty little appliances. 
And the BEST thing about baking your own bread is your whole house smells delicious and you get to eat it warm from the oven.
I mean really if you don’t feel like cooking, just make a loaf of this (it barely counts as ‘cooking’ it’s too easy), and serve it with a huge salad, maybe some roasted garlic hummus and avocado and various other toppings and dinner is done and dusted!
Of course it goes immensely well with any homemade soups too! So if you’re having a deliciously thick pinto bean soup for dinner, then this is going to be awesome for dipping.
You will LOVE how easy this bread is to make, and how perfectly it comes out. It is:
- Hearty
- Homemade
- Nourishing
- Easy
- Filling &
- So Delicious!
It’s best when very fresh (the day of making it) but it will keep for a couple of days in a closed container and it also makes very delicious toast!
So let me know what you think of this recipe by leaving a comment and rating the recipe!
For more homemade deliciousness, that would make really great toppings for your homemade bread, check out these great recipes:
- Homemade Vegan Butter
- Homemade Peanut Butter
- How To Make Cashew Butter
- How To Make Almond Butter
- Simple Guacamole
- Creamy Avocado Hummus
And for more breads, check out our vegan cornbread, vegan banana bread and our easy vegan dinner rolls!
Sign up for our email list while you’re here, you’ll get an awesome (and free!) dinner recipes ebook and you’ll be the first to know when new recipes are posted to the blog.
Easy No-Fail Wholewheat Bread
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Prep Time: 30 mins - Cook Time: 40 mins
- Total Time: 1 hour
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Yield: 16 -
Category: Bread -
Cuisine: Vegan
Print Recipe
Pin RecipeDescription
Easy 5-ingredient wholewheat bread. You just don’t get easier than this no-fail recipe. Hearty, wholesome, nourishing and delicious!
Ingredients
- 4 cups (520g) Wholewheat Flour
- 1 Packet (11g) Instant Yeast*
- 1/2 tsp Salt
- 2 tsp Maple Syrup
- 2 cups (480ml) Warm Water
Instructions
- Add the flour to a mixing bowl with the yeast and salt and mix together.
- Dissolve the maple syrup in the warm water and then add to the dry ingredients.
- Mix – don’t knead – until you have a sticky well combined dough.
- Transfer to a greased loaf pan.
- Cover and leave to rise for 20 minutes.
- While the dough is rising, preheat the oven to 390 degrees fahrenheit (200 degrees celsius).
- After 20 minutes when the dough has risen, bake in the oven for 40 minutes.
- Absolutely BEST when fresh, but will keep for a day or two in a closed container. After which you can make the most delicious toast.
Notes
*If your dough hasn’t quite risen as high as mine in the picture at the 20 minute mark then leave it a couple more minutes, sometimes it takes a couple of minutes longer to get to the perfect height, but don’t leave it too long or it will rise too high and then you’ll get a muffin top loaf!
*Prep time includes the 20 minutes spent rising.
*Not all instant yeast packages are 11g, lately I have been getting packages that are 10g, and they work perfectly, so you don’t have to be that precise with the measurement of instant yeast. If you have a package of instant yeast that is a larger size, 11g is around a Tbsp of instant yeast. However, weighing your flour and your yeast is going to give you the most accurate results.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 Slice (of 16)
- Calories: 116
- Sugar: 0.8g
- Sodium: 74mg
- Fat: 0.8g
- Saturated Fat: 0.1g
- Carbohydrates: 24.5g
- Fiber: 3.6g
- Protein: 4.5g
What an amazing recipe! The bread looks delicious. Can’t believe that it’s not only whole wheat but also so easy to make! Thanks for sharing!
Thanks Vivian! It really is delicious! Let us know if you try it 🙂
I made this last night. It came out very dense… a little too much for my liking. Any tips for making the bread more fluffy/airy? Not sure what I could have done wrong. Thanks!
Hi Chris, I don’t think you did anything wrong. This bread just is quite a dense bread. It’s not light and airy. Did your bread come out looking pretty much like mine does in the pics? If so then it’s as expected. For example, based on weight, each slice is quite significantly heavier than a supermarket sliced bread that is more light and airy. I enjoy the denseness of this bread, it’s very wholesome and hearty and has a very nourishing feel. It’s also very satisfying. So if your bread did look much the same as mine in the pics, then I think it’s just not to your taste. I don’t think you did anything wrong.
