100% Whole Wheat Bread Machine Recipe

This 100% whole wheat bread machine recipe is delicious & packed with wheat fiber. It is a great bread esp. if you trying to add more fiber to your diet. Moreover, since it is made with a bread machine, it is easy to make. You just add the ingredients and let the bread machine do the hard work of mixing and kneading.

My homemade bread recipe is best for families who enjoy the more “natural” taste & texture of 100% whole wheat bread.

100% Whole Wheat Bread Machine Recipe

Recipe Sections

1. Ingredients
2. Instructions
3. Helpful Tips

Recipe Rating 4.74 from 76 votes Featured Comment Allison “This is a keeper! I substituted oat milk since my husband is dairy free. I added 2 tbs of ground flax seeds and 1/4 cup of mixed seeds. It’s perfect! I was thrilled to find a recipe that was truly 100% whole wheat flour, required no vital wheat gluten, and could be made in a bread maker. Thank you!!!”

This bread machine 100% whole bread takes me about 5-10 minutes to prepare & clean up as the bread machine is doing most of the work (mixing, kneading and baking). For overall time (including baking time), please see the recipe card lower down on the page. FYI – You will also find a printable and “pin-able” recipe at the bottom of the page.

Slices of 2 lb Bread Machine Whole Wheat Bread

FYI – For details on how to make a 1 lb version of this recipe (for small compact bread machines), please visit my 1 lb Bread Machine 100% Whole Wheat Bread page.

Ingredients – 100% Whole Wheat Bread Machine Recipe – 1.5 lb Setting

• 1 1/4 Cups – Milk (warm) – 285 milliliters
• 3 Tablespoons – Unsalted Butter (softened) – 43 grams – If desired, you can replace the butter in this recipe with an equivalent amount of olive oil.
• 3 Cups – Whole Wheat Flour – 435 grams – Recipe based on using regular “supermarket” whole wheat flour and not freshly milled flour. See tips below.
• 1/4 Cup – Light Brown Sugar (packed) – 54 grams – If you prefer non-sweet whole wheat breads, you should use only 2 tablespoons of light brown sugar.
• 1 1/4 Teaspoons – Salt – 7.5 grams
• 1 1/4 Teaspoons – Bread Machine Yeast (Instant Yeast) – 4.5 grams – Not active dry yeast

Ingredients – 100% Whole Wheat Bread Machine Recipe – 2 lb Setting

• 1 5/8 Cups – Milk (warm) – 385 milliliters – FYI – 1 5/8 cups equals 1 1/2 cups plus 2 tablespoons
• 4 Tablespoons – Unsalted Butter (softened) – 57 grams – If desired, you can replace the butter in this recipe with an equivalent amount of olive oil.
• 4 Cups – Whole Wheat Flour – 580 grams – Recipe based on using regular “supermarket” whole wheat flour and not freshly milled flour. See tips below.
• 1/3 Cup – Light Brown Sugar (packed) – 72 grams – If you prefer non-sweet whole wheat breads, you should use only 2 tablespoons of light brown sugar.
• 1 3/4 Teaspoons – Salt – 10.5 grams
• 1 3/4 Teaspoons – Bread Machine Yeast (Instant Yeast) – 6.3 grams – Not active dry yeast

Servings – Roughly 12 slices

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

Whole Wheat Bread Ingredients in a Bread Pan (Yeast in the Center)

Key Ingredient – 100% Whole Wheat Flour

Instructions – 100% Whole Wheat Bread Machine Recipe

• Bread Machine Settings – Whole Wheat, 1.5 lb or 2 lb, Light Color
• Unplug your bread machine. Remove the bread pan from the bread machine (so when you add the ingredients to the bread pan, 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).
• Place the bread pan (with ingredients) back into the unplugged bread machine.
• Plug in the bread machine. Enter the correct settings (Whole Wheat, 1.5 lb or 2 lb, Light Color) and press the “Start” button.
• After the bread machine has finished, unplug the bread machine and remove the bread pan. Use oven mitts when removing the bread machine bread pan because it will be very hot!
• Remove the bread from the bread loaf pan and place the bread on a wire cooling rack. Let the bread cool down on the cooling rack for at least 30 to 60 minutes.
• After removing the bread from the bread loaf pan, don’t forget to remove the mixing paddle if it is stuck in the bread. Use oven mitts as the mixing paddle will be very hot coming out of the bread machine. Or wait until the bread is completely cooled and then remove the mixing paddle.
• 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. Please follow the recipe instructions carefully and read all of the tips below in order to maximize the success of your baking.
• 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 Bread Machine Recipes such as banana bread, extra soft white bread, bagels and French bread.

• This is a recipe for 100% whole wheat bread. It does NOT produce a fluffy white bread. 100% whole wheat bread is a coarser, darker & more natural bread.
• For this recipe, you should use the “whole wheat” setting on your bread machine (not the basic/white bread setting). This setting name can vary between manufacturers. It might be called “whole wheat”, “whole grain”, “wheat”, etc. Check your manual for the correct setting used on YOUR machine for 100% whole wheat recipes.
• 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. 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. Of course, vice versa, 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 Bread Machine Whole Wheat Bread (because it uses a 50/50 blend of whole wheat flour and bread flour).

