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Honey Whole Wheat Bread Recipe is easy to make, turns out well each time, and is nice, soft and fluffy.
Honey Whole Wheat Bread Recipe
There’s nothing quite like homemade bread. Try your hand at these breads too: Homemade Italian Bread, Mom’s 4 Loaf Wheat Bread Recipe and Whole Wheat Spinach Bread.
I published a really exciting post that includes a new 2 week meal plan for eating clean plus some of my thoughts on healthy eating with a family and a budget on Friday. It’s taken me around 2 months to get the post ready and polished and I’ve been excited to share it with you all. Well I’m super pleased to say that it is being received with open arms. You all are pinning and sharing that thing like crazy and I just have to say THANK YOU! It is so rewarding to feel like something I love and was so excited to blog about it something you all are wanting to share and leave feedback on. Weeks like this are what keep me blogging. You all make it so very rewarding.
This is a recipe that goes with my eating clean menu and one that I love. I like to make a few loaves of bread and a big batch of easy honey granola the day I start eating super clean again (you know we all fall off the wagon and then have to jump back on now and again). This helps me to have some options for quick breakfast and easy snack and that just seems to help get me off on the right foot. I love this bread with a little butter and honey or I’ll toast a thinner slice and put natural peanut butter on it. My kids love it too!
When it comes to whole wheat flour not all bags are the same. There are different kinds of wheat and those different types are what majorly influence the type of wheat flour it is and how the end product turns out. I grind my own wheat at home from hard white wheat berries on a very fine setting and bread made from it comes out amazing and soft.
Recipe Ingredients
- Water
- Eggs
- Molasses — or substitute honey
- Honey
- Olive oil
- Whole wheat flour
- Wheat gluten
- Dry milk
- Salt
- Instant yeast
See the recipe card below for full information on ingredients and quantities.
Honey Whole Wheat Bread Recipe
Ingredients
- 2 1/2 cups warm water
- 2 eggs
- 1 tablespoon molasses, or substitute honey
- 4 tablespoons honey
- 1/4 cup olive oil
- 5 cups whole wheat flour
- 1/2 cup wheat gluten
- 1/4 cup dry milk
- 1 tablespoon salt
- 1 tablespoon instant yeast
- 1 1/2 to 2 cups additional whole wheat flour
Instructions
- Mix wet ingredients together in the bowl of your stand mixer (or by hand if you are really in the mood to stir!). Add dry ingredients and stir well to combine (just the first 5 cups of flour at this point). Mix in enough additional flour to make a moderately stiff dough. Knead 5-6 minutes.
- Divide dough in half, shape into loaves and place in 2 greased loaf pans. Cover and let rise until doubled in size. I made this in the summer and it doubled in size in about 45 minutes. Plan on a little longer in the winter when the house is colder.
- Bake at 350° for 35-40 minutes. Remove from pans; cool completely before cutting. Store bread in an air-tight container.
Notes
Nutrition
How To Make Honey Whole Wheat Bread
Step 1: Mix wet ingredients together in the bowl of your stand mixer (or by hand if you are really in the mood to stir!)
Step 2: Add dry ingredients and stir well to combine (just the first 5 cups of flour at this point). Mix in enough additional flour to make a moderately stiff dough. Knead 5-6 minutes.
Step 3: Divide dough in half, shape into loaves and place in 2 greased loaf pans. Cover and let rise until doubled in size.
Step 4: Bake at 350° for 35-40 minutes. Remove from pans; cool completely before cutting.
Recipe FAQs
If you can’t grind your own I’d get King Arthur’s 100% White Whole Wheat flour. This flour is made from the same type of wheat berry that I grind. Most other commercial whole wheat flour is made from hard red wheat which still works but will lend to a slightly more dense bread that tastes more “wheaty”. If you are after a soft and fluffy 100% whole wheat bread then searching out those hard white wheat flour is worth the time.
