If you’re the type of person who likes a nice thick slice of bread, this homemade honey wheat bread recipe is just for you. Even if you’ve never made bread before or are new to working with whole wheat flour, I assure you that this is a very straightforward and do-able bread recipe. This honey wheat bread has a slightly dense texture but it’s very soft. Whole wheat bread is always a little heavier and denser than white bread since it’s just the nature of ground whole wheat. This honey whole wheat bread recipe makes two loaves. One to eat now and one to either give away to lucky friends and neighbors or coworkers. Or pop it in the freezer for a rainy day.
Ingredients for This Recipe
There are only 8 ingredients (7 if you don’t count water) in this recipe for whole wheat bread with honey! You’ll need the following fridge and pantry staples to make this bread:
Warm water Milk Honey Active dry yeast Light brown sugar Whole wheat flour All-purpose flour Salt
Note: All ingredients amounts are listed in the recipe card section when you keep scrolling down.
How to Make Honey Wheat Bread
Don’t be intimidated by making bread, even if you never made bread before. Follow my very straightforward steps. Let’s get started. Note that you CANNOT use all whole wheat flour in this recipe. If the bread is made with only whole wheat flour it will be a very, very dense and rubbery bread. It’s difficult to get the bread to rise properly due to the lack of sugars in the flour to help develop the gluten. My grandma was one of the only people I knew who can pull off whole wheat bread without any white flour. However, she ground her own whole grains fresh and added other grains to it such as quinoa, oats, and millet. This isn’t for the average person, that’s for sure.
Topping Ideas
Allow the bread to cool properly and fully on a cooling rack before using a serrated knife to slice the bread. Then, I love to serve this honey whole wheat bread with butter and honey to really accentuate the honey flavor profile. Note that I always use a digital thermometer and take the temperature of the liquids and make sure the temperature is where it should be and don’t guess. You shouldn’t guess either. Honey Butter rather than plain butter is an excellent touch, too! I also have a great Strawberry Butter recipe. Or try adding your favorite jam or jelly. If you want to use it for sandwiches, French toast, or whatever you have in mind, it’ll be great.
How Should the Raw Bread Dough Feel?
Here are some helpful tips on working with yeast bread dough:
This dough isn’t meant to be so wet and tacky. If it’s sloppy and you are struggling to get the dough to come together, add a couple tablespoons of additional flour. If you’re struggling to knead it, throw a few more tablespoons flour out on your work surface. It should not be a hard dough, but it will feel dense. When kneading the dough you can test to see if the dough has enough elasticity by pressing it. If it springs back it’s ready. If it stays pushed in, keep kneading. (If it is hard to make an imprint, that indicates that too much flour has been added.)
Storage Instructions
At room temp: Your homemade bread will keep airtight at room temp for up to 3 to 4 days. Don’t store it in the refrigerator. It will just serve to dry it out and harden it. In the freezer: Since the recipe makes two loaves, you can also freeze one of the loaves. Bread in general freezes very well and this honey whole wheat bread will keep airtight in the freezer for up to 4 months. Do not freeze unbaked bread dough. Freeze only baked and properly cooled bread.
More Easy Yeast Bread Recipes:
Herby Garlic Rolls – Indulge in the perfect holiday side dish with a basket of homemade garlic and herb rolls! Made with plenty of garlic, fresh rosemary and herbs, these soft dinner rolls are a must-have for family dinners or celebration meals like Thanksgiving and Christmas. Tried this recipe? Leave a review! Consider leaving a 5 star rating if you’ve made and loved one of my recipes! Angel Biscuits — The lightest, fluffiest, flakiest, melt-in-your-mouth biscuits you’ll ever eat! Thanks to a trio of leavening agents, plenty of butter, and buttermilk, these EASY biscuits will become a family FAVORITE in no time! Parker House Rolls — The BEST homemade dinner rolls because they’re so light, airy, fluffy and practically melt in your mouth! They have a wonderful buttery flavor that will make them an instant family favorite at your next holiday gathering or make them for a special meal! Better-Than-Texas Roadhouse Rolls — Soft, buttery, fluffy, and light this easy COPYCAT recipe for Texas Roadhouse rolls with cinnamon honey butter is INCREDIBLE! No-Knead Dinner Rolls with Honey Butter – These soft, light, fluffy yeast dinner rolls are so easy to make! They’re practically work-free because there’s no-kneading involved.
