Instant Pot Whole Wheat Crusty Bread is full of whole grain, seedy goodness and is ready for dinner in a fraction of the time of typical no-knead Artisan bread
I am in love. And I want you to fall in love too. Allow me to introduce you to Instant Pot Whole Wheat Crusty Bread. ????????????Let me tell you all about dear Crusty Bread.
Warm, light, whole grain, full of seeds and oats for texture, chewy and soft on the inside, perfectly crispy on the outside, soaks up soup like a dream, makes a 6 star panini, and the best part – it’s ready in about 5 hours . . . more hearts ????????????.
I see some of you with that confused look on your face. “5 hours?” you say. “Why is that so great?”
Lemme tell you.
My favorite recipe for Artisan No-Knead Bread can be found at Mel’s Kitchen Cafe. I’ve made it for years and her idea with the parchment paper is revolutionary. The catch to her bread is that you’ve got to remember to start it the night before and heaven knows by the time I get the kitchen cleaned up and kids to bed, the last place I want to be is in the kitchen. Unless I’m warming me up some Crio Bru of course.
So I took Mel’s amazing recipe, added whole wheat, dumped in some seeds and oats for crunch and texture, and by the magic of the Instant Pot, I had a piping hot, crunchy loaf of bread in 5 hours instead of 24! So THAT, my friends, is why this recipe ROCKS. THE. PARTAY. HOUSE!!!
What’s the trick? Our beloved yogurt button of course! It keeps your dough at a perfectly warm temperature for faster rising and it really, really works!
Important: Make sure you proof your bread on Yogurt LOW! The higher temperature seemed to be killing my yeast so I wasn’t getting a very pretty loaf. I’ll explain how to do that in the recipe below.
This bread requires minimal attention and since the dough is being transferred around on parchment paper the entire time, you don’t have any dishes either! (okay aside from the bowl you mixed the dough in at the beginning but that was 5 hours ago and you should have already washed it and put it away ????).
I use the Le Creuset enamel cast iron pot for all my crusty bread making and I LOVE it! If you don’t have one there are other options such as a dutch oven or even pans or pots that are safe to use at 450 degrees Fahrenheit.
Most importantly is to serve this with a big, steaming hot bowl of soup. This bread is made for slathering with Kerrygold Butter and then dipping in your most favorite soup.
PS: This soup here is the Creamy Zucchini Spinach Soup on page 139 of our cookbook, Master the Electric Pressure Cooker. Which, since we’re talkin’ about Mel so much today, just so happens to be a pressure cooker adapted recipe of her No-Cream Creamy Basil Spinach Soup. It’s fast, easy, and one of the last things my kids will still eat that is green other than green Laffy Taffy. Please tell me the picky stage is going to end soon!
Quick shout out to Mel, Barbara of Pressure Cooking Today, and of course my sister Cami. I feel so grateful to all of them for mentoring and supporting me in this new adventure. Thank you, thank you to all 3 of you. I wish I could whip up some soup and Crusty Bread and sit down with you all for a meal!
Finally, Don’t forget to enter the giveaway to win a brand new Instant Pot DUO60. It’s one of the most popular Instant Pot models for good reason! I will announce the winner on October 30th here on the blog. To enter, simply:
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Question of the Day: What recipe would you like to see posted on my blog? I’m dyin’ to know what you’re most interested in!
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Be sure and check out Instant Pot Mozzarella, Burrata, Yogurt, Ricotta, and Skyr. These recipes can also be done using that fabulous yogurt button.
I hope you love this bread like I love this bread! Might I suggest enjoying it with a big bowl of this Triple Bean Chili or the veggie loaded Enchilada Soup.
Also check out these other versions – Whole Wheat Cranberry Pecan No Knead Crusty Bread, Jalapeño Cheddar, and Sun-dried Tomato Spinach and Feta.
See below for a handy dandy, step-by-step Instant Pot Whole Wheat Crusty Bread Collage.
Enjoy!
