A foolproof recipe for the softest, most tender and delicious Whole Wheat Bread that’s easy to make with my step-by-step photos and secret (but super simple!) ingredient. I am sure you will love this homemade Wholemeal Bread (or Atta Bread) made with the usual bread baking staples.
About Whole Wheat Bread Recipe
This soft and tender whole wheat bread has a similar fluffy consistency as your favorite White Bread,, but with the yummy flavor and health benefits of whole wheat.
How is it possible to make such a magical loaf? After much trial and error I finally stumbled across the secret ingredient that’s key for the softest crumb.
Similar to Naan and Bhatura, my wholemeal bread recipe includes yogurt (or curd). The creamy, slightly acidic consistency of the yogurt creates a delightful texture every time! Plus, yogurt is rather mild in flavor, so you get that full earthy taste of wheat you love.
And YES, this recipe can be made vegan-friendly! The acidity of yogurt is what creates the great rise for a super soft crumb, but this can be easily replicated. Simply swap with vegan almond yogurt or cashew yogurt, or even just lemon juice or vinegar.
I have tried making the bread with cashew yogurt, lemon juice, apple cider vinegar, white vinegar and they all work well.
Below are my step-by-step photos and instructions for making the best whole wheat bread from scratch. I use my hands to knead the bread, but feel free to use a standing mixer with a dough hook instead.
This Wholemeal Bread recipe works wonderfully with any kind of baker’s yeast. Be it instant yeast (or rapid rising yeast), dry active yeast or fresh yeast.
Remember to proof dry active yeast or fresh yeast in lukewarm water. And also note that the leavening time or the time taken for the dough to rise will be more when using these two types of yeast.
Note: To make this wholemeal bread, I have used instant yeast (rapid rising yeast). In the recipe card below I have mentioned proportions if using dry active yeast or fresh yeast.
How to make Whole Wheat Bread
Proof Yeast
1. In a large bowl or in the bowl of a standing mixer, add ½ cup of water and 1 tablespoon of raw sugar. The water can be room temperature or lukewarm.
However, if using active dry yeast or fresh yeast, then be sure to use lukewarm water.
Wondering which yeast to choose? The leavening and rising time of instant yeast is faster compared to dry active yeast. You also don’t need to proof the instant yeast like the dry active yeast, but I still show you the full proofing method to help if you are using dry active yeast.
2. To the bowl add 1 teaspoon of instant yeast (rapid rise yeast).
If using dry active yeast, add 1.5 teaspoons. Swirl the bowl around or stir with a spoon to help the yeast dissolve in the water.
3. Mix well and let the yeast proof for 10 to 15 minutes.
Make Wholemeal Bread Dough
4. Now to the frothy yeast water mixture, add 3 cups of whole wheat flour (360 grams), 1 teaspoon of salt, 2 tablespoons of your favorite neutral flavored oil (or butter or ghee) and 2 tablespoons of yogurt (curd).
For a vegan-friendly loaf: Use either 1 tablespoon of lemon juice or apple cider vinegar, or 2 tablespoons of almond or cashew yogurt in place of dairy yogurt.
5. Mix well with a spoon.
6. Add ½ cup of water in parts as you mix.
7. Now begin to knead the mixture into a soft dough, adding water at intervals as needed.
8. The dough will be slightly sticky at first, but it will be fine after the initial rise. If the dough looks dry, however, you can add some more water.
Work in 1 tablespoon at a time. If the dough looks too sticky (is actively sticking to your hands), then sprinkle in a bit of flour.
Knead very well for a total of 8 to 10 minutes to get a supple, pliable and soft dough. A slightly sticky dough is fine.
Proof Dough (First Rise)
9. Flatten the dough to fill the bottom of the bowl. Lightly brush the top of the dough with water.
10. Place a towel over the bowl, and proof the dough for 30 to 35 minutes if you have used instant yeast.
For dry active yeast, give a time of about 1.5 to 2 hours for the dough to double in size.
11. After the initial rise, the dough should be nearly double in size like in the photo below.
12. Use your fist to punch the dough lightly into the bowl, and knead again lightly.
Shape to a Loaf and Proof Loaf (Second Rise)
13. Work the wholemeal bread dough out of the bowl and onto a clean work surface. Roll into a ball.
14. Now form the dough into a log, and gently pinch the edges into a seam.
15. Place the dough log into a greased 9×5 inch loaf pan. Cover again with a kitchen towel and let rise.
- If you have used instant yeast – leaven for 20 to 30 minutes.
