100% Whole Wheat Atta Sandwich Bread Recipe

classic-100-percent-whole-wheat-atta-bread-recipe

100% Whole Wheat Atta Bread

Moist, soft, fluffy 100% Whole Wheat Atta sandwich bread loaf recipe which is 100 percent whole grain. Made with Indian atta. Step by step pictures.

People are crazy behind baguettes, crusty breads, french loaves etc…but what gives me a lot of joy is a good old soft sandwich loaf with a lot of flavor. I belong to the soft fluffy kind when it comes to bread loaves. “Good bread is the most fundamentally satisfying of all foods, and good bread with fresh butter, the greatest of feasts.” Here is that one 100% whole wheat loaf you were looking for. Lets jump into making a 100% Whole Wheat Atta sandwich loaf. If you are going to be baking with 100% Whole Wheat Atta  please read this before you continue ! I am sorry. I am a little bossy. Thank you for understanding.

First lets get the yeast working. Add quarter cup of warm water plus a pinch of sugar to the yeast and leave it aside for 5 minutes so it becomes foamy. If it doesn’t foam, discard and start again with a fresh batch of yeast. Indian yeast is temperamental. so do not skip this step if you are in India.

classic-100-percent-whole-wheat-atta-bread-recipe-yeast

Measure all the dry ingredients in a bowl. Do not pack the flour while measuring. Use the “scoop and sweep” method. Add in the vital wheat gluten and the salt. Set aside.

classic-100-percent-whole-wheat-atta-bread-recipe-dry-ingredients

Measure 1 1/3 cups of warm water in a bowl. Add in quarter cup of olive oil. Add in quarter cup of honey. There is a neat little trick I learned a long time back. By measuring oil first and measuring honey next, the honey will just slide into the bowl without sticking because of the coating of the grease. Neat trick.

classic-100-percent-whole-wheat-atta-bread-recipe-wet

Now add in the water mixture and the yeast mixture.

classic-100-percent-whole-wheat-atta-bread-recipe-mix

Mix until roughly combined. We are not trying to knead anything yet. Once combined, let it rest for 20 minutes. Letting it rest will hydrate the dough well and activate the gluten.

classic-100-percent-whole-wheat-atta-bread-recipe-autolyse

So back in business. Once the rest has been completed, lets knead. I used a kitchen-aid to knead my dough. Its very easy to over knead in a stand mixer. Knead for 4 minutes on medium speed. Finish kneading on the table by hand. Shape the loaf and let it rise in a bowl until nearly doubled.

classic-100-percent-whole-wheat-atta-bread-recipe-knead

Why only nearly doubled ? Rose Levy Beranbaum writes about her whole wheat epiphany loaf and she says “I discovered that the secret to lightness of the crumb was not only the freshness of the flour but also not allowing the dough to double during rising which tears the more fragile gluten.” So the first rise – Do not allow it to over proof. Gotcha?

classic-100-percent-whole-wheat-atta-bread-recipe-double

After the first rise, gently deflate the dough and shape it into a log.

classic-100-percent-whole-wheat-atta-bread-recipe-shape

Place it in a 9 inch by 5 inch loaf pan and cover the pan with a lightly greased plastic wrap. Allow it to rise for 1 to 2 hours, till it’s crowned about 1 or 2 inches over the rim of the pan.

classic-100-percent-whole-wheat-atta-bread-recipe-loaf-pan

My pan is tall. so it did not rise above the rim. The below picture shows the difference between the traditional 9 inch by 5 inch pan and my tall pan. I just showed this picture so no confusion.

classic-100-percent-whole-wheat-atta-bread-recipe-size

Preheat the oven to 180 C for 20 minutes. Bake the bread for 45-50 minutes. Remove from the oven and after 5 minutes turn it out of the pan to cool.

classic-100-percent-whole-wheat-atta-bread-recipe-loaf

classic-100-percent-whole-wheat-atta-bread-recipe

100% Whole Wheat Atta Bread Printable Recipe

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classic-100-percent-whole-wheat-atta-bread-recipe-loaf