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Instant Pot Whole Wheat Crusty Bread
Instant Pot Whole Wheat Crusty Bread is full of whole grain, seedy goodness and is ready for dinner in a fraction of the time of typical no-knead Artisan bread
- Total Time: About 5:30 hours
- Yield: 1 loaf
Ingredients
- 2 1/4 cups (or 9 oz) white whole wheat flour
- 1 cup (or 4.25 ounces) white flour
- 2 tablespoons vital wheat gluten
- 2 tablespoons rolled oats
- 1 tablespoon uncooked millet (or sub uncooked quinoa)
- 1 tablespoon flax seeds
- 1 tablespoon sunflower seeds
- 1 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon instant yeast
- 1 1/2 cups room temperature water
Instructions
- In a medium bowl, mix together wheat flour, white flour, wheat gluten, oats, millet (or quinoa), flax seeds, sunflower seeds, salt, and yeast. Add the water and with your hands, mix until the majority of the flour is incorporated, but the dough is still a slightly shaggy looking ball. If the dough is still quite wet and sticky, sprinkle an extra tablespoon or 2 of flour on top and gently fold it in. You want the dough to be tacky, but not so wet and sticky that it coats your hands when your working the flour in.
- Place on top of a piece of parchment paper and put inside the Instant Pot liner.
- Secure the lid. Press yogurt, then adjust until the screen reads 24:00 low. Adjust time to 4:30 and wait for the beep to indicate the cycle has started.
- After 4 hours the dough will have puffed up a bit and have small bubbles on top. Grab the sides of the parchment to lift the dough out of the pot.
- Quickly form a ball (using extra flour if needed if it’s really sticky), place back on the parchment paper and again put inside the pot. Secure the lid.
- Place a 6 – 8 quart cast iron pot inside the oven with the lid on. Preheat oven to 450 degrees.
- After 30 minutes, the oven should be preheated and the dough will be slightly risen. Remove the pot from the oven and place the lid to the side.
- Holding on to the sides of the parchment, carefully lift dough from the pot and place inside the cast iron pot (parchment paper and all). Place lid on top and put inside the oven and bake for 30 minutes.
- After 30 minutes, remove the lid of the ceramic pot and allow the bread to cook 10 -15 minutes longer until the bread is nicely browned.
- Remove from the oven, hold the corners of the parchment paper and place bread on top of a cooling rack.
- Technically it’s best to let it cool slightly so it doesn’t smash while its hot, but if you lack self control like myself, grab a sharp knife and start cutting uneven chunks of bread. Slather with butter and go to your happy place 🙂
Notes
- For an even lighter loaf you can increase the amount of white flour to wheat flour
- Caution! There have been reports of bread rising so high that it pushed the pin up in the lid making it impossible to remove the lid. If you follow the directions in this recipe, that won’t be a problem with this bread, but it’s something to keep in mind with proofing in general. If there is a chance your dough could rise that high, use a glass lid instead of the pressure cooker lid.
I would like to see some Instant Pot recipes for the upcoming holidays (Thanksgiving, Christmas, etc.).
Hi Marci!
Love your Sure and I love the Instant Pot. Hope to send this ( if I win) to my daughter for Christmas. I’d like to have a recipe for vegan baked beans that fast like old-fashioned pork and beans. ????
More dump recipes for all meals…so easy, so delicious…
★★★★★
I would love to see some holiday recipes. Thank you!
Different beef dishes (other than roast, soup or stew).
Because two family members are diabetic, I would appreciate more low carb, sugar free recipes, or ones that could be easily adapted by switching out ingredients. Thanks…I love your site!
Instead of water in this recipe, use the whey left over from making yogurt!
And I’d like to see cake recipes, please,
I’d like to see some simple appetizers, holiday classics, n etc.I’ve put the insta pot on my wish list probably 5 times already…I wanted to make sure that they didn’t miss how important it is!!!Ha ha…
When you mentioned that you love curry in the fall, I was super interested. A tried and true Instant Pot curry recipe would be awesome!
