Honey whole wheat bread sliced | Image of honey whole wheat bread on a wooden cutting board by a window

The Best Honey Whole Wheat Bread Recipe

This is a delicious double loaf of honey whole wheat bread. The crust is tender from the butter that is basted on the exterior of the bread after removing it piping hot from the oven.  The inside is wonderful and far from the cardboard texture that some think of when they picture honey whole wheat bread. It is easily sliced and makes a fantastic sandwich bread.  

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Honey whole wheat bread recipe | Photo of a loaf and slices of bread on a cutting board.

What you will need for Honey Whole Wheat Bread

  • Measuring cups
  • Measuring spoons
  • Mixing Bowl
  • Mixing spoon
  • Small pan
  • Apron
  • Oven Mitts
  • Mixer 
  • Trivets
  • Wire cooling racks (2)

Honey Whole Wheat Bread

This makes two loaves

  • 2 cups of spring water  
  • 2 cups of whole wheat flour (We used King Arthur)
  • 4 1/2- 5 cups of all-purpose flour (We used King Arthur)
  • 1 Tablespoon of Dry Active Yeast
  • 1 teaspoon of salt (we use pink Himalayan salt)
  • 1/3 cup of olive oil
  • 1/3 of a cup of honey
  • 1/8 tsp of ginger (this prolongs the freshness of the bread)

Directions for Honey Whole Wheat Bread:

 

Measure the water, honey and oil in a small saucepan. Heat to 110 F. 

Remove from heat and sprinkle the yeast on top of the water and allow to sit until the yeast puffs up on the surface of the liquid. If it does not puff up, throw this away and start all over again with new yeast. Your yeast is bad.  You can not make bread with bad yeast.

After the yeast has puffed up measure the whole wheat flour and begin to incorporate it. Stir after every cup and then scoop the next one. 

Add the salt, ginger, and stir.  Next, add the all-purpose flour to the bowl and mix as you scoop. If you have a stand mixer you will use the dough hook to do this.  

Keep adding the flour until you get a smooth dough. We didn’t need 5 cups, it would have been too dry of a dough but we were able to get quite a bit incorporated.  More than we thought. 

Turn out on the counter that is flour and knead the dough well. You will knead this for ten to fifteen minutes. A bit more if you feel like it needs it.  It will be a nice smooth ball of dough when you are done. 

Place in a greased bowl and roll the dough in the oil to coat all of the sides. Place the bowl in a warm draft-free place to rise. 

Cover it with plastic wrap that has had one side oiled and put the oiled side down toward the dough or a damp clean cloth.  Leave it there and let it rise undisturbed for about an hour.  The dough will double in size. 

Cut the dough in half and form it into a loaf shape.  Get out your two four-inch by five-inch bread pans and grease them well to keep them from sticking to the pan. 

Set this in a warm draft-free place to rise for about an hour.  You want the dough to rise about an inch or so above the pan. 

Preheat the oven at 375 degrees F. for 25-30 minutes until the crust is golden brown.

Using oven mitts remove the bread from the oven and onto a trivet. 

Take butter and rub it on top of the piping hot honey whole wheat bread. 

Using a butter knife run the knife around the bread edges to loosen it from the bread pan. 

Using oven mitts turn the bread out of the pan.  Carefully, using the oven mitts, place the hot bread on a wire cooling rack to cool. 

Let the bread rest for an hour before slicing.

Print your honey whole wheat bread recipe here

Yield: 2 loaves

The Best Honey Whole Wheat Bread Recipe

sketch of the rosevine cottage girls and animals

This is a really delicious honey whole wheat bread. The crust is basted fresh out of the oven in butter giving you a delicious tender crust. The bread is slightly sweet and perfectly soft. It is perfect for sandwiches, toast, French toast, etc.

Ingredients

  • 2 cups of spring water  
  • 2 cups of whole wheat flour (We used King Arthur)
  • 4 1/2- 5 cups of all-purpose flour (We used King Arthur)
  • 1 Tablespoon of Dry Active Yeast
  • 1 teaspoon of salt (we use pink Himalayan salt)
  • 1/3 cup of olive oil
  • 1/3 cup of honey
  • 1/8 tsp of ginger (this prolongs the freshness of the bread)

Instructions

Measure the water, honey and oil in a small saucepan. Heat to 110 F. 
Remove from heat and sprinkle the yeast on top of the water and allow to sit until the yeast puffs up on the surface of the liquid. If it does not puff up, throw this away and start all over again with new yeast. Your yeast is bad.  You can not make bread with bad yeast.
After the yeast has puffed up measure the whole wheat flour and begin to incorporate it. Stir after every cup and then scoop the next one.  Add the salt, ginger, and stir.  Next, add the all-purpose flour to the bowl and mix as you scoop. If you have a stand mixer you will use the dough hook to do this.  
Keep adding the flour until you get a smooth dough. We didn't need 5 cups, it would have been too dry of a dough but we were able to get quite a bit incorporated.  More than we thought.  Turn out on the counter that is flour and knead the dough well. You will knead this for ten to fifteen minutes. A bit more if you feel like it needs it.  It will be a nice smooth ball of dough when you are done.  Place in a greased bowl and roll the dough so that all sides are coated in the oil. Place the bowl in a warm draft-free place to rise.  Cover it with plastic wrap that has had one side oiled and put the oiled side down toward the dough or cover it with a clean damp cloth.  Leave it there and let it rise undisturbed for about an hour.  The dough will double in size.  Cut the dough in half and form it into a loaf shape.  Get out your two four-inch by five-inch bread pans and grease them well to keep them from sticking to the pan.  Sit this in a warm draft free place to rise for about an hour.  You want the dough to rise about an inch or so above the pan. 
Preheat the oven at 375 degrees F. for 25-30 minutes until the crust is golden brown.
Using oven mitts remove the bread from the oven and onto a trivet.  Take butter and rub it on top of the piping hot honey whole wheat bread.  Using a butter knife run the knife around the bread edges to loosen it from the bread pan.  Using oven mitts turn the bread out of the pan.  Carefully, using the oven mitts, place the hot bread on a wire cooling rack to cool.  Let the bread rest for an hour before slicing.

Check out these other bread recipes here

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