1 lb Bread Machine 100% Whole Wheat Bread

This 1 lb bread machine 100% whole wheat bread is full of fiber and makes a great sandwich bread. It is perfect for anyone loves the flavor of whole wheat and who wants to add a little extra fiber to their diet.

FYI – This recipe uses 100% whole wheat and not a blend of whole wheat flour & bread flour.

Recipe Sections

1. Ingredients
2. Instructions
3. Helpful Tips

This 1 lb bread machine 100% whole wheat bread recipe is ONLY for small compact bread machines (such as the Briskind Compact Bread Maker or Zojirushi Mini Breadmaker). 1 lb bread machine recipes do NOT work well in bread machines that have 2 lb or greater loaf capacities. See the tips section below for more information.

Loaf of Bread Machine 100% Whole Wheat Bread

Ingredients

• 3/4 Cup – Milk (warm) – 177 milliliters
• 2 Tablespoons – Unsalted Butter (softened) – 29 grams – If desired, you can replace the butter in this recipe with an equivalent amount of olive oil.
• 2 Cups – Whole Wheat Flour – 290 grams – Recipe based on using regular “supermarket” whole wheat flour and not freshly milled flour. See tips below.
• 2 1/2 Tablespoons – Light Brown Sugar (packed) – 33 grams – If you prefer non-sweet whole wheat breads, you should use only 1 tablespoons of light brown sugar.
• 1 Teaspoon – Salt – 6 grams
• 1 Teaspoon – Bread Machine Yeast (Instant Yeast) – 3.6 grams – Not active dry yeast

Servings – Roughly 9 slices

Equipment Needed – Measuring cup & spoons, silicone spatula, oven mitts, cooling rack and a bread machine.

Ingredients in Bread Pan

Instructions

• Bread machine settings – 1 pound loaf, light color and “whole wheat” bread setting.
• Soften the butter in your microwave. FYI – I like to semi-melt the butter for better “mixability”.
• Unplug your bread machine.
• Remove the bread pan from the unplugged bread machine (so when you add the ingredients, they can not accidentally spill into the machine).
• Pour the milk into the bread pan and then add the other ingredients. Place the bread machine yeast in last and the yeast should not touch the liquid or salt (until the bread machine is turned on and the ingredients start to be mixed together by the bread machine). Put the bread pan with ingredients back into the unplugged bread machine.
• Plug in bread machine. Enter the correct settings (1 lb, light color & whole wheat bread) and press the “start” button.
• When the bread machine has finished baking the bread, unplug the bread machine and remove the bread pan from the bread machine. Wear oven mitts as the bread pan & bread machine will be hot.
• Remove the bread from the bread pan and place the bread on a cooling rack. Use oven mitts when removing the bread as the bread & bread pan will be hot.
• Let the bread cool on the cooling rack for 1-2 hours before cutting.
• Please read the tips section below for extra information on how to make this recipe successfully & to avoid common bread machine problems.

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Helpful Tips

• The tips below are designed to help bread machine “novices” and those who haven’t touched their bread machine in years.
• Click on this “print recipe” link if you want to print out this recipe. It includes all of the recipe’s ingredients and instructions. However, the recipe print function does not include my tips section. Please read the tips section in order to avoid common recipe problems.
• This recipe is part of Bread Dad’s series on easy 1 lb Bread Machine Recipes such as banana bread, buttery white bread, oatmeal bread and multigrain white bread.

• This is the 1 lb version of my larger Bread Machine 100% Whole Wheat Bread recipe (which focuses on 1.5 lb & 2 lb loaves).
• This is a recipe for 100% whole wheat bread. It does NOT produce a fluffy white bread. My 1 lb bread machine 100% whole wheat bread is a coarser, darker & more natural bread than most breads made with bread flour or all purpose flour.
• As you probably know, whole wheat breads tend to be denser (less airy) than breads made with bread flour. Whole wheat flour contains less gluten than bread flour. Therefore, a bread that uses 100% whole wheat flour will not rise as well as a bread made with bread flour. Why? Gluten helps to traps the CO2 produced by the yeast inside the bread. Thus using a flour with more gluten results more internal “air” pockets and a higher rise to the bread. Conversely, using flour with less gluten results in less “air” pockets and a denser bread.
• If you are looking for a softer & airier whole wheat bread, you should try my 1 lb Soft Bread Machine Whole Wheat Bread (because it uses a 50/50 blend of whole wheat flour and bread flour).

