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, vegan soda bread and vegan focaccia.
How To Make Whole Wheat Bread
You will find full instructions and measurements in the recipe card at the bottom of the post. This is a summary of the process to go along with the process photos.
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 some whole wheat flour, instant yeast and a little salt to a mixing bowl.
Then mix maple syrup with warm water and then 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!
Who Needs A Bread Machine?
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 whole wheat bread is your whole house smells delicious and you get to eat it warm from the oven.
Serving Suggestions
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.
Recipe Variations
This recipe is very versatile and has worked great when we’ve switched up the flours. We have tried this recipe as follows and all have worked out great:
- 4 cups whole wheat flour
- 3 cups whole wheat flour, 1 cup all purpose flour
- 2 cups whole wheat flour, 2 cups all purpose flour
- 1 cup whole wheat flour, 3 cups all purpose flour
- 4 cups all purpose flour
Make It Gluten-Free
It even works with a gluten-free all purpose flour blend. I find that adding a tablespoon or two of olive oil (at the same time as the other wet ingredients) makes the gluten-free version come out softer.
Storing Tips
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, and that’s best done on the day of baking to lock in the freshness. If you freeze it on the second or third day then you can use it for toast straight from the freezer.
Want Some Toppings For Your Whole Wheat 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!
Did you make this recipe? Be sure to leave a comment and rating below!
Easy No-Fail Whole Wheat Bread
Ingredients
- 4 cups Whole Wheat Flour (520g)
- 1 Packet Instant Yeast 2 ¼ teaspoons
- 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 9×5 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.
Rambles says
This is absolutely fantastic! This is the first time I have had a no-knead recipe turn out good (and without need of a Dutch oven!).
Unfortunately, my parents do not like it too much (quite a bit denser than white bread haha) so I will halve this recipe going forward.
One thing, let the bread cool a bit before cutting into it; it is quite sticky when still hot. Still, the recipe is as easy as promised!
Angela says
My mom shared this recipe with me after she had success making it. I agree, this is an easy wholesome bread to make. I made it twice in the past couple of weeks. I made it as is the first time and made adjustments the second time using 1 cup whole wheat flour (since it was all I had left), 1 cup oat flour, and 2 cups all-purpose flour. I also increased the maple syrup to 3 1/2 TBSP at my daughters’ request. We liked it with the adjustments and it was not sweet even with the increased maple syrup. They still added honey to their individual slices. The next time I get some more ww flour, I plan to use 2 cups ww flour, 1 cup oat flour, and 1 cup all-purpose. Thanks for sharing this EASY recipe; it’s my go-to from now on!
Alison Andrews says
Wonderful! Thanks so much for sharing Angela!
Tomer says
Will it work with whole rye or spelt?
Alison Andrews says
I think so! It has worked great with most types of flour, even all purpose!
Roo says
Can’t buy a loaf of bread again, like, NEVER!
I googled a recipe that:
-has only few ingredients
-has to be very simple
-quick and easy
And this recipe nailed it all my needs.
This recipe changed my life!
Thank you very much.
Alison Andrews says
So happy to hear that Roo! Thanks for the wonderful review!
Cynthia Routon says
I was wondering if this recipe would work with a cup-for-cup gluten free flour?
Alison Andrews says
Hi Cynthia, yes it actually does work! It works great! I was surprised by that, but we tried it and it was a total success. We used a gluten free all purpose flour blend and also added a little oil to the dough (1 tablespoon olive oil).
Pat says
I have to admit I was skeptical when I found this recipe. Boy was I wrong! I’ve been searching for a healthy whole grain bread recipe for a long time and I’ve never found one that worked until now. This bread is great! Just what I was looking for. I’d bought a bag of multi grain bread flour recently so I decided to use that. It was a total success! (unlike my experiment with someone else’s recipe yesterday which yielded me a doorstop). I’m definitely making this again. The key for me is understanding that when you say a sticky dough you mean a sticky dough lol. So I made sure to add a couple more tablespoons of water when it wasn’t sticky enough. I’ll be making this over and over. Can’t wait to try some of your other recipes.
Alison Andrews says
Awesome! Thanks for the great review Pat! 🙂
Anna says
I am surprised this turned out so well. Not because I doubt the quality of Loving It Vegan’s recipes, but because I’ve made a lot of bread in my time, including no knead bread, but never left such a short proving time! So I had some doubts. But with no bread in the house, I wanted something quick and easy, and I love other recipes on this site. I expected a hard block to emerge from my oven, but no! It’s lovely and soft. I left it sitting for 30 mins rather than 20 before baking just because there was no sign of yeast activity after 20, and I had a glimmer after 30. It rose quite high in the oven. I used 100g of bread flour because I was nervous how firm it would be with 100% wholemeal, and that’s because NZ wholemeal flour seems to have lower protein content than US versions such as King Arthur Flour. I also used a sachet of instant yeast, which is around 8g and just under 1Tbsp, but was enough. And used date syrup. Will be making often!
Alison Andrews says
Yay! So glad it was a success Anna! Honestly it amazes me everytime too that it can be this easy to make bread. 🙂
Jan says
Love your recipe- tried out twice with whole wheat flour by King Arthur and it’s a no fail recipe! Sure success and I know exactly what I am
feeding my family 😃. I used dry active yeast so added 1/4 tsp more than your recipe! Wish there was a place I could show you the pics! Thanks again!
SD says
Hi, I tried this simple recipe. It was my first time baking a bread. The bread came out hard, not soft. Is that normal?
I used Fleischmann’s RapidRise Instant Yeast. I was confused about the quantity of yeast. The recipe says 11g/ 1 tbsp. My packet reads 1/4 oz (7 g). However, when upon measuring with a tbsp, it came out a little shy of 1 tbsp. I just used 1 packet of yeast.
Is that the mistake? Should I try a different brand of yeast and perhaps one that says 10g/11g.
Please advise. Thank you!
I followed the rest of the ingredients and quantities exactly.
Alison Andrews says
Hi, it may be that it would have been better to use a bit more yeast so that it was a full tablespoon, but another reason for being a bit hard would be over-mixing the dough. So if you try it again I would use a little more yeast and then mix that dough until just mixed and then stop mixing. All the best!
Carmen says
Hi Alison,
This bread looks so good and easy to make… I would like to add some seeds (maybe flax, chia, sunflower seeds, sesame…) do you know if it will work? And if so, when should I put them in? It’s my first time baking bread!!!
Alison Andrews says
Yes you can add in some seeds, if you read the other comments, it has been done many times. You would just fold them into the bread dough right after mixing.
Emmet says
Really quick and tasty bread. I added some pumpkin seeds for some added texture. Worked a treat!
leela says
Hi there – what is an alternate option for maple syrup? I did see you mentioned agave and other but i dont have them.will it be okay if i use sugar for now? Thank you.
Alison Andrews says
Sugar is fine.
Madhavi says
New to baking. Tried several recipes but this one is the quickest, easiest and tastiest. I made a slight change, as maple syrup isn’t easily available in India, I substituted it with brown sugar. Excellent recipe!
Thank you, Allison!
Alison Andrews says
Wonderful! Thanks Madhavi!
Rubi says
Hi, I have been making this bread several times already But… from some reason it’s come out from the oven very dense.
Any reason why? ????
Alison Andrews says
Hi Rubi, you may have mixed it a bit too long this time. That can cause a more dense bread.
Roo says
I baked a bread first time in my life with your recipe! This is super easy and so tasty! From now on, I can switch to my bread instead of buying a bread at a grocery store. Feel super happy! Thank you very much!
Alison Andrews says
So glad it was a success! Thanks for the great review!