100% Whole Wheat Atta Sandwich Bread Recipe

Moist, soft, fluffy sandwich bread loaf recipe which is 100 percent whole grain. Made with Indian atta. Measurements used 1 cup = 240 ml

  • Total Time: 5 hours 20 mins
  • Yield: 16 slices 1x

Ingredients

Scale

Main Ingredients

  • 1 1/3 cups lukewarm water
  • 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
  • 1/4 cup honey
  • 4 cups Whole Wheat Flour
  • 2 tablespoon Vital wheat Gluten
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons salt

For the yeast mixture

  • 1 tablespoon Active dry yeast
  • pinch of sugar
  • 1/4 cup warm water

Instructions

  1. First lets get the yeast working. Add quarter cup of warm water plus a pinch of sugar to the yeast and leave it aside for 5 minutes so it becomes foamy. If it doesn’t foam, discard and start again with a fresh batch of yeast.
  2. Measure all the dry ingredients in a bowl. Do not pack the flour while measuring. Use the “scoop and sweep” method. Add in the vital wheat gluten and the salt. Set aside.
  3. Measure 1 1/3 cups of warm water in a bowl. Add in quarter cup of olive oil. Add in quarter cup of honey. There is a neat little trick I learned a long time back. By measuring oil first and measuring honey next, the honey will just slide into the bowl without sticking because of the coating of the grease.
  4. Now add in the water mixture and the yeast mixture.
  5. Mix until roughly combined. We are not trying to knead anything yet. Once combined, let it rest for 20 minutes. Letting it rest will hydrate the dough well and activate the gluten.
  6. Once the rest has been completed, knead for 4 minutes on medium speed. Finish kneading on the table by hand. Shape the loaf and let it rise in a bowl until nearly doubled.
  7. After the first rise, gently deflate the dough and shape it into a log.
  8. Place it in a 9 inch by 5 inch loaf pan and cover the pan with a lightly greased plastic wrap. Allow it to rise for 1 to 2 hours, till it’s crowned about 1 or 2 inches over the rim of the pan.
  9. Preheat the oven to 180 C for 20 minutes. Bake the bread for 45-50 minutes. Remove from the oven and after 5 minutes turn it out of the pan to cool.
  • Author: Kannamma - Suguna Vinodh
  • Prep Time: 20 mins
  • Cook Time: 5 hours
  • Category: Bread
  • Cuisine: American

atta-br

162 thoughts on “100% Whole Wheat Atta Sandwich Bread Recipe”

  1. I have tried this recipe more than 25 times! This is the best recipe for Atta Bread online! I bought Vital Wheat Gluten, which helps the bread to rise! I add roasted sesame, flax seeds and sometimes even chia seeds. It turns out great! My friends and family love the taste of this bread. Thank you!






  2. Thank you for this recipe, it turned out perfectly. Soft, not dense, delicious! I used Aashirvaad multigrain atta and made 2 smaller loves instead of 1, baked for 35 mins. I will definitely make again!






  3. Hello Mam
    Please suggest which company flour should I use to make this bread?
    I read your detailed article but I haven’t understood much. Please ignore my little understanding.
    Looking forward to hear soon from you.

  4. Hi lovely recipe. Can I use xantham gum in the place of vital wheat gluten in this recipe to get the soft texture.

  5. Gluten? Sorry, that’s out of question. Good yeast is difficult to come by and gluten is yet another special ingredient. Is there a way around this? And thank you for the very detailed scientific explanations, rare to see in any desi blog on any subject, including those on science and technology.

  6. Dhanalakshmi Ravindran

    Mam I tried whole wheat bread yesterday, it came out very well. It’s very soft. I am very happy that I made homemade whole wheat bread.. My both daughters liked it a lot.. tried many recipes from your site, every time the recipes came out perfect and delicious… Thanks a lot for sharing the recipes… Your tips and stepwise pictures are very useful suguna mam…

  7. Helen borowski

    Thanks for the recipe. I have been making sourdough bread with attar flour and have always wondered why I have had difficulty with the rising. I use half attar and half white flour. I will try to buy gluten to add to it. I always bake my bread at 240 degrees for 30 mins.