I’ve tried a number of pressure cooker recipes for “traditional” items like Ribs and they always taste steamed, so if you have developed a recipe that for something I might typically throw on the grill like pork shoulder.
My partner says that once you cook meat in the pressure cooker, you always want to grill it for after seconds or minutes to get that crisp outside. Hopefully, this helps your rib dilemma!
V, Great tip! I like to broil my ribs after they finish cooking as well.
My favorite thing about your blog is the unexpected things you can do in pressure cookers (ex, extracts, infused water, crio bru, bread proofing, etc). I’d like to see more.
gosh, that looks amazing! I would love to see more gluten-free recipes on your site since I am one of 133 people in the country who have celiac!
oops, I neglected a determiner–one of EVERY 133 people!
Would love to see more vegan recipes, please.
I can’t wait to try this! I am all about the one pot meals for my family of 5. Also some healthy options that I can pack up for work lunches. Thank you!
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This looks so yummy and healthy! I shared it with my mom who always naked us yummy grainy bread when she visits…. Been looking for a convenient daily bread recipe to maybe skip the grocery bought one.
Would love to see a recipe for a quick dessert or appetizer from pantry items for when last minute guests show up…thanks ????
I would like to see recipes for sprouted bread.
I would also love to see sprouted wheat bread. Or sprouted grains or seeds of any kind bread. Healthy and yummy.
I would love to see more breads and holiday recipes -this one looks so good and easy too Thanks Marci for a chance to win!
I would love to see some make ahead meals that we can throw in the freezer. I did this when I was pregnant with my first son. Took me about 4 hours to put them all together, but we had about 12 different dinners stashed away for those crazy days!
I’d love any new instant pot recipes, especially kid friendly
I second the instant pot kid-friendly recipes request. And if they can be high in protein that would make the hubby happy, too. ???? Thanks!
I look forward to trying your bread recipe since I tried a different bread recipe that failed on me. I’m in a healthy soup mood so that is what I’d like to see of more recipes.
I love your bread – I make a similar one but will definitely try yours. I’m thinking about Thanksgiving right now and how to best use my instant pot.
I’ve been loving this series on the Yogurt button! It would be really cool to see some recipes talking about uses for the other buttons (regular and unconventional). And I haven’t really dived into the Pot-in-Pot possibilities – I’d love to see some recipes that would help me learn more about that!
How about something Indonesian, such as nasi goreng?
I’d love to see some quick and healthy fruit based recipes.
Love your crusty bread recipe!
Beautiful, beautiful bread!!!
I would love to see more instant pot recipes that are made with simple, pantry-friendly, already-have-on-hand ingredients.
I can’t wait to try this. I love your more off the wall/out of the box uses for the instant pot. I fell in love with your recipes when I made the enchilada soup. So anything out of the norm would be nice to see. I’m having a non traditional thanksgiving because I hate turkey. We are doing homemade pastrami, bread, mayonnaise, mustard and anything else we can make.
Molly, I love your non-traditional Thanksgiving idea! I doubt I could get my family to go for it, but I would love that!
I love more easy meal in one instant pot meals (with meat and carb and veggie!)
I would love to make something like zucchini bread in my ip. It’s so yummy but not sure how to go about it!
Can’t wait to make this bread. I love the idea of using the IP to raise the bread. I just ordered the 8” spring form pan and the heating cone to make your recipes for breakfast cakes. It would be nice to have other recipes that I could make using the pan alone, or with the core. Like maybe a appetizer, or casserole.
I’d love to see a classic comforting Turkey rice soup!!!
How about some cobblers? I’m a new reader so maybe you’ve done this already
Misty, I have mini peach cobblers in our cookbook that are more like breakfast cobblers than dessert, but they are so yummy!
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So I cheated a little bit and read some comments…but I definitely agree that some holiday recipes would be great (I’m especially intrigued by any alcoholic treats)! I also have celiac disease, so some gluten free variations would be wonderful too!
There is a limoncello recipe out there that I’m dying to try!
