100% Whole Wheat Bread for the Bread Machine

star rating (50) rate this recipe »
Recipe photo

100% Whole Wheat Bread for the Bread Machine

star rating (50) rate this recipe »
Published prior to 2008

The following recipe is one we worked out for the Zojirushi. It makes a firm, sweet loaf of golden bread. It shouldn't be hard adapting it to your own machine; all you need to know is what proportion of flour/liquid/yeast your machine functions best with. Take a look at the dough after it's kneaded for about 10 to 12 minutes or so; it should be smooth, not sticky (too little flour) or lumpy (too little liquid), forming a nice ball. If the dough looks good at this point, you're probably all set.

For 1 1/2 lb. bread machine
1 1/4 cups water
2 tablespoons olive or vegetable oil
1/4 cup honey or maple syrup
3 to 3 1/2 cups King Arthur 100% White Whole Wheat or Traditional Whole Wheat Flour
1/4 cup sunflower, sesame or flax seeds, or a combination (optional)
1 tablespoon vital wheat gluten
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1 1/2 teaspoons instant yeast

Put all of the ingredients into the bread pan in the order listed. Program for basic white bread, and press Start.

Reviews

1 2345  All  
  • star rating 05/11/2012
  • Paulette3 from KAF Community
  • I have been looking for a 100% whole wheat bread that didn't taste like sawdust, didn't turn out like a doorstop, and was baked in a bread machine. This recipe is the answer to ALL my prayers!! My entire family loves it and I've been baking 2-3 loaves a week!! It's a winner!! Yesterday, my old, ZO broke and I mixed the ingredients by hand, let it rise 3 times, (last time in a bread pan). I put it in a COLD oven and set the temp at 400. Baked for 15 minutes, then Reduced it to 350 for another 20-25 minutes. It was perfect! Until my new Zojirushi arrives, I'll try this recipe in another bread machine. I CANNOT live without this recipe!!
  • star rating 05/06/2012
  • Andrew from Bexley, OH
  • I have made this recipe for years. Recently I bought a new bread machine and found that it is even better with newer technology. The bread became softer in texture and more flavorful (if that's even possible). I came back to reprint the recipe to replace the tattered version I had before. King Arthur, please don't ever remove this one. It's a keeper and (unpaid endorsement) I use your whole wheat flour. Nothing else works as well. Thanks for the great combination.
  • star rating 04/30/2012
  • Tina from MN
  • This bread tastes absolutely fantastic! It is probably the softest bread I've ever made in my bread machine. I tweaked it just a bit and used 1/4 cup flax milk instead of water and vegan butter instead of olive oil. The loaf caved in just a bit, but quite frankly, it's so delicious I could care less!
    So glad you enjoyed the recipe. Try reducing your yeast by 1/4 tsp. and see if that helps with the cave-ins! ~Amy
  • star rating 04/27/2012
  • nealiz from KAF Community
  • FINALLY, a 100% whole-wheat bread that actually comes out of the machine tall and tender. My husband was impressed-- he's dutifully munched through many a dense lump of "good for you" bread. This recipe worked perfectly on the first try, as-is in my Breadman Pro on the 1 1/2 lb whole-wheat setting. Thank you for the straightforward, flexible ingredients list, too!
  • star rating 04/15/2012
  • Mary from Honolulu
  • This is the best recipe for whole wheat bread that I have found for the zojirushi. By comparison I can't believe how bad the recipe in the manual is. Mahalo from Honolulu!
  • star rating 04/02/2012
  • Michael from Allen, TX
  • finally found a recipe where i saw my whole wheat bread rise, followed the recipe precisely.i wish i could post a pic.
    We LOVE to hear about baking success - even if there are no pictures. Congratulations! Irene @ KAF
  • star rating 03/14/2012
  • MissyOlivePants from KAF Community
  • We really like this recipe & it's definitely our go-to for sandwich bread. However, I have done some tweaking to it to get it stretchy like storebought bread & finally figured it out. For flour I use 1 cup of the white whole wheat, and 2 cups of bread flour. Then I add (roughly, as I don't normally measure the seeds) 1/2 cup of sunflower seeds, and approximately 1/8 each of chia, flax & sesame seeds to give it more texture! So good!
  • star rating 03/11/2012
  • from
  • My favorite go to bread to make. Good and wholesome. I exchanged the seeds with steel cut oats.
  • star rating 02/25/2012
  • Shawn from Washington State
  • Is there any nutritional information available for this recipe yet? I'm specifically looking for calories. This is my daily bread and I love it...Thanks!
    Sorry, we don't have the breakdown for the recipe at this time. There are several free websites that offer nutritional breakdowns, that may work out for you. MJR @ KAF
  • star rating 02/23/2012
  • Meredith from TN
  • Maybe I'm just completely inept when it comes to making bread (even with a bread machine) but, this was the first loaf that was perfect and delicious! All the other whole wheat recipes I've tried have come out like a brick and taste horrible. For some reason all the different bread recipes I was trying weren't really coming out with much flavor at all...more like sawdust...edible but not enjoyable. Also it's dense, but not so dense that you couldn't use it for sandwich bread. I'm so glad I've found this one! I'll be using it as my standard whole wheat bread from now on! Thanks!
1 2345  All