• My recipe is based on using regular whole wheat flour (from the supermarket) and NOT freshly milled flour. Recipes using freshly milled flour require more moisture than recipes using regular whole wheat flour. If you use freshly milled flour (instead of supermarket-type whole wheat flour) then your bread might come out too dry (if you are using this recipe).
• Use relatively NEW whole wheat flour or your bread will taste strange (or even bad). Whole wheat flour has been refined less than all-purpose flour or bread flour. This means whole wheat flour has more of its natural bran and germ. Wheat bran & germ are rich in natural oils. Unfortunately, the presence of these oils also means that whole wheat flour is faster to spoil than all-purpose flour or bread flour.
• Whole wheat flour can spoil quickly (turn “rancid”) when left in your pantry at room temperature. Whole wheat flour does not last nearly as long as all-purpose flour or bread flour at room temperature.
• Whole wheat flour generally only lasts for 2-3 months at room temperature in the pantry. In contrast, all purpose flour & bread flour may last for 6-12 months at room temperature (depending on storage conditions).
• As you probably know, whole wheat flour is less processed than most bread flours & all purpose flours. Therefore, whole wheat flour retains more of the wheat grain’s natural nutrients & fiber versus more refined bread flours & all purpose flours.
• Whole wheat flour also contains more insoluble fiber than most bread flours and all purpose flours. As you probably know, insoluble fiber helps to keep things “moving” through your digestive system. For more fiber information, please read the Wikipedia article on dietary fiber.

• Try to keep your ingredients (e.g. whole wheat flour) in airtight food containers in order to extend their shelf life. Airtight containers protect ingredients from pests, dust, slows oxidation, etc.
• Important – Whole wheat flour (if stored in an open bag and not in an airtight container) can absorb a lot of moisture from the air. This extra moisture throws off recipes and can lead to bread collapses, etc.
• Strange but true – Whole wheat flour absorbs moisture from the air faster than bread flour and all purpose flour. The bran in whole wheat flour is “hygroscopic” which means that it attracts and retains water. In contrast, bread flour and all purpose flour have very little bran. Bread flour and all purpose still absorb moisture from the air but at a slower rate than whole wheat flour.
• I like to look at the dough about 5 minutes after I press the start button on my machine. If looks a little too wet, I will add some flour (a little bit at a time) until the dough reaches the right consistency. Check your bread machine’s instruction manual on how to do this safely & effectively with your specific machine.
• Some bakers like to store their whole wheat flour in an airtight container in the freezer for longer-term storage. An airtight container and cold storage slow the oxidation (spoiling) of whole wheat flour.
• Other bakers like to buy only small batches of whole wheat flour so they don’t have extra whole wheat flour sitting around for months. This forces them to buy fresh whole wheat flour versus using leftover flour that has potentially spoiled in their pantry.

• As I stated at the top of the page, this recipe is ONLY for small compact bread machines.
• 1 lb bread machine recipes generally do NOT work well in larger machines with 2 lb loaf capacities, especially if the machines have 2 paddles or a wide horizontal bread pan. However, some visitors have success making 1 lb recipes in a 2 lb “compact” bread machine with a vertical-oriented bread pan (a pan with a square bottom that mainly pushes the bread upwards versus a pan with a wide rectangular bottom)
• If you use larger bread machines with 2 paddles or a wide horizontal bread pan, a 1 lb loaf usually comes out more like a pancake (with lots of exterior crust and less of the soft interior).
• If your bread machine says that it makes 1lb, 1.5 lb AND 2 lb loaves, it will probably have a problem with smaller loaves. Generally, a bread machine is good at making small loaves OR larger loaves (usually not both).
• FYI – I have added a page to Bread Dad with the Bread Machine Pan Sizes for a number of popular bread machines. This should help you to determine if your machine is capable of handling Bread Dad’s 1 lb, 1.5 lb or 2 lb recipes.

