Grocery prices just keep rising and we’re all feeling it, so I decided to revisit some of my old bread recipes. Because if there ever was a time to learn how to make homemade bread, it’s now! It only takes a couple of dollars to make this super delish homemade honey wheat bread that is soft, fluffy, flavorful, and perfect for toast or sandwiches. And while it does take some time to make a loaf of bread, most of that is hands-off time that you can use to tend to other business. ;)
What’s in Honey Wheat Bread?
This recipe starts with the basic yeast bread ingredients: flour, salt, and yeast. Then I added a little honey to give the bread just a hint of sweetness and a little olive oil which helps keep the bread (and the crust in particular) nice and soft. I’ve used a combination of whole wheat and all-purpose flour for this bread to keep the texture light and fluffy.
Can I use All Whole Wheat Flour?
While you can make bread with 100% whole wheat flour instead of a mix of white and wheat, that tends to produce heavier, dense bread. Whole wheat flour absorbs more moisture than all-purpose flour, so you may need to adjust the ratios in this bread slightly. I find that for the best texture, a 50/50 mix of whole wheat flour and all-purpose flour produces the best results.
How to Store Homemade Bread
It’s very important to let homemade bread cool completely to room temperature before storing to prevent trapping steam and creating condensation. Homemade bread doesn’t contain preservatives like store-bought bread, so you’ll need to either consume the bread quickly or freeze it for longer storage. (Or make bread pudding with the leftovers!)
If storing your bread at room temperature, wrap the bread in cloth or paper to allow just enough airflow to prevent moisture build-up. Homemade bread will last about 2-3 days stored at room temperature.
If storing in the refrigerator, keep the bread in an air-tight container. This is my preferred method because I don’t usually eat bread that quickly. Bread stored in the refrigerator will stay good for about 5-6 days.
If you need to store your bread for longer, freeze it. I suggest slicing the bread prior to freezing so you can thaw or use 1-2 slices at a time as needed without thawing the entire loaf. I often toast my slices straight from the freezer for convenience! Make sure to freeze the bread in an air-tight, heavy-duty, freezer-safe container (like a freezer bag).
New to making homemade bread? Try our super easy No-Knead Bread!
Honey Wheat Bread
Servings 12 slicesIngredients
- 1.25 cup warm water ($0)
- 2 tsp active dry yeast or instant yeast ($0.34)
- 2 Tbsp honey ($0.50)
- 3 Tbsp olive oil ($0.36)
- 1.5 cups whole wheat flour* ($0.57)
- 1.5 cups all-purpose flour* ($0.38)
- 1/2 Tbsp salt ($0.05)
Instructions
- Stir the yeast and 1 Tbsp of the honey into the warm water until dissolved, then set it aside for about five minutes to allow the yeast to activate. A thick layer of foam should develop on the surface of the water.
- While waiting for the yeast to bloom, stir together 1 cup of the whole wheat flour with the salt.
- Once the yeast is foamy, add the rest of the honey (1 Tbsp) and the olive oil and stir to combine. Pour the yeast water into the bowl with the flour and salt, then stir until combined. Add ½ cup more of whole wheat flour and stir until combined again.
- Now start adding all-purpose flour, ½ cup at a time, until you can no longer stir the dough with a spoon. At that point, turn the dough out onto a floured surface and begin to knead all-purpose flour into the dough, a little at a time.
- Knead the dough for about five minutes, slowly adding flour as you knead, or until the dough no longer sticks to your hands, but is still fairly pliable. I used 1.5 cups all-purpose flour total, but the total flour amount will vary with the type of flour used and relative humidity in the room.
- Place the kneaded dough back into the mixing bowl and cover with a cloth. Let the dough rise at room temperature for about an hour, or until it has doubled in size.
- Lightly coat a bread pan with oil. Punch the dough down to deflate, then take the dough out of the bowl. Shape the dough into a log about the same length of your bread pan.
- Place the shaped dough in the bread pan and let it rise for anohter hour, or until it has risen about 2-inches above the edges of the bread pan.
- Preheat the oven to 375ºF. Once fully preheated, add the risen bread and bake for 30 minutes, or until the bread is deeply golden brown and it sounds hollow when tapped.
- Remove the bread from the oven and let it cool just a few minutes (to make it easier to handle), then carefully remove the bread from the pan to fully cool.
- Once cool, slice and serve your delicious homemade bread!
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Equipment
Notes
Nutrition
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How to Make Honey Wheat Bread – Step By Step Photos
Start by dissolving 1 Tbsp honey and 2 tsp instant yeast or active dry yeast in 1.25 cups of warm water. Set the mixture aside to allow the yeast to bloom. It should develop a thick layer of foam on the surface.
While waiting for the yeast to bloom, add 1 cup whole wheat flour to a bowl with ½ Tbsp salt and stir to combine.
Once the yeast has bloomed, stir another 1 Tbsp honey and 3 Tbsp olive oil into the yeast water, then pour that mixture into the bowl with the flour and salt. Stir to combine.
Stir another ½ cup of whole wheat flour into the dough.
Now start adding in all-purpose flour, ½ cup at a time until you can no longer stir the dough with a spoon.
