Hi Thomas, this sounds like your dough might have been a little over-proofed going into the oven. When bread dough is allowed to rise too high (or for too long at too warm a temperature) the dough structure begins to break down. This can cause the kind of collapsing you noticed. Whole wheat flour also ferments faster than white flour, which also may have contributed to your results. Check out this article on Desired Dough Temperature, which may help you achieve a more consistent rise, and consider putting your bread in the oven when it hasn't risen quite so high in the pan. 

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