Becky, Do you know who Rich Lum is? He’s in the IP Facebook community and he created that recipe. If you’re in that group, do a search for him or send him a message and he’ll hook ya up.
I’m new to the instant pot – my daughters finally bullied me into getting one – and I am excited about using it to make one-step meals like pot roast with veggies and other meat dishes. But I am game for trying anything tasty!
Gail, You’ve got some good daughters 🙂
I’d like a gluten free bread recipe that’s as good as this recipe looks! I yearn for great breads that are gluten free!
Helen, Ill admit that’s still tricky territory for me. But I have a friend that is gluten free that’s been experiment on my recipes so I’m working on it!
Maybe Einkorn too ????
Definitely some holiday recipes! I love the added ingredients for this bread. I use the whey from my yogurt for the liquids.
Cheryl, I’m definitely trying the whey next time. I don’t know why I didn’t think about that!
I also use whey in place of buttermilk or other liquids in pancakes, lacto fermenting foods, cooking grains and rice, etc.
I love your back to basics posts. Here’s how to make beans and use those beans to make the best, blow your mind, bean dip. Or whatever, you’re much more creative than me. 🙂
Laurel, We must be on the same wavelength, I wrote down beans in my notebook a couple days ago and am gonna blow your mind for sure 🙂
anything diabetic friendly
I have made cheesecake (delish!) in the IP but would like to see other desserts that come out well when cooked in the IP. The one time I tried a cake it was just too wet.
Celeste, great idea! Try the breakfast cakes on my site for a Breakfast option. The chocolate and vanilla lava cakes from our cookbook are amazing as wells as the poached pears. But now you’ve got me thinking!
That bread looks fantastic! It’s not really cold here (Oklahoma) yet, but as soon as we dip below 50, I’ll be making soup and bread all the time — I guarantee some of your recipes will be at the top of my list of new things to try. Thanks for sharing all your pressure cooker magic! I got mine specifically for the yogurt, but I’m having fun trying all kinds of other things! I don’t have a specific request — just keep up with the interesting ideas! Thanks, Marci!!
Lucy, what kind words, thank you so much!
I’d love to see more Instant Pot gluten free recipes, please!
Need more non cheesecake desserts!
More holiday recipes please&I can never get enough one pot dinner recipes! Love your site & love my instant pot
Would love some glutenfree/nutfree recipes
I’d love to see soup recipes and Indian recipes especially with winter coming !
I’d love to see a really simple, hearty beef stew recipe. Winter is coming!
I would also like more freezer meals. Thanks!
I don’t have a specific recipe but I’d love more hearty, yummy soup recipes like your chili! My family loved it!
MMM can’t wait to try this bread!!! I would love any clean-eating or paleo type recipes you might wish to share!
I’d love more paleo and more low carb recipes.
Since we’re talking about the Instant Pot, I’d love to see more meat recipes. How to cook meat in the Instant Pot that’s tender and flavorful.
Beautiful bread!
I would love to see some instant pot one dish dinner recipes that are very low in fat. Thanks!
As much as I’m enjoying this series, my electric pressure cooker is not an Instant Pot, so all I can do is read and drool over your recipes. I’m most interested in recipes and techniques that work in any electric pressure cooker so I don’t feel like I’m not invited to the party. Dinner recipes, vegetable recipes, “baking” recipes, bring them on!! And I love your willingness to experiment and learn, and then share your knowledge with us, in projects like your pressure-cooker extracts series. Thanks!
Anne, I’ve got your back Anne! This week was a bit of an exception, but typically I aim to write recipes that will work for any brand of electric pressure cooker. I appreciate your comment!
More vegan/plant based recipes would be great.
I would love to see some Instant Pot Holiday recipes, specifically desserts lol! Also how crazy is an Instant Pot, you can make yogurt, bread, meat, rice, etc.! It seems like the possibilities for recipes are endless
What about a quiche? Or a type of frittata? Love your site, loving your cookbook. Thank you for the inspiration.
‘It’s the season for soups!
