Everyone should have a good bread recipe in their repertoire. Homemade bread doesn’t contain all the crappy chemicals that store-bought bread contains. And wholemeal (whole wheat) bread, being higher fibre than white bread, is great for maintaining sustained energy levels. Perhaps most importantly, making your own bread is highly rewarding and – if you get it right – extremely delicious.
This is my go-to recipe for 100% wholemeal bread. Wholemeal bread can be tricky, often turning out dense and door-stopper-like. This loaf is actually light and airy and better still is quick to make requiring minimal kneading. It’s based on Dan Lepard’s wholemeal loaf. He adds Vitamin C to his loaf to help create an aerated bread. This is interesting:
The flour made from wheat, for example, contains a very complex mixture of chemicals. Some help to make light, aerated bread; some really don’t. All wheat flour contains a naturally occurring chemical called glutathione in the starch, which is used by the seed as it sprouts and grows into a plant. But when we try to bake with wheat flour, the same chemical also stops some of that elastic stretchiness we want in the dough. If you use all white flour, the effect of this chemical isn’t so noticeable. But change to wholemeal flour, which contains much less starch, and the effect can cause a heavy loaf.
I’ve made the recipe with and without Vitamin C and to be honest, I haven’t noticed a difference. It may be down to the flour I’m using. I haven’t included the Vitamin C in the recipe below, but feel free to give it a try if you’d like!
Update [June 2026]: This same technique also works great for making white loaves, too. Use 500g strong white bread flour and you’ll get a wonderful light fluffy farmhouse loaf. Here’s a quick video I made to demonstrate how it works, and also illustrates the kneading technique I use:
100% Wholemeal Bread tips
Flour
I always say use the best flour you can source and afford. That said, I’ve achieved great results with all readily available wholemeal flours that you can get in supermarkets.
Most recently I’m using Shipton Mill’s Organic 100% Wholemeal Flour which seems to have a particularly good flavour and texture and I like Shipton Mill’s ethos.
If you want an even lighter loaf, this recipe works with blended flours, e.g. a mix of white bread flour and wholemeal, or even all white bread flour (see video above). One of my frequent go-to’s is Doves Farm Malthouse Bread Flour. Or make up your own mix to suit your preferences.
Sugar
The recipe calls for a tablespoon of brown sugar to help activate the yeast. You can use any sugar, really. I often use honey or, better still if you can get it, barley malt extract.
Butter
One of the things that helps create this bread’s delicious texture is the addition of 50g of butter. Of course, if you’re vegan, you can substitute with any suitable butter alternative. (I’ve used olive oil before with good effect.)
Add-Ins
I discovered from the River Cottage Bread Book that adding a ladleful of sourdough starter to your bread dough can boost the flavour. I also like adding a few tablespoons of seeds, especially poppy and sunflower. Feel free to experiment!
100% Wholemeal Bread
Ingredients
Method
- Add warm water, yeast and sugar to a bowl. Stir well and leave for a few minutes (a good time to melt the butter). Add the flour and salt and mix with a spoon until it's mostly mixed together. Then pour in the butter and squidge it all together with your hands until the butter and water are incorporated – you'll have a shaggy ball with no or very few dry bits. Cover the bowl and leave for 10 minutes.
- Three light kneads: After the first 10 minutes, give the dough a light knead (about 10 kneads in the bowl – see video above for a demo). Then cover. Repeat this 10 minute rest, then light knead, another two times. You'll find that the dough quickly transforms from a shaggy ball to a cohesive dough ball. Finally, cover and leave for 20 minutes.
- Lightly flour a work surface. Tip out the dough onto the surface and roll into a long rectangle. Roll it up (from the shorter side) and, with the seam facing down, tuck in the two edges so you have a pretty loaf-shaped thing.
- Place in a 2lb loaf tin (I line mine with parchment to avoid sticking). Leave in a warm place to rise. Dan Lepard's recipe suggests leaving to double in height (1.5 hours) but I only leave mine about 10-15 minutes (while the oven preheats).