Hi Alison
Do you use only 4 cups of the sifted flour or ALL 4 cups of flour???
Hi Terri, I don’t really understand the question, all the flour gets used, so all the flour goes into the mixing bowl with the yeast and salt and then the wet ingredients go into that. So all 4 cups (520g) are used at once.
Hey, I’ve been thinking about making this and I was wondering if I could bake it in small “ball forms” instead of in a loaf. Like some sort of rolls? Do you think it’d work? Would love to recieve an answer asap!!❤
I have never tried that! But it might work, I have no idea. Let us know if you do try it how it works out!
Also, I was wondering if I could put a tsp or 2 of light butter/margerine. It’s vegan, maybe it would make the bread morr soft or give it more taste? I don’t know maybe? What do you think. Or sprinkle some oats or seeds on top, possible?
I don’t know if it would add much to the end result but I don’t think it would cause any issue so it could be a good thing to try.
Nom Nom
★★★★★
🙂 🙂
I am going to try this tonight.
Love the website design!
Cool! And thank you! 🙂
Hi, this recipe looks great! Do you use active dry yeast or fast rising yeast?
Hi Vanessa, the one I use is called ‘Instant Yeast’.
If I do not want the bread to be as dense, what do I do?
How long would this bread be good for…I live alone and it would probably take me awhile to finish the loaf…
Hi Beth, it doesn’t last long – the first day you bake it, it’s fabulously fresh and lovely, the second day you make (very delicious) toast with it. If you wanted it to last longer, you could slice it, and freeze it, and then toast it when you want some.
This is just outstanding. One problem I’ve always faced is a moderately warm environment for bread to rise. I tend to find that even if you cover bread with a towel that it’s just too cold in a room temp kitchen. I have tried the following with varying mixed results: I take a pan of hot water – very hot – and then heat the oven to 250 – then turn it off after it arrives at the 250 mark. Then I put the hot pan of water in the oven and then put the finished bread in with a towel over it. It tends to rise quite nicely. This bread will fall again a bit before it bakes but that is natural for it. This might not work for everyone nor might it be necessary but I found it necessary for me.
I love this simple recipe and I will give it a try tonight!
Have you tried making it without any sugar or maple syrup?
Would it still rise?
Hi there, you can definitely leave it out if you prefer. It won’t affect it rising. All the best!
Hi Alison,
Thanks for your response.
I made it with a bit of brown sugar.
Mine was too hard on the edge but I like how simple the recipe is.
As it is a whole wheat recipe, you do feel quite filling with just one or two slices.
Thanks for the simple recipe!
★★★
I made this today, it was really fast and yummy! Thanks for the great recipe.
You’re welcome! So glad it came out well. Thanks for posting! 🙂
I don’t have maple syrup. Is there something I can use instead?
Any syrup will do the trick. 🙂
Can you use any other flour? Like oat flour.
Not for this recipe, no. You may be able to sub a bit of the flour for oat flour but not all of it. It would be a trial and error type of thing though!
I AM SURPRISED THAT IT IS REALLY “NO-FAIL” AS YOU HAVE PROMISED!!
thank you so much for this recipe!!!
Hahaa I love this recipe too – the other day I didn’t have enough wholewheat flour so I used about half a cup of self raising flour to make up the difference and it was still perfect! So glad you liked the recipe!
This looks amazing. I’m going to make it right away. 😊 Thank you!
Awesome! Enjoy! Let us know how it goes! 😁👍
Thank-you for sharing your recipe! I made it yesterday and was thrilled with the bread!!! You are awwsome 🙂
Thank you! 🤗 So glad it came out well! Thanks for sharing!
I made this bread yesterday and it turned out beautiful with a nice golden crust. My question is, would I be able to add more maple syrup? I liked the texture but the bread was a bit too bland for me. I am just afraid that adding more liquid will mess with the recipe. Any advice helps!
