Easy, Soft 100% Whole Wheat Sandwich Bread Tutorial
Step-by-step tutorial to make soft 100% whole wheat sandwich bread with a 15 minute sponge and only 1 rise. With 1000’s of comments and 5-star ratings, this fan-favorite may be the recipe that finally frees you from store-bought bread!
✩ What readers are saying…
“I have stumbled upon your recipe years ago, and it has been my go-to bread recipe ever since. Hands down, the best recipe I’ve ever used. Both for taste and for ease in making!” -Tiffany
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Let’s finally make perfect, whole wheat sandwich bread!
A number of years ago, before there were blogs, I taught myself to make bread. Through those few years of trying to get it right, my family ate many leaden loaves of bread without complaints (for which I’m eternally grateful!) in my quest for an easy, 100% whole wheat loaf that made great sandwiches and toast.
I’ve experimented with many different flours (Barley-Rye-Spelt bread, anyone?) and in the end adapted a great recipe that’s quick and easy and turns out a consistently good loaf.
This is the recipe that allowed me to stop buying our sandwich bread – really.
I don’t want you to have to go through all that, though, so I’m sharing a step-by-step tutorial so that you can start turning out great loaves right away – and free you from store bought sandwich bread forever!
First, though, why bother learning to make your own bread?
- It tastes WONDERFUL.
- You know exactly what’s in it.
- It takes less hands-on time than running to the store (a revelation to me, like most of our other pantry basics!)
- It’s cheap – these two loaves cost about .75 cents each (and I’m probably over-estimating).
- It just makes you feel good.
- It tastes WONDERFUL.
Convinced? Me, too!
I want to encourage you that you, too, can make bread… I promise. Just give it a try and DO NOT be discouraged by any loaves you may turn out that aren’t perfect (they’re still good for toast and breadcrumbs)- it’s all a part of the learning.
Trust me on this – I know. Just keep practicing.
Recipe Ingredient Notes
- Flour: You can use any type of whole wheat flour for this recipe, regular, bread, or white whole wheat. Many have asked what brand of flour I use and it’s typically Bob’s Red Mill.
- Yeast: Since this recipe starts with a sponge, both active dry and instant yeast work.
- Honey: I love the flavor of honey and how it compliments the whole wheat, but if you can’t do honey you can use cane sugar. Some have told me they’ve used maple syrup as well. You can lessen the sweetener if you want, but I’d always keep at least a tablespoon to help feed the yeast.
- Oil: I use an expeller pressed sunflower oil and occasionally avocado oil – both oils are more neutral tasting than olive oil. Some have told me they’ve used melted butter with good results.
- Update on Using Vital Gluten: As of November of 2010, I no longer add the extra gluten listed in my original recipe. My loaves are still fine for our family, but are probably not quite as high as the loaves pictured here. I’ve listed it as optional now in the recipe.
How to Make Soft 100% Whole Wheat Sandwich Bread
1. Make the sponge.
Combine warm water*, yeast, and 2 cups of flour in the bowl of a stand mixer (this can, of course, be mixed in a bowl by hand- I’ve just never done it that way…) and let it sit 15 minutes to create a sponge.
2. Add oil and then add the honey.
Adding the oil first and then the honey causes the sticky honey to just slide right out – no scraping needed. A lovely little trick.
*Note: I use warmest tap water without a problem, but if you’re unsure, you want to use a thermometer and have your water between 105 and 110 degrees – hotter than this will kill the yeast!
PRO TIP: this is the Kitchenaid mixer I use, after burning out my Artisan lift-top with all the whole wheat loaves I was making weekly. It is an investment, but the benefits are worth it to me, since it does the work of mixing and kneading (as well as being used for other baking recipes).
3. Add salt and 4 cups of the flour.
You can also add the vital gluten here, if using. You’ll mix until the dough starts to look like the photo above. Remove the paddle attachment and change to the dough hook to knead (or for those doing it by hand, turn out on floured surface).
4. Knead 6-7 minutes (or 10 minutes by hand).
After kneading, the dough should be cleaning the sides of the bowl, though sticking to the bottom. If it is sticking to the sides during the kneading process, you can add a little flour, a tablespoon at a time.
