It is no secret that I’ve been working to perfect a honey whole wheat sandwich bread recipe for months now. I was not only looking for a recipe that was reliable and tasted good of course, but that also didn’t contain any “unusual” ingredients like dried milk powder or wheat gluten.
We absolutely LOVE the honey whole-wheat loaf from Great Harvest, and if they can make it with only five simple ingredients (freshly ground whole-wheat flour, water, honey, salt & yeast) then I should be able to do it too!
So after months of experimenting, I am thrilled to finally have a homemade bread recipe to share. And while this recipe comes out just right 9 times out of 10, I’ve learned that things can’t always be “perfect” when it comes to baking bread machine recipes.
If you aren’t weighing your ingredients and instead just measuring them out like me, or if you live in a place where the humidity might change from time to time…well then, expect some occasional surprises with the outcome of your bread.
I have learned one valuable trick though (from a blog reader!), and that is to check on the bread once or twice during the kneading process to make sure the dough looks “right.” I’ve caught mine looking too wet and sticky a couple of times, so I’ve added a few sprinkles of flour to get things back on track before the baking started. That’s exactly why the picture loaf looks a little “floury.”
I also want to share that this particular recipe makes a loaf that is on the larger side, which I like because then I don’t have to replenish our bread supply every two days. This loaf also comes out with a lighter crust due to its big size, and that is a plus in my book as well.
If you have any good bread-making tips or recipes that you’d like to share please do so in the comments below!
Honey Whole-Wheat Sandwich Bread (for bread machine)
This is an easy to follow honey whole-wheat sandwich bread recipe for your bread machine.
Ingredients
- 4 ¼ cups whole-wheat flour
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 ½ cups water, warm (not too hot or it will kill the yeast)
- ¼ cup honey
- 2 tablespoons olive oil, or melted butter
- 2 ¼ teaspoons active dry yeast, 1 packet, or bread machine yeast
Instructions
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Layer the dry ingredients into the bread pan, according to manufacturer's instructions (check the user manual for this).
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Make a well and place the wet ingredients on top of the dry ingredients. My particular bread machine (this one is similar) has a separate area for yeast; please consult your bread machine's instruction manual for yeast placement as this is very important!
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Select the whole wheat option on your bread machine and press start. My machine takes 5 hours to make a whole wheat sandwich loaf.
Recipe Notes
- Be sure to check your bread machine's instructions for how ingredients should be layered. This recipe goes by my machine's (the Oster ExpressBake Bread Maker is similar) preference which is dry ingredients first, then wet ingredients on top.
- This recipe has been around for a while, and I've read many comments about adapting it to bake in the oven. If you still want to use your bread machine, though, you can select the dough cycle to get the dough just right, then transfer to a bread pan and bake the bread in the oven.
Nutrition Facts
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I’d like to try this recipe but my bread machine isn’t large enough to bake it in the machine. I can make the dough in it. How long would I bake it in the oven?
Hi Donna, while we haven’t made this recipe in the oven yet, this one is very similar: https://deliciouslyorganic.net/everyday-whole-wheat-bread/
– Nicole
I live in Colorado Springs at an altitude of 6035 ft. I use a Regal Kitchen Pro 1 1/2 – 2 lb loaf machine. I have had a dickens of a time getting a 100% whole wheat loaf to come out that wasn’t “cratered” on the top. After much trial and error I finally refined the recipe to get an acceptable loaf. I modified the original recipe (it does include gluten, sorry!) but perhaps it will help someone else up here in the clouds. The most glaring change was going from the original 2 tsp of yeast down to just less that 1/2 of a tsp. (not a typo 1/2 tsp)! I reduced the water by 1/4 cup, 1/4 tsp less salt, And 1/2 cup less flour, No more collapsed top.