How to make the best bread machine whole wheat bread - This simple and easy recipe makes a basic crusty loaf with no kneading. Uses a combination of all purpose flour and whole wheat flour for a smooth, tasty loaf that's healthy.
Somewhere between my need to avoid unnatural food additives, my desire to cook and eat more like my grandma, and Joe and my attempts to live more frugally, I talked my husband into making our own bread.
From scratch.
It took months of convincing. He likes the bread from the grocery store, and he isn't into making more work for himself.
After a lot of discussion with Amy Clark from MomAdvice, I posted a request on my local FreeCycle board for a bread machine. Only a few days passed before an offer came in, and Joe went to pick it up. And then it sat in our dining room for seven months, until the car crash forced us to become more serious about being frugal.
$4 for a loaf of our favorite bread seems wasteful and we don't really have that kind of money right now.
So, we are now committed to having a better, slower, more frugal lifestyle, and we are making our own bread.
Of course, when I saw we, I really mean that I'm lying on the couch with an ice pack while Joe follows the recipe I gave him, but that's just as good as doing it myself, right?
Our first couple of attempts at homemade whole wheat bread were miserable failures. We ate them, but they were barely edible.
Then we found the whole wheat bread recipe that Phoebe (who did not use a bread machine) had adapted from Crystal (who did use a bread machine). We made a few changes to reflect the ingredients we had on hand as well as our taste preferences.
We were eager to try our bread, so we smeared real butter on the warm bread and topped it with a dollop of my homemade apple butter. It was comfort food at its finest.
What you'll need to make the best homemade whole wheat bread
Equipment
This is a bread machine recipe, so you're going to need a bread machine. Often, you can find them for free or cheap at yard sales or on FreeCycle (which is what we did). But of course, you can also buy one that is fancy and new. The newer ones are obviously more advanced and easier to use than the older models.
Ingredients
See the recipe card below for measurements.
- Warm water - It's important that this is neither hot nor cold.
- Instant yeast - Make sure it's the instant kind, not the slow rise kind.
- White sugar - This feeds the yeast. You can't make bread without a small amount of sugar.
- Whole wheat flour - Whole wheat bread requires a mix of whole wheat and white flours. If you use all whole wheat flour, the bread will have a strange taste and a strange texture.
- Unbleached white flour - You could certainly use bleached flour if you prefer. I try to go as unprocessed as possible, and bleaching is an added step that I don't think is necessary.
- Table salt
- Dry nonfat milk
- Melted butter
- White vinegar - You could also use apple cider vinegar for a similar flavor.
How to make the best homemade whole wheat bread in a bread machine
- Layer the ingredients in the bread machine according to manufacturer's instructions. In our machine, we put the yeast in the bottom with warm water, topped by the dry ingredients (sugar, whole wheat flour, unbleached white flour, salt, and powdered milk), and then add the wet ingredients (melted butter and vinegar) last, then shut the lid and turn it on using the Light setting.
That's it. I'm not kidding. When the machine beeps, we open the lid and eat the most delicious and light wheat bread we've ever had.
I really like wheat bread with crunchy bits like seeds, so I am eager to experiment with this recipe and ingredients to see if we can get that kind of texture going.
Check out these other recipes from scratch:
- The Best Bread Machine Pizza Crust
- How to Make the Best Homemade Pizza Dough
- How to Grill Pizza Dough
- How to Make Watermelon Jam
- Homemade Apple Butter on the Stove or in the CrockPot
Recipe
Perfect Homemade Whole Wheat Bread
Equipment
Ingredients
- 1¼ cups warm water not hot or cold
- 1 tablespoons instant yeast
- ⅓ cup sugar
- 1½ cups whole wheat flour
- 1¼ cups all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 2 tablespoons dry nonfat milk
- 1 tablespoons butter melted
- 1 tablespoons vinegar
Instructions
- Layer in bread machine according to manufacturer's instructions. In our machine, we put the yeast in the bottom, topped by the dry ingredients. We add the wet ingredients last, then shut the lid and turn it on using the Light setting and a 1.5 pound loaf.
Sharinskishe says
I will have to try this. Homemade bread is the best, but only sometimes, that is when you have a good recipe!!
Thanks for sharing.
Sharinskishe says
I will have to try this. Homemade bread is the best, but only sometimes, that is when you have a good recipe!!
Thanks for sharing.
Anissa says
I so want a bread machine! We love fresh bread. Sounds yummy! TFS and playing along today!
Anissa's last blog post..I Love Faces -- Pets
Joie says
Is there anything that smells more like home than a kitchen with bread baking? Great links, thanks.
Joie's last blog post..Speaking of Recipes…
Tara says
Ohhh I like this recipe. I usually make white french bread but this wheat bread sounds sooo good! I bet its awesome with honey too lol 🙂
Tara says
Ohhh I like this recipe. I usually make white french bread but this wheat bread sounds sooo good! I bet its awesome with honey too lol 🙂
Felicia says
Thanks for the recipe! I am SO not a bread maker.. but my mother in law is awesome at it!
Felicia's last blog post..Make Something Monday: Free Potty Charts!
Felicia says
Thanks for the recipe! I am SO not a bread maker.. but my mother in law is awesome at it!
Felicia's last blog post..Make Something Monday: Free Potty Charts!