P.S Thanks for always having amazing recipes! I have made so many of your recipes in my journey to introduce my hubby to vegan food 🙂
You should be able to use more maple syrup without it affecting the result, depending of course on how much more you want to use. If it’s a large amount more, then just slightly adjust the amount of water to compensate. You should also be able to slightly increase the salt amount to add more flavor if you prefer. So glad you like the recipes! 🙂
Trying a second batch now. Want to try to get some more flavor in.
Great recipe. Made it today. I’m 5 days into vegan eating and needed some good homemade bread. Thank you for sharing.
★★★★★
So happy to hear that! Thanks for sharing!
ALISON, I MADE THIS TODAY. I USED 2 TSP OF SUGAR INSTEAD OF MAPLE SYRUP. IT’S SO EASY TO MAKE. AND WITH DISABILITY ISSUES, I REALLY LOVE, NOT HAVING TO KNEAD IT! AND THEN HAVING TO WAIT FOR TWO RISINGS. OH, MY IT IS SO DELICIOUS! JUST AMAZING! JUST WONDERING, CAN I MAKE THIS WITHOUT ANY SUGAR OR JUST 1 TSP?
★★★★★
Hi Pauline, so glad you liked it! Yes, not having to knead it is the best thing! You can likely reduce the sugar to 1 tsp or leave it out, I don’t think it would affect the result.
Mine just came out of the bread pan, and it looks fabulous. Can’t wait to try it with the spaghetti squash, mushroom and tomato sauce concoction someone special is making for dinner. One thing: I lined the pan with parchment paper instead of using cooking spray or oil. No problem getting it out of the pan, and it looks just like the picture of yours. Thanks!
★★★★★
Fantastic Michael! That sounds like a great dinner! Thanks for posting. 🙂
I followed the directions exactly but mine wasn’t sticky at all-too dry so i added a little water. It still didn’t look sticky really. It also didn’t rise at all. Any ideas?
Hi Karen, I’m not really sure about why the dough didn’t seem sticky. Usually a flour/water combo would be quite sticky. It’s usually when you knead that you remove the stickiness, but in this recipe it’s no kneading required. With regard to not rising that is yeast that didn’t work. It sometimes happens that the yeast you have is no longer fresh so it just doesn’t work anymore. It might have sat for too long on the shelf at the store. If you try it again try a different batch of yeast altogether. All the best!
OMG! Can’t wait to try this!
★★★★★
Great! Let us know how it works out! 🙂
I’m in the process of baking my bread as I type. It was super easy. Have about 20 mind left before I get to taste it.
I’m excited!
★★★★★
This recipe was super easy to make. While prepping it, I began thinking of different flavors & ingredients to add. Are there any you would give the yay or nay to?
★★★★★
Not really, I think whatever seems like a nice flavor add would be great! Let us know what you try! Would love to hear! 🙂
Start J should be stacey J. Gotta love autocorrect & small print.
Hahaa definitely! 🙂
Thank you so much for this recipe! This was my first ever attempt at making bread and it was a massive success. My family loved it! I used wholemeal spelt flour in place of wheat.
I think this experience has unlocked a new hobby for me 😀
Awesome! So glad to hear it worked well with spelt flour too! 🙂
Can whole wheat all purpose flour be used instead of whole wheat bread flour?
I think it should work out fine, but haven’t tried it myself.
So good! I did the trick the other person commented about with the hot boiling water to make the yeast rise, cause I have been having the same problem with yeast recipes lately and everything being so cold. I added almost triple the maple syrup. I also did a blend of wheat pastry flour, whole wheat flour, and teff flour. I don’t have a bread pan, so I used a round cake pan instead. Took my yeast almost an hour to rise up, but it was worth the wait.PERFECT bread! Teff gives it a nice touch. Bread so good, I have to make a soup to go with it now, or else I’ll feel guilty about just feeding my family bread and butter for dinner. HAHA!
★★★★★
Awesome Christina! So glad it came out so well! And thanks for sharing about your adjustments, very helpful! 🙂
I’m excited to make this bread! Me and my daughter are eating together, so I’m going to have to omit the salt (she’s only 6months) will write back on what I think. So I should expect this to be a little dense than store-bought bread right? I try to avoid them now because some of them has honey in it which LO can’t have too! <3
Yes, it’s definitely more dense, if you have a slice or two it’s much more filling than a slice or two of regular bread would be. Hope it comes out great! 🙂
Hi! We both love this bread! So perfect for avocado and some yoghurt, we had coconut yoghurt (i know, weird right). Because it’s dense and chewy (little bit like sourdough) my daughter loves it especially the crust! I love how filling it is and I froze half of it and actually making another batch right now 🙂 Thank you for sharing this recipe! The maple syrup added a good kind of sweetness to the bread too! So much love!