When a shaggy ball of dough forms that can no longer be stirred with a spoon, it’s time to turn the dough out onto a floured surface to knead.
Begin kneading in more all-purpose flour a little at a time. Knead for about five minutes, or until the dough no longer sticks to your hands, but is still pliable. I used about 1.5 cups all-purpose flour in total, but the total flour amount can vary depending on the type of flour used and the relative humidity in the room.
Place the kneaded dough back into the mixing bowl and cover it with a towel. Let the dough rise at room temperature for one hour, or until doubled in size.
Once doubled in size, punch the dough down to deflate. Remove the dough from the bowl and shape it into a log the same length as your bread pan.
Lightly coat a bread pan with olive oil then place the shaped dough inside. Let the bread rise for another hour, or until it has risen about two inches above the top of the bread pan.
Preheat the oven to 375ºF. Once the bread has risen, transfer the bread to the oven and bake for 30 minutes, or until the crust is deeply brown and sounds hollow when tapped.
After 30 minutes, remove the bread from the oven. Let it cool for just a few minutes to make it easier to handle, then carefully remove it from the bread pan to finish cooling.
Once cooled, slice and serve the bread, or store it for later!
This did not turn out well for me. I proofed my yeast and it seemed fine but it did not rise smoothly for the second rise so I have an uneven lumpy loaf. Not sure what went wrong but probably won’t try this recipe again.
Does this call for quick yeast?
It’s active dry yeast.
I’m a bread making novice & decided to try my hand at it with hopes of cutting down on grocery runs during this quarantine. I was able to follow the recipe successfully with absolutely no prior knowledge! The bread is delicious and definitely has less sugar than our regular store bought which is absolutely a win in my book!
This bread is so yummy! Although the recommended baking temp always overcooks it for me. Next time I will try 30 mins at 400.
This is the second time I’ve made this bread, and while it tastes delicious, scoring the dough with a knife has made it deflate both times. Am I cutting too deep, or is there some other trick? What would happen if I didn’t score the dough?
This one will probably be okay if you don’t score it. Deflating can be the result of a few things. One might be the type of knife you’re using, or putting too much downward pressure as you score, or perhaps the gluten hasn’t been developed enough in the dough so it’s not very strong (kneading longer can help, just don’t add too much flour so the dough gets stiff).
Great recipe!
Followed recipe except instead of all purpose flour I used bread flour. Perfect texture and sooooo delicious. My husband couldnt wait until the loaf was cooked to cut a slice. Cut no problem and didnt deflate the bread as the crust is pretty sturdy. Loved this recipe. Keeping in my tried and true stash! Will start trying some of your other recipe and passing this recipe to my friends and family!
has anyone tried this recipe with only all purpose flour?
I love this website so much because the recipes never fail. So if I can alter one of her recipes then that would be awesome
You should be able to make this will all AP flour, but you might need slightly more water as AP flour doesn’t absorb quite as much as WW flour. :)
Has anyone tried using sprouted wheat flour? We’re interested in using this type of flour but not sure how well it will perform. I think in terms of processing it performs more like white flour. I would just use the King Arthur recipe (where we bought it) but it looks way more complicated than this! :)
I made this today and unfortunately, it didn’t come out as I expected….I don’t think my yeast had enough to eat because after a while, it just stopped rising although I had it in a warm room. I really only had enough for one loaf. Also, it maybe my american pallet but I think it needed a little more to sweeten it up for me…I would say this is more of wheat bread than honey wheat. I never try a recipe just once so I may try it again with a few adjustments.
This was a flop for me. Had to work to hard to get more then 1 cup of amp flour in it. Might have made one loaf better. Tried 2 loafs n they aren’t 2 inches high.
It’s only meant to make one loaf
My family loves this bread! It’s simple and delicious, and it really does make great sandwiches! Even my pick husband prefers this! The only modification I made was cooking it at 375 for about 25 min in a countertop oven (they tend to cook a bit quicker). Yum!
I added one cup of bread flour and one cup of AP flour to the whole wheat, and it came out great! I also baked it at 425 for about 20 minutes until it got really brown on top, then covered with foil and turned it down to 350 for another 15. Probably didn’t need that long — I’ll do it for 15 at 425 and 15 at 350 next time. Great bread though!
I will make this bread again. It tasted very good. I used canola oil, instead of olive oil. I used 1 cup of all-purpose flour, and 1 tsp. of salt. Next time I would add a little more AP flour, because the loaf was a bit sticky to remove from the bread pan, even though I oiled it. 400F
made my loaf quite dark. Next time, I would turn it down to 375F and bake a bit longer. I didn’t slice the top, but may try it next time. I had one air bubble right on top. This is a winner recipe. I have tried multiple whole wheat bread recipes, and this is the best one.
LOVE this bread Beth! I’ve made it the last four weekends in a row and we’ve basically stopped buying sandwich bread from the store, which is great. I’m curious — could this same dough be used for a cinnamon roll recipe, or would it not work? I just think the taste/texture would be great for it.
I bet it would work! I don’t see any reason why not. :)
Thank you so much for this recipe! I make this bread almost everyday for my family. Its absolutely delicious!