Laura says
I am totally making this tomorrow! Just have to pick up a few things. Can't wait!!!
Laura's last blog post..A New Take on Burgers - Chili Burgers
Tara says
Laura - I'm glad to hear it! The original recipe called for wheat gluten in addition to the flour, but we omitted it. I'm not sure how the addition of gluten changes the bread, but thought I should probably mention it.
Anissa - You should check your local FreeCycle group. They're online at FreeCycle.org. Bread machines were in style about ten years ago, and everybody bought them. Many are sitting unused in closets, thrift stores, and in garage sales because people didn't really use them once they'd gotten them. We use our free one all the time, at least 3 times a week.
Tara says
Laura - I'm glad to hear it! The original recipe called for wheat gluten in addition to the flour, but we omitted it. I'm not sure how the addition of gluten changes the bread, but thought I should probably mention it.
Anissa - You should check your local FreeCycle group. They're online at FreeCycle.org. Bread machines were in style about ten years ago, and everybody bought them. Many are sitting unused in closets, thrift stores, and in garage sales because people didn't really use them once they'd gotten them. We use our free one all the time, at least 3 times a week.
Anissa says
I so want a bread machine! We love fresh bread. Sounds yummy! TFS and playing along today!
Anissa's last blog post..I Love Faces -- Pets
Joie says
Is there anything that smells more like home than a kitchen with bread baking? Great links, thanks.
Joie's last blog post..Speaking of Recipes…
Piera-Jolly Mom says
I will DEFINITELY try this because we JUST got a bread machine a couple of days ago! Thanks for the recipe!
Piera-Jolly Mom's last blog post..Childhood Obesity in the US: Let's Make a Change
Piera-Jolly Mom says
I will DEFINITELY try this because we JUST got a bread machine a couple of days ago! Thanks for the recipe!
Piera-Jolly Mom's last blog post..Childhood Obesity in the US: Let's Make a Change
Laura says
I am totally making this tomorrow! Just have to pick up a few things. Can't wait!!!
Laura's last blog post..A New Take on Burgers - Chili Burgers
Jerri says
Sounds delicious. I love homemade bread! (I wish I had a bread machine!)
Jerri's last blog post..5 Minute Chocolate Mug Cake
Jerri says
Sounds delicious. I love homemade bread! (I wish I had a bread machine!)
Jerri's last blog post..5 Minute Chocolate Mug Cake
AJacobsen says
I wish I had a bread maker so I could do this! Sounds great! I love homemade bread!
AJacobsen says
I wish I had a bread maker so I could do this! Sounds great! I love homemade bread!
Susan (A Happy Heart at Home) says
Sounds delicious!
Susan (A Happy Heart at Home) says
Sounds delicious!
Alice Audrey says
I think when you get used to your machine you won't need Phoebe/Crystal's recipe anymore. I use my machine all the time and hardly ever actually follow a recipe anymore.
Alice Audrey's last blog post..Microwaved Eggs
Gina says
Used to? Using no recipe? What is that supposed to mean? LOL
Is your bread machine the one that churns out rocks and one needs to tinker with it to get results, which kind of defeats the purpose. So grateful to feel slick home blog for giving great recipes! Thank you!
Alice Audrey says
I think when you get used to your machine you won't need Phoebe/Crystal's recipe anymore. I use my machine all the time and hardly ever actually follow a recipe anymore.
Alice Audrey's last blog post..Microwaved Eggs
Sarah @ Mum In Bloom says
I can't get this recipe to work in my machine 🙁 Ours calls for wet ingredients first, I use bread machine bread & yeast and the bread still collapses every time. Today I'm going to try one last loaf & just put the dry ingredients first... I've got nothing to lose as I've already lost 4 loaves 🙁 The premade box mixes work fine in my machine but nothing else - so far. Thanks for sharing the recipe and fingers crossed it works this time.
Regarding finding a cheap bread machines our local thrift shop always has at least 3 on the shelf and I saw many at yard sales this summer. Price ranging from $3-$15 depending on model. I got mine for $4.00 🙂
Sarah @ Mum In Bloom says
I can't get this recipe to work in my machine 🙁 Ours calls for wet ingredients first, I use bread machine bread & yeast and the bread still collapses every time. Today I'm going to try one last loaf & just put the dry ingredients first... I've got nothing to lose as I've already lost 4 loaves 🙁 The premade box mixes work fine in my machine but nothing else - so far. Thanks for sharing the recipe and fingers crossed it works this time.
Regarding finding a cheap bread machines our local thrift shop always has at least 3 on the shelf and I saw many at yard sales this summer. Price ranging from $3-$15 depending on model. I got mine for $4.00 🙂
Elizabeth says
What size of loaf is it? 2, 1.5 or 1 lb? My machine requires this information,
Thanks
Jack J says
Wonderful recipe! Best loaf I’ve ever made in bread maker. Thank you!
Dianne says
I have been making our wheat bread with the dough cycle on my bread machine. I like to put it in bread pans, then raise for an hour and bake. We really like adding sunflower kernels to our recipe.
Donna says
How much wheat gluten did the original recipe call for??
Sandra says
I made this recipe 2times. once I baked it in the machine and wasn't to happy with the out come. second time I made it in the machine and baked it in the oven......WAS GREAT...thanks