I’d love to see more whole grain/vegetarian/plant-based ideas, especially for the instant pot. I know you already have a lot of recipes like this, so keep it up 🙂
I would love to see a roast and veggie recipe. It’s one of my husband’s favorites but I always forget to put it in the crockpot or it gets too done and dried out.
Marci,
Everything that you have shared so far is amazing!! I especially love your steal cut oat recipes. I omit the sweetener and they are still amazing.
I am so excited to try all the recipes this week!!!
As for something I’d like you to tech us to make, I am added sweetener free so any recipes that are added sweetener free would be great.
My husband isn’t added sweetener free though so he would enjoy the sweeter recipes.
Thank you for sharing your wealth of knowledge!!
Jill
Thanks for turning me and my whole family onto crio bru. It is awesome! We would love to learn how to make more recipes to start the night before, so we can wake up to warm yumminess. A good marinara would be nice too. Maybe Apple Butter that we can give as a gift for Christmas. And a light and airy Cheesecake, so many are too dense and just over the top in terms of sugar and fattiness (if it tastes airy, my brain feels less guilty somehow). And, finally, perhaps a good recipes for flan. That’s a heavy liad for requests. But, I have faith in you Lil’ tid bits! AND i hope i win a new Instant Pot. My Mom needs one badly! Happy Cooking!
Chrisser, We’re on the same wave length. I’m working on a new cheesecake now to take to our Pinners Conference next week. And it’s soooooo good! Trying to incorporate more yogurt to make it lighter. I’m working on a guilt free cheesecake too so be on the watch for that.
I would like to see more of your interesting and different recipes. I love the fruit infused water that I freeze into ice cubes. I would have never thought to use the Instant Pot to make this. First I made the blueberry lime. Muscadine lemon was next!
I would love to see a lamb recipe if possible!
I am a super, big fan of the entrees in your cookbook. I love the idea of knowing my pressure cooker has the main course taken care of, so I would like to see even more entree recipes on your blog.
I would love more soup recipes.
Is the vital wheat gluten necessary to make this bread? I know it probably adds to the rising and texture qualities. But if you can’t find it or are out, what would you substitute?
Also, would love sourdough recipes.
Thanks much.
Connie, You could try it without. It may be a bit different, but I think it’ll still be wonderful
I’d love to see some quick Christmas type recipes.
This bread looks amazing!
I can’t wait to try this Marci! I also can’t wait to see what you come up with when you try the sprouted flour!
Can this method be used for my no knead sourdough bread?
Marilyn, I haven’t tried it, but I would assume it would. Let me know if you try!
Cherry cheesecake
The tips and tricks are fabulous. It’s soup season soon, so I’d love to see more soups and of course new desserts are always on the table.
Fall is my favorite time to cook. Love soup. In fact I can eat soup any time of year!
Fresh berries.
Some holiday recipes would be great, but you just blew my mind with this bread recipe!
Different ways to make yummy pork chops. We don’t do much beef, don’t do lamb, and get really tired of chicken, so some pork chop ideas would be awesome!
This bread is a definite ‘gotta try it’ item!! Thank you!
Kid-friendly, high protein (aka husband-friendly) instant pot recipes would be a real hit at my house! Thanks for asking!
Looks so good. I would love to see more winter weather recipes.
The bread is delicious! I added sesame seeds, because I love sesame seeds! The store didn’t have Millet, so I used 9 grain blend, which I already had on hand. The dough was indeed shaggy. I found a bench scraper assisted in shaping the dough. It was quite adherent to the parchment, but shaped up well. I will make again!
Gennifer, I love your additions! I will definitely try the 9 grain blend the next time. Thank you for the bench scraper tip, I will use that idea as well. I’m glad you liked it!
Such a clever idea! Thanks for the sweet shout out <3
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I would like to try this, but think it would be hard for me to find a couple of the ingredients like millet and “vital wheat gluten.” Are these absolutely necessary or are their suitable, more commonly found substitutions? Thank you!