★★★★★
That is SOOO great! So happy to hear that! And coconut yoghurt sounds amazing too! Thanks so much for sharing! 🙂
So easy and it turned out perfectly. I mixed it maybe 2 minutes in my Kitchen Aid with bread hook. It rose and baked it in a stoneware bread pan so did not need any oil at all for this recipe. Thank you!
★★★★★
Awesome that it turned out well! Thanks for sharing! 🙂
Hey, I was wondering If I could use all purpose flour instead because I dont have whole wheat flour and I can’t really go out and get some today
I don’t know really, but this recipe wasn’t designed with all purpose flour in mind. You could try my bread rolls though as that recipe uses all purpose flour, and it would be possible to make that into bread rather than rolls.
This was pretty good! I followed the comments and added extra salt and maple syrup. Thanks so much!
Cool! Glad to hear it worked out! 🙂
I just made this ! It was easy and turned out great !! Added poppy seeds for extra flavour ! Thankyou will definitely be making this again !
★★★★★
Great! Poppy seeds sounds like a good add! Thanks for sharing! 🙂
If I can make this, anyone can! Have made 2 loaves now, and it’s perfect and SO delicious!! I left the maple syrup out. I want to try adding cinnamon, raisins and walnuts….maybe I need to leave a little flour out to compensate?? Thanks!!
★★★★★
Awesome Cheryl! Those sound like they’ll make great additions, I don’t think you’ll need to leave any flour out, you could just add those in! Thanks for sharing! 🙂
I made this today. I grind my own wheat berries. I purposely left it a more course ground to add more fiber. It was really good! Next time I make it i’ll grind more fine. Great recipe!
★★★★★
Great! Thanks for sharing Terri! 🙂
This recipe is so good! Thank you so much.! I made it once in 1 hour and 15 minutes flat. I have also added walnuts, cranberries, raisins, sunflower seeds and pumpkin seeds. Yum.
★★★★★
Wonderful! Thanks for sharing! Sounds awesome. 🙂
I used parchment paper instead of greasing the pan and didn’t include any Maple Syrup. And it turned out great. This recipe is so easy to make. I’ve made this three times so far. The last time it got a little hard on the top. So I covered the bread with a damp cloth after removing it from the oven.
One of my batches I used unsweetened applesauce. It turned out great.
So far I’ve like every loaf I’ve made.
★★★★★
Excellent! Thanks Maria! 🙂
Hi, Thanks for this – really want to try it! I have 2 questions – what size loaf tin did you use and how would you suggest adjusting it to UK sized yeast packets (7g = 11ml), do you think it would work multiplying all measurements by x 7/11 ? Many thanks
Mine is a 9×5 inch loaf pan, but any similar size loaf pan will be fine. Regarding measures, I recommend you weigh it, in grams, on a food scale to get the right quantity. If you weigh out your flour and your yeast to ensure the right quantities you are going to have the best chance of accuracy. All the best! 🙂
Thanks so much for your quick reply!
My husband and I loved this bread. Since it was not a bread that you knead and let rise I did not expect the texture to be the same as a kneaded bread. I describe the texture as somewhere between a quick bread and a kneaded bread. We liked it best toasted and topped with butter. The recipe was so simple I’m sure I’ll be making it often. My only alteration will be a little more salt…that’s just my preference. Thank you.
★★★★★
Wonderful! Thanks so much for sharing! 🙂 Yes, I also love it toasted!
Awesome recipe, it seems. I am going to try it soon. Where did you get your “instant yeast” from?
I just get it from the supermarket! You can also get it from Amazon.
Thank you so much for this recipe. I’ve been looking for a good vegan whole grain bread recipe for ages.
This one is perfect – crunchy crust, soft in the middle, subtly sweet, and easy to make. I love it!