    1. I’ve never rated a recipe, but had to for this. BEST 100% wholemeal bread recipe ever! It was so soft and fluffy as stated. My 4 year old loved it. Most wholemeal recipes call for half white, half wholegrain flour. I really wanted something that’s 100% wholegrain. I even omitted the honey and still tastes awesome!






  8. This is the single post after searching a whole lot of internet which helped in rising my multigrain bread.
    However I just wonder if the commercial bread available like Britannia muti grain bread also mixes the gluten or not, since they do not mention in their ingredients.

    1. Thanks. Apart from gluten there are other several chemicals that can be used to get the soft texture and thats what you will find in the labels of big manufacturers.

  9. Hi kannamma .,
    Suggest me , which ingredient can I use instead of vital wheat gluten ,?
    I am unable to get that .

  10. Hi, your post explaining the difference in Atta & western wheat flour is the best I have read so far. Could you please help me with gram measurements. How much would 2 tablespoons vital gluten measure in grams. Also which company vital gluten have you used in India? Have you used Aashirwad sharbati atta for this recipe?

  11. Dear Suguna – many thanks for the extensive research on Indian wheat v/s wheat available overseas. Makes me feel much better. I will now try your recipe but have just one basic question – I have Instant dry yeast and not active dry yeast – is there a difference in the procedure in getting it ready? Does the same amount of water + sugar apply?

    Many thanks (I am only 3 loaves old so still trying to get there)!

    Warm regards…Alka

  12. Heenal Jakharia

    Hey,I have an otg
    I tried at 180degree but I took almost an hour nd hardly browning on top.
    Can I take 190degree or
    Half 200degree nd half 190degree

  13. For the sake of consistency in the baking process it is important to weigh all the ingredients, including water.
    Would you please add weights to your measurements. It will be a great service to people who are following your posts and recipes.

  14. Bought Atta flour by mistake thinking it would be the same as regular wheat flour, so I found your recipe. Followed the instructions to a T and also added 60g flaxseed. Came out perfect! Am so pleased as I just started learning to make bread. I live in warm climate, first rise was 45 mins, second rise was 1hr20mins. Thanks for the recipe!






  15. Pooja Ghuman

    tried this recipe last week. it came out really well.
    One query while demoulding — my bread was kind of stuck to the pan on one side and it the process of removing it ..it tore a bit.
    any suggestions to improve there.

  16. Hi Suguna,

    Thanks for this post and also your explanation of why Atta whole wheat does not produce a nice Western bread. I am wondering whether you have adapted this recipe for a bread maker — can it be done? Any tips would be appreciated.

    Best,
    Victoria

  17. Hi! Could you plz explain what is vital wheat gluten ? I was thinking of making this bread, however I do not have the said ingredient!

    Thank you!






  18. Thank you for this recipe! I’m in USA in quarantine awaiting coronavirus. Embarrassingly, our communities have been hoarding. I was able to obtain a bag of Atta and am looking forward to trying my hand at chapati, but I also have a sourdough starter that I have been doting over for a month. I have a little bit of yeast in the house, but not much. So you have any suggestions for converting your lovely recipe to a sourdough only or a sourdough/yeast hybrid? Thank you for your time. I hope you are well and safe in your corner of the world.






  19. Always convention when baking, use microwave to heat things up and grill is only used for grilling vegetables, etc.

  20. The bread became dense and looked likes it needs more moisture
    Can we add more warm water so that it become little loose before it is kept for raising or during resting (time when we add water, oil+yeast mixture

  21. Hi ,

    What mode of oven is used for baking

    Microwave or grill or Convention code.

    Please advice, as I am beginner in baking.

  22. Hi suguna, tried your wholewheat bread recipe taste was awesome but the bread was dense.. what did possibly go wrong .. Plz help me

  23. Hi,

    I don’t have wheat gluten but bread improver. Can I replace wheat gluten with bread improver. If yes, what would be the quantity for this recipe?

  24. Suguna, I just have a regular Indian mixer grinder. Could you share how to make this sans the kitchen aid? Also can one get vital wheat gluten in India ? Thanks

  25. Hey Suguna, such a fantastic recipe. One question – I have instant yeast. How can I use that in place of active yeast – what changes should I make to the recipe? Thanks in advance, Lalita.