Kristen, as far as the millet goes, you could use uncooked quinoa for a similar bite, or just more seeds like pumpkin or sesame. The vital wheat gluten gives a more tender chew to whole wheat breads, but I say go for it without and see how you like it. I’ve never tried it, but hot out of the oven I suspect It’ll still be wonderful.
Is there any way to make this bread in the instant pot with regular flour etc for a white bread?? Thank you so much.
madis, yes, I’ve made it with all white flour and left out the seeds and it is straight up dessert!
Delicious and so easy! I used chia seeds in place of millet, I love the extra fiber in this recipe, Thanks for the foolproof instructions and pictures. This is the second thing I have used my Instant Pot for.
★★★★★
Kat, Haha! I love it! The second thing you used it for and it has nothing to do with pressure cooking :). Thanks for the tip on the chia seeds. I was wondering if chia seeds would absorbs the moisture too much, but now I’m excited to try it!
I don’t understand the part where you say put it in the oven. You mean the stove? Can I use a bread pan? I don’t have a covered cast iron pan.
Alice, yes, it is cooked in the oven. The instant pot can’t quite do everything :). I’ve read of people using oven safe soup pots, crockpot inserts, and even pyrex then just tenting with foil.
I must have this bread! I’m taking the Go Sugar Free class, have you made this bread with all whole wheat? Also, do you know if the vital wheat gluten is GSF-friendly?
Candace! How’s GSF going? Yep, I’ve used all whole wheat before and you won’t get as much of a rise with it and it’s a bit more heavy, but right out of the oven it’s still drop dead amazing with a hot bowl of soup. If I were to make it only for me, I would do 100% whole wheat every time.
Day 5 and still going strong! I really love the pace of the lessons. Something new every day but it’s not overwhelming. Today, my husband thanked me for going sugar-free. He’s not doing the course, just eating what I tell him 😉 but it’s nice to have his enthusiastic support.
More than the sugar, I think breaking the refined grain habit is going to be the hardest. That’s why I’m so excited about this bread.
One more question… what size Le Creuset cast iron pot do you use for this bread?
Candace, Mine says 5 quart on it
When proofing the dough in the pressure cooker on the yogurt setting, do you have the pressure cooker lid set to sealed or venting? Or do you use a glass lid on the inner pot? Thanks!
Ben, It actually doesn’t matter which position it is and a glass lid would probably work great as well. I’m guessing the pressure cooker lid would hold in heat better though so that’s why I went with that. Enjoy it!
I plan on getting the 3 quart Instant Pot. Should I just halve the recipe?
Bernie, I’m not 100% sure. I actually think the full recipe would fit in the 3 quart.
Thx, Marcie. I’ll give it a try.
If your Instant Pot is a LUX model and doesn’t have a yogurt button, what button would you use instead? Thanks in advance!
Pam, to make yogurt in that model is an entirely different method. Search for it on google and you should find something. I believe it’s done inside mason jars instead.
I wonder if the yoghurt setting on the instant pot ultra would work since you talk about yoghurt on low and my ultra does not have that possibility.
Monique, I’m pretty sure the ultra has the low setting. Check your manual, it’s a bit tricky to find it on the screen but I’m 90% sure it has it.
Yes, sorry, I found it. Lots to learn with this new machine. Thank you for your reply.
Hello! I’ve made this bread several times now, and it’s delicious! Question for you, after the 4 1/2 hours in the Insta pot, do I have to bake it right away? I accidentally ieft it in the Insta pot for another hour, is that ok? also, do you have a sourdough recipe ? Thank you again, I love your recipes !
Dipti, thank you so much! I love this bread as well. I’ve left it an extra hour before and it seemed to do just fine. There may come a point where it rises too much and then falls, but I haven’t had that happen yet. Sourdough is on my list, but I haven’t done that yet. So many recipes to play around with, I don’t know where to start sometimes!
Can you use all whole wheat flour?
Megan, yes, I have before, and my family loves it all the same. It’s a bit denser, but hot out of the oven, I have no complaints. The next day it’s a bit heavy, but I just wrap it up in foil and heat it up in the oven again