• Try making my 1.5 lb version FIRST unless you have a very large bread machine. Why? Some 2 lb capacity bread machines have smaller pans than other machines. After making the 1.5 lb version & you still have a lot of room in your pan then you can try the 2 lb version. If you do not have a lot of room left in the pan then you do not want to make the 2 lb version.
• I have also 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. For example, some bread machines with a “2 lb loaf capacity” are better suited for my 1.5 lb recipes (as they can’t handle larger 2 lb recipes) and some are better with my 2 lb recipes (as their bread pans have lots of extra space).
• This recipe will not work in a bread machine that has only 1 lb loaf capacity such as Zojirushi Home Bakery Mini Breadmaker (model BB-HAC10). If you have a small compact bread machine, you should probably use my 1 lb Bread Machine 100% Whole Wheat Bread recipe.

• This 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). If you want to learn how to bake with freshly milled flour, you might like to read this Food & Wine article.
• Use NEW whole wheat flour or the bread taste could be “funky” (have a strange/bad flavor). Whole wheat flour spoils much quicker than white flour. Since whole wheat flour is less processed than white bread flour or all-purpose 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 generally only lasts for 2-3 months at room temperature in the pantry. In contrast, white flour can last for 6-12 months at room temperature.

• Important – Given variations in whole wheat flour moisture levels (e.g. if the flour was stored in an open bag versus an airtight container), I like to check the dough about 5 minutes after the machine has started mixing.
• If the dough is looking too wet, I will add some flour (a little at a time) until the dough looks correct. Conversely, if the dough is looking too dry, I will add some liquid (a little at a time) until the dough looks correct. Read your bread machine’s manual on how to do this safely & effectively with your specific bread machine.
• FYI – If the dough is too wet, the finished bread might have a sunken top, be too dense or gummy, etc. If the dough is too dry, the finished bread could look lumpy, be dry & crumble more easily, etc.

• Try to keep your ingredients (e.g. flour) in airtight food containers in order to extend their shelf life. Airtight containers protect ingredients from moisture (in the air), 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.
• 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.

• 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). See bread pan photo above. This is done to prevent the yeast from falling into the liquid ingredients (and activating prematurely) or coming into contact with the salt until the bread machine is turned on.
• Some bakers like to add a teaspoon of vital bread gluten to 100% whole wheat recipes in order to get an extra rise. However, I skip this potential ingredient because it is not readily available in most people’s pantries.
• Optional – Add 1 or 2 tablespoons of multigrain cereal, sesame seeds, hulled sunflower seeds, etc. to the rest of the dry ingredients if you want more of a seed/multigrain taste and texture to your bread.
• I like to use the “light” color crust setting as it produces a softer crust. However, if you like “crustier” bread, you should try the “medium” or “dark” color setting. I would suggest testing the “medium” setting first (before trying the “dark” setting) because the “dark” setting on some machines can be too strong.
• Visitors – Do you like to add anything extra to your whole wheat bread? Seeds? Multigrain cereal (chopped bits of grain)? Vital wheat gluten? Dried fruit? Please post your ingredient additions in the comment section below.

• This 100% whole wheat bread machine recipe uses light brown sugar in order to “mellow” the whole wheat taste. The rich & earthy taste of brown sugar combines well with the natural wheat flavor. My kids love the resulting “milder” whole wheat flavor.
• However, if you prefer to make a bread that uses less sugar & has more whole wheat flavor, you should use only 2 tablespoons of light brown sugar.
• Optional – Right after you have removed the bread from the bread pan (while the bread is still hot), you can “paint” melted butter (with a pastry brush) on top of the bread for a shinier and buttery crust.

• 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 lukewarm water). If the milk is just coming out of the refrigerator and thus is too cold, I like to put the milk in my microwave for 15-20 seconds in order to warm it up. However, you should also be aware that the milk/water should not be too hot because very hot milk/water can kill the yeast. Yeast is sort of like Goldilocks – it likes things not too cold or too hot.
• The ideal temperature for liquid ingredients used when making bread machine bread is around 100 to 110 F. Cold liquids (such as water & milk straight from the refrigerator) will slow yeast growth and liquid ingredients that are 140 F or above can kill the yeast. Some people like to use a digital bread thermometer in order to measure the temperature of their liquid ingredients.
• Optional – If you want to create an even softer whole wheat bread, use buttermilk instead of the milk called for in the recipe. Buttermilk is acidic and this helps to “tenderize” the gluten in the flour. Buttermilk is a great way to soften homemade bread. See my Buttermilk Powder page for more details on how to make your own buttermilk.
• If you want a dairy-free bread machine whole wheat bread, you can replace the milk with water and replace the butter with 4 tablespoons of vegetable oil (e.g. canola oil).
• If you don’t have “cow” milk at home (or want to avoid dairy products), you can also use plant-based milk substitutes such as soy milk, oat milk, etc. My thanks to Kristen & Jess for pointing that out!
• Optional – Some of my visitors like to create a healthier bread by using olive oil instead of butter. If you would like to use olive oil then just replace the butter (in the recipe) with olive oil on a 1:1 basis. Therefore, if the recipe says you should use 4 tablespoons of butter, you should replace the butter with 4 tablespoons of olive oil.
• Another option – One of my visitors (thanks Jo-Ann) likes to replace the butter in the recipe with “I can’t believe it’s not Butter, light”.