  26. Wonderful recipe!
    Have tried it many times and each time the result was awesome!
    Would like to make it healthier by adding wheat bran.Can you help me with the recipe?

  27. Hi Saguna,

    I am Swati.
    Thanks for sharing this recipe.

    Can ghee or regular peanut oil be used instead of olive oil?

    Thanks in advance.

  28. Great recipe. Please explain why honey is added to the bread. Heating or cooking honey is not good for health. Can the bread be sone without honey?

  29. Hii.. Sugana
    Im so interesting with this bread recipe ..
    May i subtitute the vital glutean wheat with the other flour?? May i know it???
    Thx u






  30. Hi Sugana,

    Thanks for the great receipe! It worked but it is still quite dense though it rose almost twice its size in betw kneading & the oven. There is also a taste that i cant place – could it be the yeast or the bran in the wheat? I use Chakki Atta Whole Wheat.






  31. Thank you for the recipe. I have used your recipe several times and the bread has turned out so well.






  32. Hi Suguna,

    Tried this out for the second time today. Tasted good but was too dense. Not light and porous that your looked. Added the vital gluten. The only difference was that I used my hands to knead instead of a machine. Could that be it? Any idea of the time/texture indicator when kneaded by hands?
    Also, can you tell how long yours took for the first rise?






    1. The main mistake in kneading by hand is addition of extra flour or less kneading. The first rise takes about an hour in hot weather. In winter, it takes more time.

  33. Forever Foodie

    I used this recipe in a bread machine after much debate if I should or not . I used the exact same recipe. The bread that came out was soft and tasty, Not dense. But i need to tweak it a bit..the top was misshapen . No idea why. Also the bread was a bit doughy than I like- this , i think may be a matter of changing the program to allow a longer cooking time for a whole wheat atta bread.Any suggestions?

          1. You are the best – great article !
            I tried this recipe for my Bread Maker by halving all quantities to get a small 500g loaf using 2 cups of Atta flour. I had instant yeast so needed to translate from Active dry yeast. The total water I used included the water you used for your active dry yeast portion of the recipe so I halved 300ml + 60ml but it was a watery sludge. I was able to fix that by adding 3/4 cup more flour part of which included a nut/lentil/grain mix as well 🙂 As the machine mixing/kneading continued a good ball got formed. The final result turned out very well – though my top was also uneven – it was not doughy at all.
            Thank you.
            How would you alter the water & yeast measurements in your recipe above if you had to use instant yeast ?






  34. Thank you so much for introducing Vital Wheat Gluten to me – I had never heard of it earlier. Baked this today and it is the best aata bread that I have eaten. I can’t wait for my kannamma to come home from school and have it with hummus :-). I am sure she will love it. Thank you so much, Kannamma.






  35. Hi akka,

    You have used 4 cups of wheat flour. When converting it to grams, should I use the measure you have mentioned? i.e. 1 cup = 240 ml for measuring atta also?

    Also 1 tablespoon of yeast is about 15 gms. Should we use this quantity of yeast?

    Akka just a suggestion. It would be much helpful if you can give the measurements in grams and ml for baking recipes.

    Thank you

  36. Thanks for bringing me the easy recipe for making this bread. Surely I will going to try this recipe to bake this bread. I always try to bake bread, but unfortunately it didn’t baked well. Will bring the gluten and definitely try this.






  37. Santosh Deshmukh

    Great Help,
    While my loaf always came good with Maida + Gluten,we always struggled with the whole wheat atta, we have mill at home, will try your recipe

    is our Maida close to Italian -00- flour
    also is French T45 flour is our Maida

    let me know if you have an idea about this

  38. You’re right ! Gluten makes a whole of difference. Earlier when I baked wheat bread it used to be sticky and wet. This receipe’s bread was very fluffy. I baked with two pans instead of one so the size turned out a little bigger than rusk biscuits. I loved it ! Thank you, now I can say I found the perfect receipe for bread after many disasters. 3rd receipe I have tried from your site. Kudos to you!!






