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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Please be sure to rate the recipe in the recipe card or leave a comment below if you have made it. For more vegetarian inspirations, Sign Up for my emails or follow me on Instagram, Youtube, Facebook, Pinterest or Twitter.
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.
Thank you for sharing this recipe. It’s the best! I have made 3 loaves in the past week. Lots of love from Malaysia
thanks a lot abigail for this awesome feedback. glad to know. happy baking.
Which mouldy is best for baking bread.
I have silicone and its burn from down.
Pls help
metal pans are always good for baking. even a glass loaf pan works well. i don’t use silicon pans for baking. but i have used both metal and glass pans for baking and both give good results. though in a glass pan, the baking takes some more time as compared to a metal pan.
Dear Dassana
Can your whole wheat bread recipe be used – successfully – for baking on pizza stones?
(e.g. the prepared dough is laid on the stones in a grill that has a cover – so correct temperature is maintained. However, no loaf-pan is used)
Also, is the vinegar (or yogurt) is for achieving a specific flavor; or there are other reasons?
Many thanks for your kindness, Uri
uri, i am not sure if the recipe can work well on a pizza stone. you will have to give a try. vinegar or lemon juice is added for a bit of acidity that helps in the gluten development in the dough. thanks a lot.
Hi dassana
Can i use sour curd fr this recipe.. The thing ‘s curd ‘s 3-4 day old..orelse should iI stick with vinegar.
Thanks sakshi
Welcome Sakshi. I would suggest to stick with vinegar.
HELLO Dassana
This is my second time making bread, unfortunately i failed in both times.
I didn’t expect it to be super fluffy like white bread but it was very dense unlike your picture.
In this recipe, I used chapatti atta flour (Albaker brand), instant yeast(saf instant brand), yogurt and olive oil.
I had high hopes in chapatti flour because it was finer than the previous flour i used.
-I store my instant yeast in the freezer.
-I used 1.5 cups of water yet it wasn’t sticky nor super smooth after kneading.
-I baked it in 9.5×5.5 inches non-stick pan in 220 C oven for 25 minutes.
-I forgot to brush the top with milk and didn’t slit the top as well.
My questions are:
Does it matter if the instant yeast in new or have been in the freezer for couple of months? and does the dough supposed to be soft and easy to work with after the first rise? because mine wasn’t that soft.
fine. dough is supposed to be soft and very easy to work with. let the instant yeast come to room temp and then add in the flour. i guess the instant yeast did not proof well. you can also use lukewarm water and mix the instant yeast in it along with the sugar. then add this mixture to the flour and knead. hope this helps.
Hii dassaana !!
I really appreciate your recipes…..My daughter loves all whichever I have tried…..I like your simple yet effective way to prepare anything….
I want to ask that what is the difference between baking soda and baking powder…..
Thanks again for such a wonderful recipe
Thanks Priyanka for your kind words. Both are different. Baking soda is pure sodium bicarbonate. Whereas Baking powder is a mixture of baking soda, corn starch and cream of tartar. Baking soda is 3 times stronger than baking powder.
Otg has two rods on top and two on bottom and we have settings to use eithet of top or bottom rods or both. Can you please tell me while baking bread which of the rods to heat??
juveria, sometimes i use both the rods and sometimes only the bottom rod. if using the top rod then you will have to be little careful as the top of the bread gets browned quickly. if you want the top crust to be browned and crusty then use the top rod along with the bottom one.
I used multigrain flour instead of whole wheat & it worked perfectly well. Thank you for the easy recipe.
Welcome Poonam. Thanks for sharing this information.
Hello mam I always follow u r recipes n all r too good .Today I made this whole wheat bread. That was nice n soft but loaf has hollow inside so I couldn’t cut that all r breaking .where was I wrong what should I do ? Plz plz suggest .
pradnya, after the first rise, the dough has to be tightly rolled or tucked and then placed in the pan. the log has to be properly made. if there are any gaps in the log, then in the second rise, the gaps will become too hollow and even after baking. you can see some youtube videos to get an idea how the dough is rolled and tucked into a log.
Hi, can this be made without any yeast at all?
without yeast the entire method changes. for this recipe yeast is required.
How much time is needed in case of active dry yeast
jagriti, i have mentioned all the details in the recipe card, if dry active yeast is used.
Hi,
I always follow ur recipes and love the way u write every thing in detail. One request, cn u provide the recipe for gluten free bread.
thanks sweety. i will try to add a gluten free bread recipe. though let me tell you it is not easy as i did try a couple of times making bread with millet flours and the breads did not turn out well. i have noted down your request but it will take me some months to add the recipe.
Thnx a lot for such a quick reply. I will be eagerly waiting for the recipe.
welcome sweety.
Hi Dassana, thank you for simplifying the art and science of bread making. I tried it but didn’t get the final rise…probably I didnot shape the liaf right…I made buns! and did not do any slashing on top….just want to check with you have you tried cold oven method any time to get the oven spring? Do you think it will be more effective? Also what do you suggest…putting the loaf in lower rack and turning on only the lower grill in OTG…can I use borosil glass loaf pan ?
An year back I had contacted you via GPlus asking which oven to buy…I just want to inform you I bought Murphy Richards 52lt and I’m in love with it…baked healthy cakes with whole wheat, oats, jaggery using only baking soda…I don’t like to use baking powder as it contains aluminium and some millet cookies…
thanks a lot akula.
i have not tried cold oven method any time. so i do not know if it works or not. i usually place the pan in the second lower rack or the top rack if making buns or a small loaf of bread. i keep both the heating elements on. i feel this helps in even baking.
you can use borosil pan, but it takes more time for baking in a glass pan as glass is not a good conductor of heat as compared to metals.
i remember you had asked. even i purchased a new oven some months back, but went for bajaj 35 litre oven, as the morphs richards 52 litre was too large for my kitchen 🙂
you can buy aluminium free baking soda. even i am using that. you will get to buy on amazon.in
Hi, baked this bread yesterday and it turned out very good! thanks ! my first ever successful bread! memorable experience!
thanks a lot nilanjana. glad 🙂
Hi dear, your recipe is very well written and very easy to follow. I bake breads often. Bread dough need a Hot Oven temperature, but on MW+CONV oven, the maximum convection temperature is 200.
I wish to add a tip to solve this issue. When preheating the oven, keep an IRON tawa (not the non-stick type) over a raised rack and preheat to 200. Then open the oven door and place the pan of dough over this tawa. The tawa will ensure the high temperature, while the raised rack will allow the airflow. Hope this will help all those who face issues of dense dough due to oven temperature. Thank you dear. Do keep up the good work ?
thanks a lot neelz for this detailed suggestion. it will surely help the readers. thanks again.