Simple 5-ingredient whole wheat bread. You just don’t get easier than this no-fail and no-knead recipe! Hearty, wholesome, nourishing and delicious!
You know, I always wanted to be the kind of person who makes their own hummus and bakes their own whole wheat 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 at all 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 junk 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 whole wheat bread myself, and when it’s as easy as THIS, then there’s no reason not to! Also check out our other super easy bread recipes, our vegan white bread and our vegan soda bread.
How To Make Whole Wheat Bread
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 whole wheat flour, a packet of dry yeast and a little salt to a mixing bowl. Then mix in some maple syrup with some warm water and 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 delicious vegan potato leek soup or vegan tomato soup or vegan lentil 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! You can freeze it, but it will be best used for toast after freezing.
Want some toppings for your bread?
- Homemade Vegan Butter
- Homemade Peanut Butter
- Homemade Cashew Butter
- Homemade Almond Butter
- Simple Vegan Guacamole
- Creamy Avocado Hummus
And for more breads, check out our vegan cornbread, vegan banana bread and our easy vegan dinner rolls!
So let us know what you think of this recipe by leaving a comment and rating the recipe! Thanks so much!
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Easy No-Fail Whole Wheat Bread
Ingredients
- 4 cups Whole Wheat Flour (520g)
- 1 Tbsp Instant Yeast
- ½ tsp Salt
- 2 tsp Maple Syrup
- 2 cups Warm Water (480ml)
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 9x5 loaf pan. You can also line the bottom with parchment paper if you think there will be any chance of it sticking.
- Cover and leave to rise for 20 minutes.
- While the dough is rising, preheat the oven to 390°F (200°C).
- 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.
Video
Notes
- Weigh your flour for the most accurate results.
- Maple syrup can be replaced by another sweetener such as agave nectar or other syrup.
- 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.
This bread is delicious. The first time I made it I could not believe how easy and delicious it was.
My only problem, it stuck to the pan. I now line the pan with non-stick aluminum foil and it pops out perfectly. I looks beautiful with poppy and white sesame seeds on top, but they tend to fall off. Sunflower seeds stick better and add the most taste.
I slice it, and wrap it in 2x’s and put in a freezer bag (of course, not all of it makes it to the freezer, it’s delicious warm). I hard to believe it has no added oil and little salt and tastes this good.
Absolute favorite! Since I discovered it, many months ago, maybe a year? I bake it twice a week and we stopped buying bread at our house. Simple, fast, healthy and delicious. By mistake, I have been putting 1 1/2 tbsp of yeast (just checked again and saw it’s 1 tbsp). I was wondering how come mine rises so much more! I will try it with 1, but I have been enjoying it with 11/2 too, so might not change that. Thank you for this recipe!
Awesome Sofia! Thanks so much for sharing and glad to hear the extra yeast has been working out great!
Hi Alison,
I have made this bread a dozen times and can’t tell you how much I enjoy making this.
It is the easiest whole wheat bread ever. So thank you very much for sharing.
If any one is interested, over time I have made some changes to make this a heavy, very earthy bread.
Replace 1/4 cup of the flour with cracked wheat.
Add 1 1/2 tbs of chia seeds
Add 3 tbs of raw unsalted sunflower seeds
Add 1 1/2 tbs of toasted sesame seeds
Add 3 tbs of unsweetened coconut
I increased the water to 2 and 1/4 cup and 1/2 cup of that is orange juice.
Leave to rise for 30 minutes in the oven with only the light on.
Then take it out, preheat oven as directed etc.
Again, thank you to Alison, you’ve inspired me to bake:)
Thanks for sharing Jennie!
Hi, thank you for sharing this recipe..I’m making it right now and had a doubt. If I halve the ingredients since I have just that much flour(2 cups), do I need to halve the baking time too?
It really depends on the size of your dish. If you’re still using a 9×5 loaf pan then it will bake much faster and you will need to reduce the baking time.
Just came back to say: WOW! WOW! WOW!
This is hysterical!
I want to tell anyone who is skeptic like i was – THIS RECIPE IS A KEEPER!
Thank you so much.