Honey Wheat Bread Recipe
Posted Feb 19, 2018, Updated Jun 01, 2024
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This homemade honey wheat bread recipe is an easy to make with 8 ingredients & is perfect for sandwiches and toast. It’s a classic loaf of moist & sweet honey whole wheat bread.
Nothing compares to freshly baked bread (like these homemade dinner rolls and this pretzel bread). The smell, the taste, it’s truly a beautiful thing. Even the process is therapeutic.
From the first rise of the dough to the first slice of the finished product, the whole experience makes a house feel like a home. This Homemade Honey Whole Wheat Bread is one of our favorites.
I love this honey wheat bread because it’s healthier and more delicious than store-bought breads. You know exactly what you are eating and feeding your family with zero preservatives or artificial ingredients.
Plus using white whole wheat flour in place of refined white flour is an easy way to add nutrients when you bake because it’s full of fiber, vitamins, and minerals.
Homemade Honey Wheat Bread: Substitutions
- Honey. I have only ever made this bread with honey. I am guessing that another liquid sweetener, like maple syrup or agave, could work well in this recipe. However, since I have not tried it I cannot guarantee results!
- Canola oil. Any neutral oil works well in this recipe: avocado oil, melted coconut oil, olive oil, etc. Melted butter also is a great substitute.
- All-purpose flour. you can use all whole wheat flour but the bread will be much denser. If you would like to do this, I would suggest white whole wheat flour or whole wheat pastry flour.
- Whole wheat flour. White whole wheat flour and whole wheat pastry flour are great substitutes.
How to Make Homemade Honey Wheat Bread
Let’s walk through this recipe together, and don’t forget to watch the video.
You can mix the dough in a standing mixer using a dough hook or by hand. It’s very easy to do either way.
The first step is proofing the yeast. Combine the water, honey and yeast in your mixing bowl and let rest until foamy – about 5 to 10 minutes.
Then, add the rest of the ingredients and use the dough hook or a wooden spoon to combine.
Add enough flour for the dough to form a slightly tacky ball. Then place it in a lightly oiled bowl, cover it with a damp tea towel to rise until doubled in volume.
This honey wheat bread recipe involves two rises. First the dough rises in the bowl and the second time around it rises in the loaf pan.
How to Shorten rise time
Put the bowl with the dough inside covered with a damp tea towel on the upper rack of your oven (the oven must be off). Then place two cups of boiling water in an open container underneath the dough. The warm damp environment will make the dough rise much faster. Just be sure to remove it before you preheat the oven.
Once the dough has doubled in size, punch it down and transfer it to a greased loaf pan. If desired, press the oatmeal on top of the loaf. If the oats do not stick well, brush the top of the loaf with water or milk, then add the oats.
Cover the loaf pan with the damp tea towel and let rise until it is just at the top of the loaf pan.
Then, bake the honey wheat bread in the preheated oven for 25-30 minutes, or until the top is golden brown and the loaf makes a hollow sound when hit with a wooden spoon. Or, until the internal temperature of the loaf is 185 degrees F.
If the top is browning too quickly loosely cover the loaf with aluminum foil and move to a lower rack in the oven.
Cool & Serve
Let the bread cool in the loaf pan on a wire cooling rack for at least 10 minutes, or more if you have time. Then, remove the honey wheat bread from the pan, transfer it to a cooling rack and cover it with a towel. This will keep the bread warmer for longer, and it will also help the crust stay nice and soft.
There are so many ways to serve this honey wheat bread. The first, is warm and plain with a slather of cinnamon honey butter, peanut butter, apple butter, jam, etc.
Or, use it to make your favorite sandwiches. Some suggestions include: the best BLTs, chicken salad sandwich, turkey cranberry sandwich, grilled cheese, etc.
Store
Store leftovers in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 days, in the refrigerator for up to 1 week.
Freeze
Slice the loaf into individual slices, wrap it in plastic wrap and store in an airtight container in the freezer for up to 2 months. I suggest slicing so if you only want to remove one or two slices at a time to enjoy you can.
Honey Wheat Bread Recipe FAQs
This bread freezes and reheats beautifully! I often make two loves, one for now and one to freeze for later. Be sure to slice the bread before freezing it! This way, you can pull out the number of slices you need for a given meal instead of the entire loaf
Store this homemade whole wheat bread in an airtight container or plastic bag. If you will eat it within one day, keep it at room temperature to avoid drying out. If you will take longer to finish a loaf I recommend storing it in the refrigerator.