- For dry active yeast or fresh yeast – set aside for 45 minutes to 1 hour or more depending on the temperature conditions.
16. While the dough leavens, preheat the oven for 20 minutes at 220 degrees celsius (425 degrees Fahrenheit).
If using a convection oven or oven with a fan, then preheat at 200 or 205 degrees celsius (400 degrees Fahrenheit) for 20 minutes.
Score and Bake Whole Wheat Bread
17. Make a ¼ inch cross or slits on the bread. This helps the steam escape as the bread bakes, and creates a tender and soft loaf.
18. Lightly brush the top of the loaf with milk (dairy or vegan). You can even brush with some oil or butter or ghee.
This is an optional step but it definitely gives a lovely golden color and also a perfectly chewy crust and moistest crumb.
19. Bake in the preheated oven for 22 to 25 mins. If using a convection oven, shorten bake time by a few minutes.
20. Bake the whole wheat bread dough until the top crust is golden.
Remove the bread from the oven and let it sit for a few minutes to cool. Then gently tap on top of the loaf: if baked properly, the bread should should hollow.
If the bread does not sound hollow, put it back in the oven to bake for a few more minutes.
21. While the wheat bread is still hot, carefully remove it from the pan (using oven mittens/gloves) and place it on a wire rack to cool.
The bottom of your loaf will get soggy if you leave it in the pan for too long!
Let the Atta Bread cool completely before slicing with a serrated knife.
Serving Suggestions
Enjoy homemade whole wheat bread sliced with butter, ghee, jams, peanut butter, or any of your favorite spreads.
You can also use this wholemeal bread or atta bread to make various recipes like sandwiches, Bread Pakora, Bread Roll etc.
I love to make Veg Sandwich, Paneer Sandwich, and Cheese Sandwich with this atta bread.
Storage
Once cooled, wrap in a cling film or keep in a bread box at room temperature for up to one week. If you live in a warm or hot place, refrigerate the wheat loaf.
To freeze, place the whole wheat loaf in an airtight bag after wrapping in cling film, and keep in the freezer for up to 1 month.
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Whole Wheat Bread | Wholemeal Bread (Atta Bread)
Ingredients
- 3 cups whole wheat flour (regular whole wheat flour or chapati atta) – 360 grams
- 1 cup water divided, depending on quality of flour, can add upto 1.25 cups water
- 1 teaspoon instant yeast or 1.5 teaspoons dry active yeast or 1 tablespoon fresh yeast
- 1 teaspoon salt or edible rock salt or pink salt
- 1 tablespoon raw sugar or white granulated sugar
- 2 tablespoons oil or softened butter or ghee (clarified butter)
- 2 tablespoons yogurt (dairy or vegan) or 1 to 1.5 tablespoon vinegar or 1 tablespoon lemon juice
- 2 to 3 teaspoons milk (dairy or vegan), for brushing the top of the bread, optional
Instructions
Proofing yeast
- In a large bowl or in the bowl of a standing mixer, add ½ cup of water and 1 tablespoon of raw sugar. The water can be room temperature or lukewarm.But, if using active dry yeast or fresh yeast, then make sure to use lukewarm water.
- To the bowl add 1 teaspoon of instant yeast (rapid rising yeast).If using dry active yeast – add 1.5 teaspoons of it. Swirl the bowl around or stir with a spoon to help the yeast dissolve in the water.
- Let this mixture sit for 10 to 12 minutes until the yeast activates.
Forming Whole Wheat Dough
- Next to the frothy yeast water mixture, add the whole wheat flour, salt, preferred neutral flavored oil (or butter or ghee) and yogurt.
- Mix with a spoon.
- Next add ½ cup of water bit by bit and begin to knead for 8 to 10 minutes or as needed.
- Knead to a soft, supple and smooth dough. A well kneaded dough which when stretched should not tear.
- Add more water if required while kneading. The dough can be slightly sticky.
- Brush some water all over the dough and keep in a deep wide bowl covered with a lid or kitchen towel for 30 to 35 minutes if you have used instant yeast.If dry active yeast or fresh yeast has been used – keep in the covered bowl to leaven for 1.5 to 2 hours or more until the dough doubles.
- After the initial rise, the dough will be double in size. Remove and then lightly punch and knead the dough again.
- On a clean work surface roll the dough into a neat ball.
- Make a log of the dough and gently pinch the edges into a seam – meaning tuck in the edges at the corners.
- Place the prepared dough log in a greased 9×5 inches loaf pan with tucked edges facing downwards. Cover with kitchen towel again.