BIGGEST TIP: Be careful not to add too much flour – the dough should feel tacky to your finger when you touch it, but not slick to it. It’s okay if the dough still sticks to the bottom of the bowl- in fact with whole wheat it usually will (the dough should not roll out of the bowl on its own).
6. Prepare the pans.
Grease two 9 x 5 inch pans* while the dough is kneading. You can use oil, butter, or even line with parchment. I spray with oil and use a small silicone brush (no stray pieces left like from a regular brush) to get into the corners.
7. Turn dough out onto a floured surface and cut in half.
Smoosh the dough down into an even-looking oval shape that you can cut in half with a dough scraper or regular long knife. TIP: On counters that can’t be used for dough, I use a tea towel dusted with a bit of flour- the dough doesn’t stick as much, so you use less flour, plus it’s easy clean-up.
*Update TIP: If your loaves aren’t rising as much, try making the bread in smaller pans. I now use these 8.5×4.5 USA loaf pans which I love because they don’t stick at all!
8. Shape the loaves
- a) Pat each half into a fairly even oval the length of the pan. (I used to stress over trying to shape a loaf – using a rolling pin and making it big, then I realized its not rocket science it only needs to be big enough to roll up a bit and create tension.)
- b) Roll up gently.
- c) Pinch the seam together and then pinch the ends and bring them in toward the seam.
- So that it looks like d) when shaped.
9. Place shaped loaves into pans.
Fit the shaped loaf into your prepared pan and repeat with the other loaf. TIP: Another reason I like using a towel to shape them: I simply take the tea towel, shake it off gently over the sink, and use it to cover the pans. Otherwise, cover with a plastic shower cap or other type of cover.
10. Let the dough rise.
Set the pans in a warm place. Don’t worry too much about this – the counter is fine, even the top of the fridge – just no cold drafts. Timing: Set a timer for 50 minutes, then turn the oven to 350 degrees to preheat for the last 10 minutes of rising time.
TIP: Depending on the warmth of your kitchen, time of year, and freshness of your yeast, you may need more OR less time rising. Go with the 1/2-inch or so above the pan as your guide and not necessarily the exact time I use in my kitchen.
11. Bake
When the loaves have risen 1/2 inch to 1 inch above the pans (1 hour for the loaves pictured above, but check yours sooner), put them in the preheated 350 degree oven for 15 minutes, then turn them around for even cooking and bake another 15 minutes, for 30 minutes total.
Notice one risen loaf is bigger than the other in the photo above right? It really isn’t about perfection around here – the bigger one seems to have a growth on the side, too – it’s a bubble and I just don’t worry about these things!
12. Take the loaves out of the oven.
To make sure they are done you can turn out a loaf and knock on the bottom for a hollow sound, but if your oven is truly at 350 degrees I’ve found they will always be done at 30 minutes. TIP: When you first make the loaves in your oven, I suggest you check the internal temperature with an instant read thermometer – it should be between 200-220 degrees Fahrenheit in the center of the loaf. Then you’ll know how long your oven will take. Let the loaves cool in the pans for 10 minutes and then run a spatula around the edges right away to loosen any sticking parts.
13. Let cool on a rack.
Turn the loaves out onto racks and let cool at least 30 min. to 1 hour before cutting or you’re going to smush the bread down when you try to cut it! I know it’s hard, but have patience, it will be worth it in the end. (Then, if you’re like me, cut off one of the lovely ends, spread it with just a bit of real butter and bite into that soft, crispy wonderfulness…there’s just something about fresh-out-of-the-oven bread!) Cool the loaves completely before slicing, storing or freezing.
PRO TIP: See that completely flat spatula? It’s one of my favorite cooking tools – this spatula is just the BEST. It’s plastic, but sorta sharp for a spatula, so it gets EVERY last bit of dough from a bowl and is better at loosening things out of pans than knives because it’s not sharp enough to actually cut through anything.
Reader Raves
“THE BEST BREAD I HAVE EVER MADE!!!! Omg I absolutely love this recipe!” -Janet D.