• WARNING – Since 1 lb recipes use smaller amounts of ingredients, it is easier to mess up 1 lb recipes!! There is less room for measuring errors versus larger loaves. To make 1 lb loaf recipes successfully, you need to measure accurately (no eyeballing ingredients).
• The top of your bread can sometimes be a little lumpy due to the smaller amounts of ingredients in a 1 lb loaf. Why? Because, as I stated above, there is less room for measurement errors in small loaves versus large loaves. A little too much moisture or flour has a bigger impact on a 1 lb loaf versus a 2 lb loaf.
• To make my 1 lb bread machine recipes, I own & use a Briskind Compact Bread Maker Machine. In case you are interested, another popular (but more expensive) bread machine focused on making 1 lb loaves is the Zojirushi Zojirushi BB-HAC10 Mini Breadmaker.
• In case you are looking at getting a bread machine to make 1 lb recipes, here are some of the benefits of a small compact bread machine; 1 lb loaves are perfect for single people or people who don’t want a ton of bread, a compact machine takes up less space in the kitchen (so more convenient for an apartment versus buying a giant bread machine), it uses less energy than a large bread machine, it creates smaller sandwich slices (sometimes, in my opinion, the slices from 2 lb loaves are too large – especially for kids), etc.
• The disadvantages of a small compact bread machine; small bread pan capacity (so you can’t make a larger loaf if you have guests coming over), not many online recipes are focused on 1 lb loaves, sometimes 1 lb loaves have more uneven crusts (vs bread made with larger horizontal bread pans), etc.
• Visitors – What compact bread machine did you use to make this recipe (such as Briskind Compact Bread Maker or Zojirushi Mini Breadmaker)? Please post your machine & any compact bread machine tips in the comment section below.

• This recipe uses the “whole wheat” setting since it uses 100% whole wheat flour. In contrast, my 1lb Soft Whole Wheat Bread Recipe uses the “basic/white bread” setting because it is a 50/50 blend of whole wheat and bread flour.
• Do NOT use cold milk. The main problem with using regular milk is that people tend to use cold refrigerated milk and this can slow the yeast growth. Try to use warm milk (or instant powdered milk mixed into warm water). However, you should also be aware that the milk/water should not be too hot because very hot milk/water can kill the yeast.
• Optional – If you are out of dairy milk (or do not want to use dairy milk), you can replace it with soy milk, oat milk, water, etc. I use whole milk because it adds a little extra flavor to the bread but you should use a milk substitute that is best for your family.
• Optional – If you do not have butter, you can replace it with a neutral tasting vegetable oil (e.g. canola oil, corn oil or light/mild olive oil) on a 1 to 1 basis.
• Optional – If you are trying to cut down on saturated fat and want a healthier bread, you can replace the butter in this recipe with an equivalent amount of olive oil.
• If you liked this 1 lb bread machine recipe, you might also like to try Bread Dad’s other 1 lb bread machine recipes such as buttery 1 lb Bread Machine White Bread, 1 lb Bread Machine Multigrain Bread and 1 lb Bread Machine Oatmeal Bread.

• This recipe uses bread machine yeast (instant yeast) and NOT active dry yeast.
• Many bakers like to make a small pocket in the top of the flour in order to hold the bread machine yeast in place (looks sort of like a small flour volcano with a yeast crater). This is done to prevent the yeast from falling into the liquid ingredients (and activating prematurely), coming into contact with the salt, etc. until the bread machine is turned on.
• When adding the yeast, it should be placed in a position that is away from the salt (e.g. yeast in the middle “pocket” and salt on the side of the pan). Close contact with salt can kill or slow the growth of the yeast.
• FYI – This recipe uses more yeast & salt than my 1 lb Soft Whole Wheat Bread Recipe since it uses 100% whole wheat flour (and does not contain any bread flour – unlike my soft whole wheat bread recipe). Given this lack of bread flour, this recipe needs more yeast to help it rise properly. Of course, an increase in yeast requires an increase in salt in order to moderate the growth of the yeast (and avoid the yeast growing too quickly/out of control & causing the dough to collapse back on itself).
• I would recommend NOT reducing the salt in this recipe. You generally want to keep the salt-to-yeast ratio at a 1:1 basis in most bread recipes (1:1 based on teaspoons to teaspoons and NOT grams to grams). The salt moderates the growth of the yeast. If you cut the salt (and disrupt this 1:1 ratio), the yeast will grow faster than expected. In turn, this leads to more bread collapses (because the yeast rises too high and then craters in the middle) and/or results in “slack” less manageable dough. In addition, less salt will impact the flavor and browning of the bread.