• Some bakers like to use a soft flexible spatula to loosen any dough that might be sticking to the sides of the bread pan. Read your bread machine manual to see how & when this is done with your specific machine. Always wear oven mitts when dealing with a bread machine.
• Whole wheat flour contains insoluble fiber. In contrast, oats provide more soluble fiber. According to Wikipedia, “Dietary fiber has two main components: soluble fiber and insoluble fiber, which are components of plant foods, such as legumes, whole grains and cereals, vegetables, fruits, and nuts or seeds. A diet high in regular fiber consumption is generally associated with supporting health and lowering the risk of several diseases.” For more on the potential benefits of whole wheat, you should read this American Heart Association article.

• Some people like to use honey in their whole wheat breads. This 100% whole wheat bread machine recipe uses light brown sugar because it is easier to measure, usually more available in the pantry… and less sticky! However, honey is often seen as more natural (because it is less processed than most packaged white sugars). Moreover, honey has lots of unique flavors (e.g. orange blossom honey). Therefore, if you want to make a delicious honey wheat bread, you should try my Bread Machine Honey Wheat Bread recipe.
• If you would like to make the dough in your bread machine BUT you want to bake the bread in your oven (in order to avoid the bread machine mixing paddle hole in your loaf & avoid a bread machine “block” shaped loaf), you should visit my Soft Whole Wheat Bread Recipe.
• Another easy way to sneak some whole wheat fiber into your family’s diet is to make my Bread Machine Whole Wheat Pizza Dough recipe. Whole wheat + cheese & tomato sauce = Yum!!
• Of if you would like try a “crunchy” wheat bread, check out my recipe for Bread Machine Cracked Wheat Bread.

• This recipe uses bread machine yeast (instant yeast). It does NOT use active dry yeast.
• Bread machine yeast and instant yeast are not the same as active dry yeast. Bread machine yeast and instant yeast are added directly to the recipe’s ingredients. In contrast, active dry yeast must be preactivated in water/milk before being added to a recipe’s ingredients.
• If you haven’t used your bread machine or bread maker 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 is not likely to be viable if it has been sitting in your pantry for years.
• 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.

• Once you have opened the bottle that contains the bread machine yeast, the yeast will last longer if you store the bottle in the refrigerator or freezer. Just make sure the bottle is sealed tight (as yeast will deteriorate quickly if exposed to air, moisture and/or heat).
• Bread machine yeast in a bottle that has never been opened should last until the bottle’s “Best If Used By” date… but only if the bottle has been stored properly (e.g. in a refrigerator, freezer or in a dark, dry & cool spot in the pantry) and the bottle remains unopened.
• If your dough is having trouble rising properly, you should check out my How To Test Yeast page. This yeast test will show you if your yeast is alive & active or dead/expired. It will save you from a few bread disasters!
• 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.

• 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 measuring cup or accidentally add a teaspoon when a tablespoon is called for), you are using the correct ingredients (e.g. bread machine yeast versus regular yeast or bread flour versus all purpose flour), etc. Please don’t “wing” things with recipes.
• Be sure to use the correct amount of liquid called for in a recipe. For example, too much liquid can cause a bread top to collapse, balloon, etc.
• 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 (yeast likes kitchen temps of 75-80 degree F), 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.
• This recipe is based on using a traditional bread machine and NOT a convection bread machine. Convection bread machines tend to bake things a little faster than traditional bread machines (and this means that recipes focused on traditional bread machines may come out overbaked in a convection bread machine).

• 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)!
• This is one of the reasons that people should store flour in an airtight container if they have already opened the flour package. The flour will pick up extra moisture from the air while sitting in the pantry and this can throw off recipes, spoil flavor, degrade shelf life, etc.
• Having trouble with bread collapses & misshapen bread tops? Make sure to read Bread Dad’s article on bread machine bread collapses. It has reasons and solutions to potential bread collapses.

• If you have a problem with a “basic” bread machine recipe, please make sure that you are following the recipe exactly (e.g. using the correct bread machine settings), using the correct amount of an ingredient (e.g. don’t eyeball the measurements versus using a measuring cup or accidentally add a tablespoon when a teaspoon is called for), using the correct ingredients (e.g. bread machine yeast versus regular yeast or bread flour versus all purpose flour), etc. Please don’t “wing” things with recipes.
• 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 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.

• 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. Bread Machine Cracked Wheat Bread
2. Bread Machine Honey Wheat Bread
3. Bread Machine Oatmeal Bread
4. Bread Machine Whole Wheat Bread – Soft
5. Oatmeal Bread – Oven baked
6. Soft Whole Wheat Bread – Oven baked

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