“My ride or die sandwich bread! This is the most simple recipe and is so hard to mess up!” -Codie
“This is our go to bread—made it at least a dozen times. Easy. Soft. Delicious. We grind our own whole wheat flours out of wheat berries. Retains nutrients and has more fiber!” -Nani
“I’ve been making this for my family for almost a year, we no longer buy bread at the store!” -Becca
“I recommend your recipe to everyone I know who is looking for a no-fail 100% whole wheat. I’ve been baking and tweaking this recipe for a couple years. Last year, my dad said “this bread is so good, you should enter it in the State Fair.” Not only did I win the Grand Champion in the Washington State Fair in 2024, I won the Washington Wheat Growers Association Award.” -Betsy
I hope you love this whole wheat sandwich bread as much as I do and that it helps you to not have to buy loaves anymore!
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Soft 100% Whole Wheat Sandwich Bread
Equipment
- Two 9×5 inch OR 8.5×4.5 inch loaf pans (highly recommend the smaller loaf pans to get a consistent rise)
Ingredients
Instructions
- Combine water, yeast and 2 cups of the flour in a mixing bowl. Set aside to sponge for 15-20 minutes, until risen and bubbly (warmer weather takes 15 min, cooler temps usually needs 20).
- Add honey, oil, salt, (plus gluten, if using), and 4 cups of flour. Mix until dough starts to clean sides of bowl. Change to dough hook (or turn out to knead by hand), and knead 6 to 7 minutes (10 by hand). Add only a few tablespoons of flour at a time if dough sticks to sides, being careful not to add too much.
- Form into two loaves and place in greased 9×5 pans (or 8.5×4.5 inch pans for a better rise). Allow to rise in a warm place for 50-60 minutes, until 1/2 to 1-inch above pans. TIP: You may need 15-30 minutes longer if your kitchen is cold – or less time if it's warm – but don't let it overproof (rise too much) or the loaf will fall when baked. Preheat oven to 350 degrees ten minutes before rising time is done.
- Bake for 30 minutes, rotating halfway through if needed.
- Immediately remove from pans to cool on a rack. Allow to completely cool before slicing.****
Notes
Nutrition
Soft Whole Wheat Sandwich Bread FAQs
The standard answer is to store bread wrapped in a bag (linen or plastic) at room temperature for 2-3 days and to never refrigerate it because that makes it go stale faster.
However, it will often mold before we eat it, so I do regularly refrigerate our bread! It’s perfectly fine for toast and will soften up with a warming in a toaster oven.
Also, a tip is to separate the loaves into halves if your household doesn’t eat that much bread and freeze the parts you aren’t using for later.
Double wrap each loaf in plastic bags (reused from produce bags work) and freeze until you need them, up to 4 months. You can freeze whole or cut before freezing (I always cut before so the slices are easy to remove). They freeze beautifully and you’ll never have to run to the store for bread again!
This is one of the most-asked questions I’ve gotten over the years. Since I don’t have a machine and the machines all have different capacities, I’m pointing you to this article from King Arthur Flour: How to convert your favorite recipes to a bread machine.
Or try Jerri H’s tips from the comments: “I dove in and experimented with making one loaf of this delicious bread in my bread machine, using the “dough cycle” and baking it in the oven after letting it rise in the bread pan for 75 minutes. I cut all the ingredients in half, and added 1/4 cup of bran flakes to give it a little extra fiber boost. I also used a tablespoon of vital wheat gluten. The bread turned out just as good as ever, however it didn’t seem to rise as high as when I made the full recipe by hand.”
More Easy Bread Recipes
This recipe has been updated – it was originally published in the first year of the website, 2009.
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Could inform me the quantities of the ingredients in grams, since I live in Brazil and I am worry if my cup measure is the same as used in this recipe.
Thank you a lot in advance
Sorry, Marcos, I’d have to do testing to get that exactly. From Google, there are 201 grams in a cup, so you’d need 1,206 grams for the 6 cups.
I really want to try baking this. One question though – I have seen a lot of recipes where it requires you to cover the dough (with cling wrap or shower cap) in order for the dough to rise. Is that required for this recipe as well?