  39. Raul Collado

    Hello, I bought the Whole Wheat Atta, I am gonna make an attempt to make this bread. It looks good. I have a question about this Aashirvaad Atta, do you know if this wheat company does not genetic modified their wheat? Thank you.

  40. Saranya Karuppasamy

    Hi Suguna,

    I live in Chennai and have trouble finding wheat gluten here. It’s not available online either. Can you tell me where we can buy this from

  41. Thanks for the wonderful recipes….Tried whole wheat bread. It came out good but little dense inside, and crust was bit thicker( Tastes Good). I did not add gluten. Could this be the reason ?. Any tips

    And, i tried EGGS JEANETTE. It was too good and simple to make 🙂

    Regards,
    Priya.






  42. Hi, I cook for a coeliac, so have at hand Xanthan gum which helps the baking of bread etc. with the gluten free flour…. Can you tell me if I can replace this for the ‘wheat gluten’ in your recipe ??

    thanks, Val

  43. Hi Suguna,
    Gud evening..! I made the bread today, it tasted yummy.. this my second time making this bread.. but some reason in the middle it is a bit wet. It happened earlier too.. can you help what would have gone wrong..? First time when I baked for 45 minutes, it became dark brown.. so this time I took it out when it is light brown.. can you help? Thanks in advance…
    Chris

    1. Try covering the pan with a foil to avoid burning.
      The batter being wet means that the dough is not cooked yet!
      Also, try calibrating the oven for temperature. If the oven is heating up more than it should, this problem may occur.

  44. hi, i finally made the bread yesterday and it was awesome thanks so much for the recipe… i added 1 cup maida instead of atta, will now try full whole wheat bread… just wanted to know what should be the consistency of the dough should it stiff like we do for chappaties or loose and sticky because mine sunk a little from top while baking.
    thanks

    1. Hi gauri, The dough will be slightly tacky. Not stiff like chapati dough.
      The reason why the top usually sinks may be because of too much yeast or over proofing of the dough.

  45. hi, need to know as to why honey is added in the recipe also is there any other substitute of honey.
    will surely write back once i try this recipe

  46. Hi Suguna,
    Is there is any difference between vital wheat gluten and wheat gluten??
    I just orders wheat gluten from eBay. Wanted to check with you, are they same or different??

  47. Hi Suguna,

    I want to try your recipe in my bread maker but 4 cups of flour is more than it can handle. I was wondering how this recipe can be scaled for a smaller loaf. Do you think it would work if all ingredients are halved ?

    Thanks,
    Varsha

  48. Can I use wholewheat and maida.and other combination od flours.and and add gluten . Will it turn out thr same. Soft and fluffy.

  49. Hi Suguna,

    Would like to know if anyone has used baking bread using bread maker.

    Using normal atta is not ok for bread but if adding gluten powder is the key, want to know if you or others have used this for bread maker machine please.

    Many thanks for your article.






  50. made this bread twice and liked it a lot. Thanks!! I would like to try it again but i want it less sweet this time. If I eliminate or reduce the honey,will it still work? Should i replace it with yogurt, maybe?

  51. Suguna,

    Can I use this recipe for 100% Whole White Wheat flour – Say, King Arthur brand?

    Thanks
    Vijj

    1. Sure. you can. But personally I have not used white whole wheat. So do not know if the water quantity needs to be adjusted. Just check their site for additional info.

  52. Hi! I’m just a couple of bakes old and haven’t really invested in too many tools. I was wondering if one may convert this loaf to rolls( no loaf pan) and if yes, then what about baking temperature and time?

  53. Hello, This looks like a great recipe. I would like to know if there is any substitute for vital wheat gluten. I live in India and it’s not easy to find here. Thank you!

  54. I have tried your sponge cake and it was delicious. Thank you. I have tried other recipes of whole wheat breads and it turns out very dense. I am going to try your recipe this time. Can you recommend any brand of vital gluten that I can get in Bangalore.

    Thanks,
    Preethi

  55. Hi… Will surely try this but will this recipe work even if I knead the dough entirely by hand and not in a machine?

  56. Autolyse, according to other souces is combine water and flour with rest only! without combine any yeast , sugar or salt. If you add yeast to it then rest, then it is not autolyse.