• Having trouble with bread collapses & misshapen bread tops? Make sure to read Bread Dad’s article on Bread Machine Bread Collapses. It has reasons for and solutions to potential bread collapses.
• If your bread comes out too dense, it is likely due to one of the following reasons; You are using old or stale yeast, using a cold refrigerator temperature liquid (which slows yeast growth), baking in a cold winter temperature kitchen, using all purpose flour (versus bread flour as called for in the recipe), placing salt on top of or next to the yeast (salt kills yeast so it must be placed away from the yeast in the bread pan), etc. For more reasons, you should visit Bread Dad’s Why Is My Bread Machine Bread So Dense? page.
• For information on other possible errors, please visit my Common Bread Machine Mistakes page.

• If you start substituting ingredients (e.g. using different types of flour not called for in the recipe), you are experimenting and should not expect similar results to the recipe shown above. Experimenting can be fun. However, you should expect some successes but more potential disappointments when you start to experiment with recipes. For example, if you substitute whole wheat flour for the bread flour, you will probably experience a problem (as whole wheat flour doesn’t rise nearly as well as bread flour). Moreover, whole wheat flour has a totally different flavor.
• If you have a problem with a bread machine recipe, please make sure that you are following the recipe exactly (e.g. using the correct bread machine settings), you are using the correct amount of an ingredient (e.g. don’t eyeball the measurements versus using a measurement cup or accidentally add a teaspoon when a tablespoon is called for), you are using the correct ingredients (e.g. bread machine yeast versus active dry yeast or bread flour versus all purpose flour), etc. Please don’t “wing” things with recipes.
• If you haven’t used your bread machine in a long time, please buy some NEW bread machine yeast before making your bread. Old yeast can die or lose its potency and this will lead to bread that does not rise properly. Bread machine yeast may not be viable if it has been sitting in your pantry for years.
• FYI – Bread machine yeast loses its potency over time. Generally, bread machine yeast lasts for only 3-4 months after you have opened the bottle. However, if the yeast is exposed to air & moisture (e.g. the bottle not sealed tight) or exposed to higher temperatures, the yeast will expire even more quickly.

• Kitchen humidity can impact a recipe. A winter kitchen tends to be drier due to your heating system drying out the air. In contrast, a kitchen in the summer can be much more humid. This change in humidity impacts baking as flour can soak up humidity from the air. Therefore, you might have to add 1-2 teaspoons of liquid in the winter if the dough is looking too dry. Or you might have to add 1-2 teaspoons of flour in the summer if the dough is looking too wet. If your kitchen is very dry or humid, you might have to add even a little more (but start with 1 teaspoon at a time until you achieve the right consistency). Of course, excessive kitchen humidity or dryness can impact a recipe at any time during the year (not just in the summer & winter)!
• Humidity is also one of the reasons that people should store flour in an airtight container (if they have already opened the flour package). Flour (not in airtight containers) can pick up extra moisture from the air while sitting in the pantry. This can throw off recipes, spoil the flavor, degrade shelf life, etc.

• You can also use this homemade bread to make one of Bread Dad’s hot & toasty Grilled Cheese & Panini Sandwich Recipes such as air fryer grilled cheese, chicken paninis and ham & cheese paninis.
• My recipes are based on US ingredient measurements (e.g. US cups & tablespoons). However, as a courtesy to our European visitors, I have also included some very ROUGH European equivalents (e.g. grams & milliliters). Since I rarely use European measurements when baking, please let me know in the comment section below if any of the European ingredient measurements need to be changed (e.g. for XYZ ingredient, milliliters are more commonly used versus the grams information listed in the recipe).
• Always wear oven mitts/gloves when dealing with a bread machine. The bread pan and the rest of the bread machine can get very hot during the baking process. This means that the bread pan and bread machine is likely to be very hot when you attempt to remove a baked good from the bread machine and/or bread pan.
• For more easy bread ideas, please visit Bread Dad’s sections on Bread Machine Recipes and Homemade Bread Recipes.

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Reference Sources

1. Wikipedia, Bread Machine
2. Wikipedia, Dietary Fiber
3. Wikipedia, Whole Wheat Bread

Related Recipes

1. 1 lb Bread Machine All Purpose Bread
2. 1 lb Bread Machine Multigrain Bread
3. 1 lb Bread Machine Oatmeal Bread
4. 1 lb Bread Machine White Bread
5. Bread Machine 100% Whole Wheat Bread – 1.5 & 2 lb recipes
6. Soft Whole Wheat Bread – Oven baked

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