- Cover and let it rise the second time for 20 to 30 minutes if you have used instant yeast.For dry active yeast or fresh yeast – set aside for 45 minutes to 1 hour or more depending on the temperature conditions in your city or town.
Baking wheat bread
- Preheat the oven at 220 degrees C/425 degrees F for at-least 20 minutes.
- Once the bread has risen in the loaf pan, make a ¼ inch cross or slits on the bread. This helps the steam escape as the bread bakes, and creates a tender and soft loaf.
- Keep the loaf pan in the oven and bake at 220 degrees C/425 degrees F for 22 to 25 minutes or until the bread sounds hollow when tapped.
- While baking, if the wheat bread begins to brown too much from the top, then cover with parchment paper or aluminium foil.
- Remove the bread from the oven and let it sit for a few minutes to cool. Then gently tap on top of the loaf: if baked properly, the bread should should hollow.If the bread does not sound hollow, put it back in the oven to bake for a few more minutes.
- When the bread is still hot, remove it from the loaf pan using oven mittens/gloves and keep it on a wired tray to cool.
- Let the Wholemeal Bread loaf cool completely before slicing it with a serrated knife.
- Enjoy homemade Whole Wheat Bread sliced with butter, ghee, jams, peanut butter, or any of your favorite spreads. Or use the Atta Bread to make your favorite sandwiches or snacks from bread.
- Store bread in the fridge for about a week or the freezer for about a month.
Video
Nutrition Info (Approximate Values)
This Whole Wheat Bread recipe from the archives first published in December 2013 has been updated and republished on December 2022.
Dear Dassana
Am really impressed and touched by your prompt reply . I was given this block of KF instant yeast by somebody and want to make your recipe of atta bread . My concern is since it’s a block how am I supposed to measure1tblsp and how to use it . Should I follow the 1st or the second method to make the dough rise well . The solar dry yeast did not rise at all during my previous attempt . Would be very grateful if you could guide me as I am a cancer warrior and not allowed readymade processed breads. Am not allowed sugar too so can I use jaggery instead ?
Thanks
Renu
thanks renu. can you slice or break the block. i was using a block of fresh yeast and i could easily slice it and measure. is it fresh yeast or instant yeast. if using fresh yeast, use 1 tablespoon and if using instant yeast, use 1 teaspoon. both fresh yeast and instant yeast are different. fresh yeast can be in the form of block. instant yeast is in the form of fine granules, so i am figuring out how it can be a block. for fresh yeast, you have to follow the second method and for instant yeast, follow the first method.
you can add jaggery. a pinch is also fine. the yeast cells feed on the sugar and hence sugar is added. but the starches are also sugar compounds, so in some recipes they don’t add sugar and the yeast cells feed on the starch sugars. if you want you can skip the jaggery entirely.
avoid ready made anything be it bread or any other food product as they use a lot of preservatives and additives which are detrimental to health.
i wish you all the best in your healing and i hope the universe guides as well as helps you. take care.
Hi
Can I use block of fresh yeast to make this bread and if yes how much ? I did make it with solar yeast but the result was far from desirable
Thanks .
Renu
renu, you can use fresh yeast. 1 tablespoon fresh yeast.
Hi Dassanana,
I made this is in convection on 200 degree for 18 mins. It turned out good!
Thanks for the easy recipe.
thanks aesha for sharing the temp and the time. it will help readers. also thanks for the feedback on the atta bread recipe.
Hi Dassana,
I have tried this whole wheat bread recipe several times, but i always notice that although till the 2nd rise the dough rises perfectly well, the bread dough does not rise in the oven. What could be the reason.??
Btw Thank you for all your lovely recipes and really appreciate your humility inspite of being on top of the game..
thank you parvathy for the kind words. coming back to your query, ideally if the bread rises well both the times, then it should rise in the oven too. could be that the temperature in the oven is less. also the oven has to be preheated for minimum of 15 minutes. when the bread pan goes in, the oven has to be hot. try baking at a higher temperature in your oven. you can increase the temperture to 15 to 20 degrees more than what is mentioned in the recipe. also calibrate your oven to check the temperature. on google, you will get to know the calibration method using a thermometer. if the temperature shows less or more than what you have set, then you may need to call the company service person. hope this helps.