No molasses? Just replace it with more honey.
Nope! Instant yeast can be added directly in, whereas active dry yeast needs to be dissolved in warm water first.
My Favorite Bread Recipes
- Homemade Italian Bread
- Homemade Subway Bread Recipe
- Easy Bread Sticks Recipe
- Homemade Pretzel Rolls
- One Hour Pumpkin Cinnamon Rolls
- Grandma Lucy’s Famous Clover Rolls
- Jumbo Dinner Rolls
More Bread Recipes to Try!
Yeast Bread Recipes
Garlic & Parmesan Italian Breadsticks {Twisted Breadsticks}
Snacks
Big Soft Pretzels
Homemade Bread
100% Whole Wheat Bread Recipe
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has anyone tried making this recipe in a bread machine?
This is a great recipe! I just want to clarify that the T’s stand for Tablespoons or Teaspoons. Can’t wait to try this!
Tablespoon! I’ll change that in the recipe 🙂 Thanks.
Thank you for this!!!! I have been looking for a recipe that would be 100% whole wheat but not dry. THIS IS IT! unfortunately I did not have wheat gluten, or dry milk, but even without it was amazing. I added a splash
of milk instead.
Hi Melissa,
I want to make this right now- it looks so good! I, however, don’t have any dry milk on hand… can I substitute regular milk and if so, how much?
Thanks!
Hhhmm.
I found this link that I thought was helpful-
https://cooking.stackexchange.com/questions/6820/powdered-milk-in-bread-recipe
You are going to essentially replace part of the water with real milk… and that makes sense to me. If you try it will you let me know what you did and how it turned out. I don’t always have powdered milk either! Thanks so much, M.
what is powdered milk? Would this be considered a processed food?
Have you found a whole wheat recipe for bread machines? I’ve been using a bread machine (to save money, initially, after my husband lost his job last year….now because we like it so much and it’s easy!) for the last year, but the recipe I follow doesn’t do well when we move too far past 1 c bread flour and 2 c wheat flour.
If you work with a bread machine I’d love to see what you’ve come up with!
I haven’t done much with a bread machine. I owned one for years and thought the loaves were ugly (lol) and I never used it. I’ll have to pug my sister because I know she uses one! I’ll let you know.
I’ve been thinking about switching my family to clean eating, and I would love to start cooking more from “scratch!” This bread sounds amazing, I’m pinning it for later! I’d also love if you’d stop by and link up at my link party Feed Me Friday
Thanks girl! Happy link partying.
Wow!!! This recipe is awesome, thank you so much for sharing!! I have tried numerous 100% whole wheat bread recipes, and they either don’t rise properly or have a heavy taste. This one is light and fluffy and rose beautifully. This will be my main recipe from now on. Thank you!!
I thought the SAME thing! I was a recipe hopper until this little beauty… in fact I should make another batch or two today! Thanks for stoppin’ in!
I am not great at bread. It’s always a hit or miss. I’m going to attempt this bread and I’m curious why some recipes have you raise the bread twice and others once? My grandma always punched it down after an hour, shaped it, then let it raise again. Any ideas?
This looks perfect. But what is wheat gluten and where do I find it?
It’s in the baking aisle and it comes in a canister just like oatmeal or grits most of the time. Totally worth finding!!! Good luck 🙂
I’m excited to try this one! Just to clarify the recipe says it calls for whole wheat flour, but above you talked about using white whole wheat flour. Are you supposed to use regular whole wheat flour or white whole wheat flour?
Hilary – great question. Did you read the whole third paragraph in the most? So wheat comes in red or white berries – white berries have a more mild taste and softer texture when milled. So whole wheat flour is just about any whole wheat kernel ground and white whole wheat flour is that specific wheat berry milled. You can use either (not white flour… it’s totally different) but I sure like whole wheat flour from the white wheat berries better. Does that make sense?! Please let me know! Thanks for taking the time to comment 🙂