This no knead whole wheat bread is the easiest homemade bread recipe ever! There is no kneading required whatsoever and it is the fastest, easiest bread you’ve ever made!
This homemade bread is the best ever. Seriously! And I say that as a person who really loves bread!
Part of what makes it so good is that you don’t have to work hard for it at all. It is the easiest bread recipe ever.
And it’s also extremely versatile, you can make it as a healthy whole wheat or brown bread or make a pristine loaf of white bread or something in-between. It all works great.
And if you love making breads then our cornbread recipe and no knead focaccia recipe are both totally divine too.
How To Make No Knead Whole Wheat Bread
Full instructions and measurements can always be found in the recipe card at the bottom of the post. This is a summary of the process to go along with the process photos.
- Add whole wheat flour and all purpose flour to a mixing bowl along with instant yeast and salt. Mix together.
Add maple syrup or honey to warm water and mix it in. Pour this over the dry ingredients, and add an egg and olive oil. Mix it into a batter.
Transfer to a 9×5 loaf pan and smooth down with the back of a spoon. Cover and leave to rise for around 25 minutes or until the bread has risen almost to the top of the loaf pan (but not higher).
Bake at 390°F for 40 minutes.
Ingredient Notes
- Flour: We used a mix of whole wheat flour and all purpose flour for a delicious bread texture. However, this recipe is extremely versatile for different flours. You can make it with only whole wheat flour or a mix of different kinds of flour. You can even make this with only all purpose flour for a white bread loaf – more on that below!
- Instant Yeast: This is also called rapid rise yeast and it is responsible for the quick rise of this bread.
- Salt: If you’re on a low sodium diet, feel free to leave out the salt altogether.
- Warm Water: The water should be warm to the touch, not hot.
- Honey or maple syrup: Just a couple of teaspoons are needed. You can use either honey or maple syrup, or switch it for another sweetener of your choice.
- Olive oil: We use a tablespoon of olive oil in this recipe. However, you can leave it out if you prefer.
- Large Egg: We use one large egg and it creates a really soft loaf. However, for an eggless bread you can omit the egg completely and the recipe still works just great. The bread is very slightly more dense without the egg, but the difference is small.
Tips For The Best No Knead Whole Wheat Bread
It’s important to use the right amount of flour. Measure the flour correctly using the spoon and level method. Spoon the flour into your measuring cup and then level off the top with a knife. Alternatively, invest in a food scale and weigh your flour for the most accurate results.
No Kneading: This recipe doesn’t require any kneading. The dough is quite wet and sticky so even if you wanted to knead it, you couldn’t.
Rising: Cover the bread and leave it to rise for around 25 minutes. However, keep a watch on it, depending on how warm the temperatures are it might rise in 20 minutes, or it might take 30 minutes or even a few minutes more. You want it to rise up to the top of the loaf pan or close to the top, but not much higher, or you can end up with an oddly shaped, muffin top loaf.
Recipe Variations
This recipe is really versatile! You can play around with the ratios of flour to create a more hearty whole wheat bread or something in-between. We used 3 cups of whole wheat flour and 1 cup of all purpose flour, but these variations also work:
- 2 cups whole wheat flour, 2 cups all purpose flour
- 1 cup whole wheat flour, 3 cups all purpose flour
- 4 cups whole wheat flour
- 4 cups all purpose flour
Flour Variations:
This recipe can be made with:
- whole wheat flour
- whole wheat bread flour
- white whole wheat flour
- brown bread flour
- other bread flour
- whole wheat pastry flour
- all purpose flour
- gluten free all purpose flour
There might be even more varieties of flour you can try, but that will be an experiment!
Make Homemade White Bread:
We tested a white bread version of this recipe, which is to use all purpose flour only.
So instead of 3 cups whole wheat flour and 1 cup of all purpose flour as in the original recipe, we made a white bread version with 4 cups of all purpose flour.
Everything else in the recipe remains exactly the same and the resulting bread is absolutely delicious.
If you would like to make the white bread version eggless then simply omit the egg altogether. As mentioned above, this can create a slightly more dense bread but the difference is very minor.
Storing and Freezing
This bread is absolutely BEST when fresh, on the day you bake it. In fact, if you have a few slices warm from the oven, spread with some butter, it’s pretty much the best thing ever.
The next day the bread is still very edible but it’s not as good as the first day you made it and you may prefer to use it to make toast.
On day 3 it’s toast only and that’s the final day for this bread.
This bread is also freezer friendly though. So if you think you may eat it more slowly then slice and freeze some of it and then use it to make toast right out of the freezer.
More Delicious Bread Recipes
- The Best Zucchini Bread
- Best Ever Banana Bread
- Double Chocolate Banana Bread
- The Best Cornbread Recipe
- Chocolate Chip Banana Bread
- Pumpkin Bread
Did you make this recipe? Be sure to leave a comment and rating below.
