Why doesn't my whole wheat dough pass the Poke Test?

Question

http://www.thekitchn.com/bread-baking-tip-how-to-tell-w-156772

The Poke Test - Give that ball of dough a firm poke with your finger. If the indentation fills back quickly, you're good to go. If it stays looking like a deep dimple, continue kneading.

I use the water and the whole wheat flour only. After kneading the dough for 15 minutes I poked it. The hole didn't fill up.

Is there a proper way to knead the dough which I may be missing?

This dough is supposed to be used for making Parathas and Chapatis.

Answer 1

The "spring back poke test" is a function of gluten content. Whole-wheat doughs have a hard time building gluten networks, because the sharp edges of the bran cut through the gluten strands as you knead. In general, you should never use more than 50% whole-wheat flour in a standard bread dough. Cook's Illustrated successfully increased that to 60% by soaking the whole-wheat flour in milk for at least 8 hours before making the dough, and using bread flour instead of all-purpose for the other 40%.