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, and 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 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
Layer the dry ingredients into the bread pan, according to manufacturer's instructions (check the user manual for this).
Make a well and place the wet ingredients on top of the dry ingredients. My particular bread machine has a separate area for yeast; please consult your bread machine's instruction manual for yeast placement as this is very important!
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 Panasonic SD-YD250 Automatic Bread Maker) 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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Great recipe! However the first few times I tried it the top collapsed. We live in Utah (roughly 4,500ft) so I reduced the yeast to 1-3/4 tsp…worked great! Now I make it weekly for the fam.
I love your recipes, have your first book and use many of the recipes. I am so glad for this recipe. My bread machine wore out years ago, my sister still had hers and I inherited it :) yea for younger sisters who hang on to things. I can’t wait to make this next week when we’ll be in need of a loaf of bread. Thank you.
That’s great to hear! Let us know how you like it :) – Nicole
Well, next week took almost a month to happen :) I guess that’s life. I made this recipe today, however, since hubs doesn’t care for 100% whole wheat, I used 1/2 bread flour and 1/2 white whole wheat. We love it. I finally found a recipe we both agree on and it comes out just perfect. This will be our go to bread from now on.
So glad you were able to try it and make it work for both of you! – Nicole
Has anyone tried to make buns out of this recipe? I’m putting it on the dough cycle, then planning to form buns and bake at 375 for 15 to 20 minutes.
Hi there. We’ve not attempted buns with this recipe. Here is a very similar oven-baked version: http://deliciouslyorganic.net/everyday-whole-wheat-bread/ – Nicole
I made this today, using 4 cups of King Arthur Whole Wheat Flour in the bread machine, on dough cycle. The only other change is I sprinkled some oats in. I put it in a cake pan in round shape, and it is rising nicely. I put the oven on warm for a couple minutes, then turned it off, and left the oven door open for a minute to allow it to cool down a little. I can’t wait to taste it! I always made white bread before, but have switched to whole wheat since I am diabetic, and I limit my bread intake to one slice with breakfast. (yes it is hard!) I am determined to reverse my diabetes, and am on a mission to help others do the same. I will bake at 350 for about 35-40 minutes, and check with a thermometer for 190 degrees. Thanks for this recipe! Once baked and tasted, I will update you on the texture and taste.
UPDATE – Well, the bread rose beautifully, nice and round. I baked it at 350 for about 30 minutes, and it fell a little bit. Still, it tasted good and had a nice texture. I think it might have done better if I had divided the dough, and made two smaller loaves. Practice makes perfect!
Hi! I’ve made this twice but both times the top of the bread collapsed! I followed the recipe to a T, using Woolworths (my local supermarket) wholemeal flour. Help!
Sorry to hear you’re having difficulties with this recipe. Is your yeast fresh? Sometimes that can be an issue. – Nicole
What are the nutrition facts for this bread?
Hi Tessa, Lisa doesn’t add this information on her recipes. You can read why here: https://www.100daysofrealfood.com/dont-read-nutrition-facts-labels/
– Nicole
I haven’t tried this recipe yet, but I just got a bread machine for Christmas which I’m SUPER excited about it… my bread machine has a 1.5 or 2 lb. setting… do you know which one I should use for this recipe? Thank you in advance.
Hi! Can anyone help me solve a bread problem? I bought this exact same bread maker specifically because of the rave reviews and because I wanted to make this recipe on a weekly basis. However, every time I make it it turns into a giant brick loaf. I put the yeast in the yeast dispenser, use fresh ground hard white wheat, and put the dry ingredients into the bread pan first. The water is also not too hot or too cold, I put the breadmaker on Whole Wheat XL loaf which runs for five hours. (The bread maker makes a perfect 100% white loaf, so I know it’s not broken but I’m trying to make a whole wheat loaf.) If anyone has any tips, or has had this problem, I would love some help!
Let me start by saying I love the recipes! I tried this bread and it was great ! The only thing i did different put a put a cake pan of simmering water (that I warmed on the stove) and turned my oven into a proofing oven which helped it rise really well. Had to bake it in the oven because I don’t have a bread machine. ;)
Hi
What size loaf is it for the bread machine? Maybe I missed it.
Thanks
Hi there. This makes a two pound loaf.
So a 9×5 loaf pan or larger?