- Pre-heat the oven to 240C (220C fan-assisted). I recommend steaming the oven if you have time by putting a tray full of water at the bottom of the oven. Dust the loaf with flour and, if you'd like, slash it a few times with a bread knife. Place in the oven for 20 minutes (mind the steam when you open the door!). Reduce the heat to 220C (200C fan-assisted) and bake for another 20-25 minutes until golden brown. Remove from the oven and carefully remove the loaf from the tin onto a wire rack. Leave to cool before slicing (if you can!).
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this bread recipe is one of the best i have made very good loaf and easy to make
I know!!! It is the easiest and fastest route to a loaf I’ve found. And it works with other blends of flour (I sometimes do a 50/50 mix of wholemeal and white bread flour then add a bunch of sunflower and poppy seeds. Delicious!)
Just baked this today. For variation, I used 320g of wholegrain, 100g of malted rye, and 15g each of sunflower and pumpkin seeds. Substituted the butter with coldpressed rapeseed oil and baked in a Dutch Oven (for the steam period).
Turned out fab and tasted delicious, many thanks, Arnie
Great recipe.
Delicious loaf.
Do I put hot water in after the oven has come to temperature and just before I put the loaf in?
Thanks
Glad to hear it! Here are the two methods I use to steam the oven:
(1) put a tray of water at the bottom of the oven when you turn it on (this is easier, but it can increase the time it takes for the oven to preheat)
(2) put an empty tray at the bottom of the oven, then shortly before you put the loaf in, pour a kettle of boiling water into the tray – beware of the steam! – close the oven door for a minute or two then put the loaf in.
I have been using 100% organic milled flour, no additives. fairly successful but I would like to try making in a bread machine since I have one, even just to mix up the dough. Can this recipe be used. I have found this much flour makes a hard bread which in itself is not bad but would prefer a little softer. In the machine that is.
Hi Salome, if you used a bread machine for this, it would be a totally different technique. A bread machine kneads dough continuously, developing the gluten recipe. My recipe develops the gluten gradually with three light kneads over the course of 30 minutes. I can’t really say whether kneading traditionally with a bread machine would have an effect, as I don’t have a bread machine and haven’t tried it. You are of course welcome to give it a go and report back!
On the “hard bread” thing: 100% wholemeal flour can naturally produces a denser, slightly firmer loaf because the bran cuts through the gluten network and absorbs more water. A couple of small tweaks can help soften the crumb:
• Increase the hydration slightly (add 1–2 tablespoons more water and see how the dough feels — wholemeal often needs more than you think).
• Let the dough rest for 20–30 minutes after mixing before kneading — this helps the flour fully hydrate.
• Use oil or butter in the recipe as I do in here (I prefer butter but any oil will do).
• If you’re open to it, replacing 10–20% of the flour with strong white bread flour will noticeably lighten the texture while still keeping it mostly wholemeal.
Let me know how you get on!
Beautiful easy bake that tastes delicious 😋.
Thank you for sharing this! The wholemeal bread recipe looks simple, healthy, and perfect for homemade baking. I especially like the tips for keeping the loaf light and airy even with 100% wholemeal flour. Great guide for anyone who loves fresh bread!
I was so filled with Hope after reading these comments -,it all seemed to be going really well but when I left it to rise – it barely did anything 🙈 I’m baking it now in the Hope a miracle will occur 🙏🙏🙏 I’m desperately seeking that perfect wholewheat loaf recipe that works 🤷♀️🤞
Hiya, want to try this recipe as I’m sick of making loaves denser than the centre of the sun!
Can you please describe the kneading method in more detail? What kind of kneading? For how long each time? I want to do it right. Thank you
I love this recipe, fluffiest bread I’ve found so far but finding that the bread isn’t rising in the oven as much as I would like and loaf is turning out small. Any tips?
Thanks, Peta, glad you love the recipe! Are you steaming the oven? It could also be the flour – different flours have different amounts of protein which can affect the rise. You could always sub some of the whole wheat flour for a bit of white bread flour to help give a bigger loaf. Let me know how you get on!