  57. Hi. Bread was great. But whenever I made it, it did rise giving it a typical dome shape on top, but got flat later on. Please help me.






  58. Hi Suguna. Thank you for the receipe. Every time I bake whole wheat bread it is very dense. After reading your article I now understand. Please tell me where you get vital wheat gluten.






  59. HI, I am making this loaf and followed the recipe correctly, but while kneading i felt the water was very less. I add abt 1/3 cups of extra water and still i feel the dough is kinda hard. It does not have the softness of maida dough. Is it ok? I have kept it for rising. Its half an hr but have not seen any rise yet. where did i go wrong?

    1. The bread came out very tasty but dense…… It look almost 4 hrs to size! I took 4 cups of flour. But u see, the cup measure that is available here in india is 1 cup = 200 mls. so 1/4 th cup is 50 mls. I think that is where the mistake happened. But then i thought since i am measuring atta with 200 ml cup 1/4th cup for all other measure would be proportionate. But i think i was wrong. Would it be possible for u to give me atta quantity in weight? I really want this bread. 🙁

  60. Hi- can I make this loaf using ashirwad or any other pre- packaged Atta available in the Indian market?could you also let me know how many grams is one cup atta or what is the size of the cup used -how many ml water can it hold? I have got door stoppers- completely dense and heavy bread when I have tried baking whole wheat bread in the past- really looking for a good recipe!

  61. Tried your wholewheat sandwich bread recipe… Came out soooo good. Thankyou very much for sharing the recipe Am not able to attach the photo though






  62. Thank you thank you so much for nicely explaining the differences of wheat. I am from the USA and all of my friends here in Bangalore come form either Japan or Korea. We have been cracking brains trying to find out why our breads do not raise. So I have been going to the US and they to either Japan or Korea to purchase the flour that we know will make our breads a success. We all use bread machines which make the proccess of finding the right ingredients here evene more complicated.

    BUT
    Thanks to you, I have found the info and will share with my friends.

    Best wishes to you.






  63. Hello,

    Much thanks for recipe and all the information. I have been wondering about the reasons as to why in India it is so hard to bake a decent loaf of bread. Using this recipe I got much better loaf then any other recipe using atta. Mine was still dense to my liking. Could it be because I did not knead it enough..or old vital wheat gluten?

    Thanks, Namrata






  64. Hi Suguna
    Your blog is so awesome, with innovative recipes. Thank you. Can I half the ingredients for baking just 1 loaf will it turn good? Can I use bread flour instead of vital gluten?

  65. Hi…loved the effort you have put into the bread baking. Can i know what oven you use for baking? I have numerous failed attempts at bread baking. Thanks!






  66. Nice recipe.. I’m planning to try.. Can you let me know where can I get vital wheat gluten in India?

  67. Hi,
    I wanted to try this recipe but I have a rather stupid doubt. Sorry!! Is your cup measure 200 ml or 250 ml. What would be the gram equivalent of these measures.

    Thanks so much!!






    1. Hi Sher Khan, One Cup is equal to 250 ml. I do not have gram measurements for this recipe. The other measurements used are 1 tablespoon = 15ml and 1 teaspoon = 5ml. Hope this helps.

  68. Hi – tahnk you for the detailed description on the types of whole wheat. So when you say you grind your own flour – do you own a roller mill ? which one to buy and is it easy to use?

  69. Nice article. Very informative on wheat types in India. I always struggled to make good loaf in India when my loafs come out great in US with hard white wheat. Wondering is gluten powder available in India? Is there any home based substitute for gluten powder? Next I visit, I’m sure to try loaf with Sarbati wheat. Unfortunately, we can’t avoid stone milling in India since that what the home chakkis are. In fact, I use stone flour mill in US to grind my hard white wheat, though the bread comes out fine.

    Thanks a LOT.

  70. Being a co-blogger, I also believe in extensive reading & analysis to understand how different ingredients work in different conditions & different recipes. I can totally see the effort that you must have put to gather all the info and I really appreciate that and btw, that whole bread loaf looks so soft & wonderful! Keep going girl…

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