This is Lisa’s machine: https://www.amazon.com/Panasonic-SD-YD250-Automatic-Bread-Dispenser/dp/B00005QFL0/ref=as_li_ss_tl?tag=100drf-recipe-20&ie=UTF8&qid=1486405724&sr=8-1&keywords=Panasonic+SD-YD250+Automatic+Bread+Maker&linkCode=sl1&linkId=9cbdffa211ede72307b3752e82e6f844
And it actually specifies a 2.5 lb loaf.
I followed the directions exactly. Any idea why it sunk in at the top? It did rise, it was so pretty, then fell when cooking. The bottom two thirds of it is very dense, but tastes pretty good. What did I do wrong?
Hi. This might be helpful: https://www.kingarthurflour.com/learn/bread-machine-basics.html.
Has anyone made this at high altitude? I made it in my bread machine yesterday and the flavor is great but it’s super dense. Any suggestions? Maybe less yeast?
I live at 7200 feet.
I added a tablespoon of water and I also let the flour soak in the water for an additional half hour outside of the time my bread machine does for whole wheat bread. It’s much more moist than other whole wheat recipes I have tried.
Hi. I think this might help: https://www.thespruce.com/how-do-i-adjust-bread-machine-recipes-for-high-altitude-908823.
I hand make bread at least twice a week and it is the easiest recipe ever:
OVERNIGHT BREAD
3 cups whole wheat flour
1 tsp. active yeast
1 tsp. brown sugar
1 tsp. salt
1 1/2 cups lukewarm water
Mix all the dry ingredients together and add the water. Stir well with a wooden spoon until all flour is Incorporated. Cover with a towel and leave overnight. DO NOT KNEAD!
Put a sprinkle of corn meal in the bottom of a loaf pan and dump all the dough in, using a rubber spatula. It will probaly look gloopy and wet…this is normal! Bake at 450 degrees for 40 minutes. I bake for 20 minutes, rotate and bake for another 20 minutes. I also put the oven on broil for an additional 5 minutes for a nice brown crust on top. Let cool completely on a rack once done and enjoy. Easy peasy.
What size loaf pan?
Mine is kind of small, the 4 cup one. I think the bread would also work well in the 6 cup loaf pan as well. Good luck!
Do you grease the pan or use parchment or anything? I’m trying this. No way am I gonna buy a bread maker. If this doesn’t work I am going to try oat and wheat sandwich bread from smitten kitchen
Hi Sarah – I have a silicone loaf pan so I don’t grease it, just sprinkle some cornmeal at the bottom. It is a very sticky dough so I think if you are using a regular loaf pan, a light greasing would help it to pop out after cooking. Good luck and I hope the bread turns out good for you!
Is the cornmeal vital? This sounds like a great easy bread recipe…just wondering if I can make it now or if I need to make a trip to the market first. :)
Not at all vital…I just found it makes it easier to get it out at the end. Use a light coating of oil on your pan and you should be good to go!
Do you leave this in the fridge or on the counter overnight?
Hi Sherry – I leave it out on the kitchen counter overnight.
By chance would you know the weight (grams) of how much flour you use? I know different measuring techniques, plus using fresh milled vs store bought flour can really make a difference when measuring. I always like to measure by weight when I can so that it takes the guess work out of it and less room for error on my part.
Hi what lb is 1, 1.5 or 2lb?
2lb :)
Am I just overlooking it? Where does it say what size loaf this is? Its just my husband and me so we don’t need a large loaf. And, my bread oven makes 2 pound to 3 pound loaves.
Hi. It makes a 2lb loaf.
I have a new bread machine that makes 1-2 # loaves. It says that the flour should not exceed 4c. Yours calls for 4 1/4 c. The 2# loaf for whole wheat only uses 2 1/2 c of WW flour and only 3/4 c water. I am new to this.
Is this recipe for 1lb or 2?
Hi Mike. 2lbs.
Not sure what happened! It’s dry and didn’t rise. Sad.. fresh yeast, flour! Panasonic machine. Smells good! Made bread 4 nights ago! This recipe is close. I split flour to half white.
This recipe is close to one I used the other night in which it called for 1/2 white flour and 1:2 whole wheat flour. It’s crumpled and weird! Never happened!!
Can’t wait to try it!