Yes, I use a “shower cap” type cover that is reusable. You could also use a damp tea towel. The reason is to prevent a crust forming from the air that would inhibit rise.
Hi Jami,
I made this bread over the weekend and I want to say it was truly soft and nice. It was really nice eating a whole wheat flour bread that is soft and nice.
Thanks for sharing the recipe . Keep up the good work , you are helping others like me to make bread at home 😃.
Oh, thank you so much, Toyin!
This is one of the best breads I’ve baked so fr . I added garlic n herbs to the dough n we all loved it . It’s super simple n so fast to bake . I’m so happy to have found this recipe. Thank you so much!
Wonderful! Thanks for the review!
I have never seen a bread recipe that only has the one rise once it’s in the pans (instead of rise, then punch, then rise in pans). I’m trying this recipe for the first time. My whole wheat that I’ve been making for years has suddenly stopped rising right. I doubled the recipe to make 4 loaves. They look gorgeous. I bake for a farmer’s market, so this skipped step is awesome. Going to make another batch so I can taste test before selling.
Yes, that and the softness is why I like this, April – hope it works for your biz!
Just what I was looking for. A soft whole wheat recipe that is actually soft! Turned out great. No need to try to find any other recipes. I’ve found my “go to”. Thank you.
So glad to hear – thanks for leaving a review!!
Hi Jami boys , thanks for the recipe. Can this recipe be used for Rye flour instead Whole wheat flour, or do you have a recipe for soft rye sandwich bread?
I just tried your whole wheat dinner rolls and they were truly nice , soft and yummy , though I did not have enough whole wheat flour on hand so I added like half a cup of all purpose flour to complete the measurements.
God bless you.
Thanks.
You can use some rye flour, but not all as it doesn’t have enough gluten to rise bread.
Jamie thanks for your reply, that’s good to know. I was gifted some rye flour so was hoping to make use of it 😃.
Can I add seeds, ie raw sunflower, flax, sesame, and oats to this recipe? If so, do I have to change any other ingredients?
You can add seeds in the last phase of kneading, no need to change other ingredients. To add oats, you’ll need to soak them in warm water first and probably reduce the flour by 1/4 cup or so (per 1/2 cup of oats). Well – I’m assuming, you’d need to reduce it as I haven’t tried it!
Can I simply halve all the ingredients for the whole wheat bread in order to make a single loaf in a 9 x 5 loaf pan? I have fresh instant dry yeast, btw. Thank you.
Sure you should be able to do that – I haven’t, but don’t see why not.
This is a straight forward easy to follow recipe and the wheat dinner rolls were great. Fluffy and tasty. My to keep recipe. Thanks
Happy to read this – thanks so much for the review!
Hi Jami,
I love this bread! The recipe mentions needing to use instant active dry yeast and not rapid rise. I made this with active dry recently but now I can only access instant dry yeast. I’m a bit confused by the different terms used for yeast because some of the seem to be brand-specific or used interchangeably. What is the difference between instant active dry and regular active dry?
Well, apparently I was confused by this as well, Michelle! Some things I’ve read state that rapid rise yeasts have additives beyond just yeast so that’s why I didn’t recommend them. But when I just searched, it seems the bigger consensus is that “rapid rise” is just a marketing term for instant yeast. So I’ve taken out that recommendation not to use rapid rise!
Here’s what I know about the yeasts:
Instant yeast’s grains are smaller, which allows it to dissolve faster and therefore rise faster. It doesn’t usually need a proofing stage and can just be added to the dry ingredients. It also allows just one rise.
Active Dry has larger granules, and needs a proofing in liquid and two rises.
Some things I’ve read state that you need to use less of instant yeast in a recipe calling for active dry and visa versa, but I’ve used both in this recipe with the same amount and it’s fine. So the yeast in your link is good. I use the active dry yeast you can get at Costco, so I don’t usually use instant.
Thanks for asking this – it helped clarify it for me, too!