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Honey Wheat Bread Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 cup warm water (about 105 degrees F)
- ¼ cup honey
- 1 Tablespoon yeast
- 1 Tablespoon canola oil
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- 1 ¾ cup whole wheat flour
- 1 teaspoon sea salt
Topping
- ¼ cup old-fashioned oatmeal
Instructions
- In the bowl of a standing mixer fitted with a dough hook, add warm water, honey and yeast. Stir to combine and let the mixture sit for 5-10 minutes until the yeast is foamy (proofed). (Or you can use a large bowl and mix by hand).
- Add canola oil, all-purpose flour 1 cup of whole wheat flour and sea salt to the proofed yeast mixture.
- Stir the mixture with the dough hook, starting on low speed and increasing to medium-high, until combined
- Slowly add remaining whole wheat flour ¼ cup at a time, mixing after each addition.
- Once the dough has formed a ball that is only slightly tacky and pulls away from the sides of the mixer, transfer it to a well-floured surface and knead until it becomes elastic and smooth.
- Place dough in a lighly oiled bowl covered by a damp towel in a warm place to rise. Let rise until doubled in size (about 1-2 hours).
- After dough has doubled in size, gently press all the air out of it and grease a 9×5” loaf pan.
- Transfer the dough to the greased loaf pan and cover with a warm damp towel. If desired, press oatmeal on the top of the loaf.
- Let the dough rise until it reaches the top of the loaf pan, then preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
- Bake for 25-30 minutes in the preheated oven, or until the top is golden brown and the loaf makes a hollow sound when hit with a wooden spoon. If the top is browning too quickly loosely cover the loaf with aluminum foil and move to a lower rack in the oven.
- Remove the bread pan from the oven and place on a wire rack to cool for 10 minutes.
- After 10 minutes release the sides of the bread with a knife, and gently flip the pan over to remove the bread. Serve warm or let cool!
Video
Notes
- Canola oil. Any neutral oil works well in this recipe: avocado oil, melted coconut oil, olive oil, etc. Melted butter also is a great substitute.
- All-purpose flour. you can use all whole wheat flour but the bread will be much denser. If you would like to do this, I would suggest white whole wheat flour or whole wheat pastry flour.
- Whole wheat flour. White whole wheat flour and whole wheat pastry flour are great substitutes.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
This bread was easy and so very good!
I did wonder, however, why it does not rise very tall…the yeast was fine and it sat in a nice, toasty room rise…
I’ve never made bread before and I couldn’t be more proud of myself this recipe is so easy and taste amazing I’m never buying store bought bread again! I will say it didn’t rest the second time as long as it could have but that’s on me. it’s almost more like a sweet treat vs bread
What kind of yeast is used in this recipe?
Active dry yeast.
Will this work in a breadmaker? I make 100% whole wheat in my breadmaker and it comes out moist and delicious! Thought I’d better check first.
Thanks much, Susie (aka cooknwoman)
When do you add the oatmeal to the top in the baking process? Looks delicious and cannot wait to try it!
This recipe was soo easy to follow and that is coming from a girlie that cant bake to save her life haha. I will definitely be using this recipe again and maybe even try some experimenting with it. It was my first time using my KitchenAid by the way and I can’t wait to repeat this recipe again with it.
This is the second bread recipe I tried and it turned out amazing!!! Thank you so much for sharing!! Question, has anyone made these into hamburger buns or rolls? Thanks!
I have been making bread since 2020 and tried this recipe today. It was so easy and delicious! The house smelled like a bakery when I was baking the bread and my family couldn’t wait to cut a slice and devour this bread.
Seriously the best! This was the second load I’ve ever made and we can’t get enough. I think after this go around I’ll have to double the recipe to make more… we eat it so quick.
Why did we ever buy store bought bread??
Thank you!!
This was a good alternative to an all white flour loaf. This is the first one of your bakes I found confusing to follow. There was white flour, whole wheat flour, and white whole wheat flour referenced in directions and ingredients. I wasn’t quite sure what to use.
How do you get the oatmeal to stick to the loaf? It looked beautiful going in, but when I turned it out of the Ian the yard fell off leaving foot looking dusty. 😀
It baked a soft loaf, great for sandwiches or toast. Better than store bought.
Thank you Heather! This is an older recipe – I will definitely scrub through it and try to make it easier to follow when I get the chance! I appreciate that feedback!!