★★★★★
Yay! You’re so welcome! So happy you like it! 🙂
This came out great! My husband and I have 2 slices of bread each for breakfast every morning so a thicker more wholesome bread works out just perfectly for me and my husband.
This recipe worked fine but I did add just a little less water. I mixed the dough adding a little water at a time until the consistency looked right.
I can’t thank you enough. This recipe was simple and super quick compared to every other whole wheat bread recipe.
Amazing!
★★★★★
So wonderful! Thanks so much for sharing Jama! 🙂
Silly question: My yeast comes in 21 g packets. I’m assuming I should only use half…?
Yes, half should be great, ideally weigh it for the exact right amount. 🙂
Made this simple recipe twice now and will continue to make this delicious subtle flavor heavy wonderful textured whole wheat bread perfect toasted with butter and jam will also try lox and cream cheese and I’m sure the avocado is wonderful… possibilities are endless. It is what it is not a fluffy sandwich bread. First time I’m so lazy I used my mixer with dough hook and think that is why the crust was tough, 2nd., time gently stirred the maple syrup & water with a wooden spoon into a large bowl that I placed the flour & salt in and had mixed up with a whisk… my way of sifting. Hope I try more of your recipes. Thank you for sharing.
★★★★★
Awesome! Thanks for posting Maureen! 🙂
I am a long-time bread baker and was dubious about this no-knead recipe but it worked perfectly as described. I get meal plans from a nutritionist and was looking for a healthier version of whole wheat bread and made this without the maple syrup – just added a little maple extract – and it was delicious. I used my food scale and measured the flour and yeast in grams and it made it so much easier.
Hi Susan, so happy to hear it was a success! Thanks so much for posting! 🙂
Hi Alison, made it yesterday and loved it to the core. My husband could not believe baking bread is so simple, all thanks to you!!!! I baked specially for my 14 months old toddler as I don’t feed him store bought stuff. I used honey as I didn’t have maple syrup.
Thank you soo much!!
★★★★★
Awesome! So glad it went well! Yes, it sometimes still surprises me that it can be so simple! Thanks for sharing. 🙂
Hi! i tried making this today and i came out undone! im trying to leave it a bit longer in the oven but im afraid the top will come out very hard. Any ideas why this is happening????
Hi Natalia, I wonder if your oven is hot enough. Ovens do vary sometimes, so maybe yours just needed a little more time, it is supposed to have a nice hard crust on top. What was it like when you left it to bake for a bit longer?
Hi, I tried this bread today. I let it sit for the recommended 20 minutes however it didn’t seem to rise at all. After the 40 minutes in the oven it had risen however it was still looking under-cooked and doughy when I cut it open so I popped it in for a little longer, however it was still too raw. There were no air bubbles at all and it was very very dense. I have just bought new yeast which is nowhere near expiry and am using wholemeal wheat flour which is suitable for bread. What am I doing wrong?
Hi Rachel, I am really sad to hear that it didn’t work out! There can be reasons for this, if your water was cold or if it was too hot, it can kill the yeast. It needs to be warm, and not hot, and of course not cold. Did you definitely use the right kind of yeast? It is also possible that you got a bad batch of yeast. If the room is quite cold it can take longer to rise, but you should have seen quite a bit of rise in 20 minutes and then could have left it for a bit longer. But if the dough doesn’t rise hardly at all, it’s not going to make a good bread, which is why you found it very dense and also why it took longer to cook.
I found and made this recipe today. I love it! It was so easy to make and tastes delicious. My bread did not rise as high as shown here but it was still great!
Hi Nancy, so glad you liked it! Next time you make it try leaving it to rise for a few minutes longer so that it’s really risen well before you bake it, if your room is cold it can take a little longer sometimes to rise all the way. Thanks for sharing! 🙂
My bread was cooking for about an hour and a half and still came out raw in the middle 🙁 any ideas why??)
If your bread rose properly before going in then I can only think it was your oven temperature, have you ever tested it with an oven thermometer? Otherwise I have no idea, I make this all the time and it’s always perfect. Sorry to hear it didn’t work out for you.
my Daughter is transitioning to vegan after being a vegetarian for 2 years. Her Ultimate weakness is bread and one of the main reasons she hasn’t gone vegan yet is that all the vegan breads she has purchased are awful, I truly hope she likes this one.