Hi Jami! Thank you for responding so quickly! I’m glad the yeast I ordered will work. I definitely want to make more of this bread! I just did another search and found this very helpful explanation of the differences in yeast types and how to use them.
https://www.seriouseats.com/2018/03/all-about-dry-yeast-instant-active-dry-fast-acting-and-more.html
The section on instant dry directs it to be used as follows, which lines up with what you found:
“To use in place of active dry, incorporate directly into the dry ingredients. Add any ingredients used for proofing (warm water, sugar) to the dough along with other liquid ingredients.”
So for this recipe I guess I’d add the dry ingredients including the yeast, mix them so they’re combined, then add the wet ingredients and proceed with the recipe. Does that sound right?
I’ve also subscribed to your newsletter and updates so I’m looking forward to new recipes!
Thank you for a great recipe. It makes a perfect and tastes great. It’s my new go to bread recipe.
Glad to hear it, Dean – thank you so much for the review!
Looking for vital wheat gluten. I’ve come across vital wheat gluten flour and powder.. is there a difference? If so, which to use? Thank you!
As long as it says “vital wheat gluten” those should be the same thing. Some call it a flour and some a powder.
If I use traditional active dry yeast…do I use the same amount?
Yes.
I wanted to post an update for anyone having short loaves. The short answer is ***do what Jami says to a T!*** I’ve made this bread at least 15 times now and it is still a favorite. However, with the experience came a want to rush things along. I tried to rise the dough a little too fast and I wouldn’t switch the mixer paddles just went straight for the dough hook. They always tasted good and would rise, but then they would just fall while baking. I went back to doing things the long way, and by long I mean washing one extra paddle and waiting 5 more minutes for the dough to rise, and viola! Back to tall, fluffy loaves! So yummy and perfect. This recipe is already so quick and simple just leave it be 🙂 thanks Jami!
Also despite sounding like a hypocrite I did try one new thing… no method changes or recipe changes mind you, I just rolled out one of the loaves before putting it in a pan and sprinkled 2T brown sugar and 1tsp cinnamon then rolled it back up and continued as usual. Perfect lightly sweet cinnamon swirl bread. So yum. So glad this recipe exists! Perfect for a beginner like me that wants to make healthier choices for her family.
This is so great, Elle, thank you for taking the time to write this update! It’s so great to have your experience – I appreciate it as much as those making it. 🙂
And this does make a good cinnamon bread!
Absolutely the BEST whole wheat bread recipe! It is so soft and delicious. I never thought it possible using only whole wheat flour.
Yay!! Thanks for the review. 🙂
Hi! This recipe looks great. I was wondering if there’s any adjustments I have to make if Im using regular active dry yeast, rather than instant. Thanks!
Nope, both work!
This is the only recipe I have used for a long time. I have found that at least in my oven it takes 40 minutes to bake otherwise it’s a little doughy. I also use molasses most of the time because I think it tastes better. Everyone loves it.
Glad to know this, Bill – thanks!
Hi! I am wondering if I could substitute brown sugar for honey ( and if so, how much?) I have a large bag of whole wheat flour that doesn’t seem to work in my bread machine. We love the taste of the bread recipe that comes with the bread machine and it has brown sugar and milk. Since flour is hard to find in this pandemic, I want to be able to use this bag and we are not fond of honey.
Thank you!
I’m sure you can, Jill. I would try it with the full amount and see how you like the flavor, reducing as you like after tasting.
Jami, This bread came out great! My family loved it and it was so easy to make and sliced great! I love your recipes and your gardening tips. Thank you for sharing all your great ideas. Now for my question. I ran out of whole wheat flour and only have all purpose flour until the next big shopping trip. Can I substitute, and if so, do I need to change the amount of flour or any other ingredients? Thanks for your help. Jennifer
Thank you, Jennifer – I’m so glad you’re finding useful things at AOC!
I’ve never made this with only all-purpose (and actually I only buy unbleached, which has a slightly higher protein content), so I can’t really say. I do know that you typically use more flour with AP. Since you know what the dough is supposed to look like, I’d make it as-is first and then add a little at a time until it’s the consistency of the whole wheat dough.
Hope that helps!
Hello! Is it possible to omit the honey/sugar completely?
You can, but I can’t guarantee the results as a little sugar is eaten by the yeast for fast growth (ie, rise).