Hi Dassana…I am a regular visitor… I tried this recipe and it did come out well…Thanks for these easy and yummy recipes!!! 🙂
welcome remya. glad to know this.
hello…
i tried this recipe today using active dry yeast. but i found tht my dough did not raise enough. after both steps it was same. i used yeast of some indian make. can u suggest what might hv gone wrong.
thank u
the yeast has not proofed well or the quality is not good. thats why the dough has not risen enough. you can buy good quality yeast from online baking stores.
hello, I made the bread and it was baked, but after cutting the bread i felt that its not baked properly from inside basically the middle part, also it felt lil sour
sourness could be due to yeast. you can keep the bread again and continue to bake it in a preheated oven. if the top starts getting too browned, then cover with an aluminium foil.
Can you please provide the name and brand of instant yeast used as the link you provided does not open
its mauripan/gloripan brand. same company but for instant yeast, they label as mauripan and for dry active yeast as gloripan.
I have prepared d dough for baking bread..can dis diugh be used for whole wheat pizza also…given in dis recpie yoghurt is addex nd in pizza recpie ira not added
if you use this bread for pizza, it will taste like a bread pizza. you can use this dough. but the taste and flavor that comes from pizza bread will be not there. hope this helps.
I tried this recipe today . It was found good . One thing why it raised from the centre probably bec I did nt cover it . moreover I kept it raised for two to three hrs bec I had to go somewhere…moreover it came out very good but it got cooked in only 10 min ..is it ok …moreover it got breaky when I cut it into slices..may be bec I did it when it was hot ..PlZ reply me …
thanks amber. did you use the microwave oven. 10 minutes is a less time to baek. breads and cakes should always be cooled down before slicing. otherwise they break, when sliced when they are hot or warm.
my oven has max of 200 degree so how much minute I need to do
use 200 degrees and it will take approx 30 to 35 minutes. though time may vary.
Hi Daasana, Thanks for the recipe ! Since it was the first time I was making the bread the result was goood.!! Howevr there were some issues with it…which i want to tackle before i make it next time !
1. The bread I made was very dense and , there was uneven cooking with outer cooking too quickly and inner bread remaining little bit under-cooked . I used the Solar Dry Active yeast .. which step did i get wrong.
2. Another issue I had was that the taste of the bread was little bit sour . Is it the taste of yoghurt or did i add too much yeast to my bread ?
Hope you can help me with it, thanks in advance.
welcome ankit. your queries answered
1. denseness could be due to the yeast not proofing very well. most of the times denseness of the bread is related to the quality of yeast or the yeast not getting active. the mixture should be bubbly and frothy. the water should be lukewarm and not hot or at a slightly cool temperature. here is how the solution should look after proofing – https://www.vegrecipesofindia.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/03/garlic-bread4.jpg
2. the sourness of yogurt is not felt in the bread. the sourness is due to too much of yeast.
hope this helps.
Thanks for the help. Will go easy on yeast next time.
I tried your 100 % wheat pizza recipe , and it was the best homemade pizza i ever had. Everything was so perfect, thanks for it.
I have few things to ask regarding the bread as well as the pizza base, hope you can help me. Firstly if i double the recipe should i also double the yeast quantity or not. Also, if i want to store the pizza dough for 2-3 days , will it stay fresh or not.
Thanks in advance.
welcome ankit and thanks for the feedback on the whole wheat pizza.
you can easily double or triple the recipe. the quantity of yeast will also double or triple. you can refrigerate or freeze the dough. refrigerated the dough stays good for a week and freezed can be a month.
Hi. Can this recipe useful to make bread in bread maker?
you can i suppose. i do not have a bread maker. but from what i have read and seen, basic recipes can be made in the bread maker.
I tried this recipe yesterday and it turned out so amazingly well. The recipe is so precise and perfect. Thanx!
thanks a lot shruti. nice to know 🙂
Hi, Daasana! Thanks for your reply and thanks for this wonderful and easy recipe! I made second batch today. It still delicious! The loaf I made only will last for two days in my house..My family love to eat bread everyday! For the second batch I used olive oil and my bread was lighter compare the first batch I made. About the wheat bran, I am not sure whether they sell them at the nearby store. I will surely use it if able to find it. On the other hand, if I want to mix the whole wheat flour with maida flour/all-purpose flour, how many cups should I use it for this recipe? Thanks!
welcome siyamala. you can easily increase the proportions and double the recipe. if you have a large oven, you can make two loaves at one go. at times i add 1/2 cup of maida to 2.5 cups of atta. this is the ratio i follow often. though you can also add 1 cup maida to 2 cups atta. if you use 1/2 cup of maida, then do add the vinegar or curd. if you use 1 cup of maida, then no need to add vinegar or curd.