No Knead Whole Wheat Bread
Ingredients
- 3 cups Whole Wheat Flour (375g)
- 1 cup All Purpose Flour (125g)
- 1 Packet Instant Yeast 2 ¼ teaspoons
- 1 teaspoon Salt
- 2 teaspoons Maple Syrup or Honey
- 2 cups Warm Water (480ml) Not Hot
- 1 Tablespoon Olive Oil Extra Virgin
- 1 Large Egg
Instructions
- Spray a 9×5 loaf pan with non-stick spray and line the bottom with parchment paper. Set aside.
- Add the whole wheat flour and all purpose flour to a mixing bowl along with the instant yeast and salt and mix together.
- Add the maple syrup or honey to the warm water and mix in. Pour over the dry ingredients and add the egg and olive oil and mix into a dough.
- Transfer to your prepared loaf pan and smooth down with the back of a spoon. Cover and leave to rise for 20-30 minutes or until the bread has risen almost to the top of the loaf pan (but not higher).
- Preheat the oven to 390°F (200°C).
- Bake for 40 minutes. Remove from the oven and allow to cool for a couple of minutes before removing the bread from the loaf pan and allowing to cool on a bread board or cooling rack.
- Slice and serve!
Video
Notes
- Flour: You can also use whole wheat bread flour or brown bread flour, white whole wheat flour, whole wheat pastry flour, stoneground whole wheat flour.
- Measure correctly. Make sure you measure the flour correctly, either weighing it on a food scale or using the spoon and level method: spoon it into the measuring cup and level off the top with the back of a knife. Don’t scoop it and don’t pack it into the cup.
- Variations: You can also make variations of this recipe depending on what you have on hand, as follows: 3 cups whole wheat flour and 1 cup all purpose (as per recipe); or 2 cups whole wheat flour and 2 cups all purpose flour; or 1 cup whole wheat flour and 3 cups all purpose flour; or 4 cups whole wheat flour; or 4 cups all purpose flour.
- For white bread: Simply use 4 cups (500g) of all purpose flour and no other flour at all. Follow all the other directions exactly as written.
- Make it eggless: If you don’t eat eggs or have any on hand, you can simply omit the egg from this recipe without any substitutions. The result is an ever so slightly more dense bread but the difference is very slight and barely noticeable.
- Make it gluten free: You can make this bread gluten free by replacing the flour with a gluten free all purpose blend.
- Rising: Depending on how warm the room temperature is and the freshness of your yeast this bread might have risen within 20 minutes or it might take 30 minutes or even a little longer. So just keep an eye on it.
- Storing: This bread is BEST on the day it’s made. It’s absolutely delicious served warm from the oven with a spread of butter. Keep it in a covered container and the next day it’s still good but not nearly as good as the first day and you might prefer it as toast (it makes really good toast). The third day is the last day and it will only be good for toast on this day.
- Freezing: If you think you might take longer to eat it, then slice and freeze a portion and make toast directly from the freezer with the frozen bread.
As long as I am baking, I like to make 2 loaves at a time. Can this recipe be doubled?
Yes it can!
Hi
Thank you so much for such an easy and wonderful recipe. I have tried so many recipes, but they are either too cumbersome or don’t turn out well. This one was a breeze and turned out awesome! I omitted the egg and added a tbsp of yogurt instead. Its now my go to recipe for homemade bread.
Thanks again!!
Happy to hear you enjoyed the recipe! Thanks so much for your lovely review!
Awesome recipe! Delicious and easy!!!
Gonna try to add in dried fruit and nuts next time. Love it!
Awesome Patricia! Thanks so much for your lovely review!
What would the measurements be if using active dry yeast? I do not have instant dry yeast and would like to try this recipe for whole wheat bread.
You can still use active dry yeast Katrina. The same amount, but you will need to bloom the yeast first before adding it in.
So glad this question has already been answered! Thanks!
How does one bloom yeast for this recipe I don’t have instant yeast ?
Hi Jeannie. You mix the amount called for in the recipe of active dry yeast with warm water (around 105-110°F) and a pinch of sugar, then let it sit for 5 to 10 minutes until a foamy layer appears on top. Then mix it in with the rest of the ingredients.
Such a delicious and speedy recipe for wheat bread. I did add two tbsp on Bob’s Red Mill Vital Wheat Gluten Flour to guarantee a good rise and tender crumb. I can’t believe how tender this bread was with only one rise. I didn’t have instant yeast so I used plain active dry yeast and this bread still rose in 30 minutes (maybe because to the Vital wheat gluten?)This bread is hearty, but not to hearty that it can’t be used as sandwich bread.
So happy to hear it worked out for you Bobbie! Thanks for sharing and for your great review!
Hi there
This bread is by far the best I have made!!!! 🙂 This is the only one I make now and it is also my daughter’s favorite one for school lunch…The only ingredient I omitted was the egg and I used only whole wheat flour…well it is still the BESTI have ever made….Thank you Alison…you are a star!!
🙂
Awesome! Thanks so much Sudha!
I have tried SO many bread recipes in the past and they always fail! Not this one! I finally had a perfect and completely successful loaf of bread. I made it as the all white loaf with all purpose flour and it was amazing. This is literally a no-fail recipe. I can’t thank you enough!
I’m thrilled to read your comment! Thank you so much for the wonderful review. I am honestly shocked myself at how easy this bread is, I’m so glad it was a great success for you too.