Honey Whole Wheat Bread

Honey Whole Wheat Bread

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When I first began making homemade bread, I used exclusively white flour. The bread was delicious, but I felt guilty, knowing that we needed to make the switch to healthier whole grains.

Before long I had convinced my husband to purchase a grain mill, and we began buying fifty-pound bags of wheat berries from a local Amish bulk store. I practiced making bread in my KitchenAid mixer until I was able to consistently produce light, fluffy whole wheat loaves.

After completely wearing out my KitchenAid mixer making whole wheat bread dough, we purchased a Magic Mill DLX, a heavy-duty mixer that handles large batches of bread dough with ease. I make at least a dozen loaves of bread each week, and this mixer makes it so easy! Yes, it was an investment, but it definitely earns its keep in my large-family kitchen.

Our whole family loves this Honey Whole Wheat Bread. In fact, this is the only recipe I use for whole wheat bread. I hope you’ll enjoy it just as much as we do!

Honey Whole Wheat Bread

Ingredients
  

  • 1 1/2 c. hot water
  • 1/3 c. oil
  • 1/3 c. honey
  • 1 1/2 tsp. salt
  • 1 egg
  • 1 1/2 tsp. gluten optional
  • 4 1/2 – 5 c. whole wheat flour
  • 1 Tbsp. active dry yeast

Instructions
 

  • To make with bread mixer:
  • Combine water, oil, honey, salt, and egg in large mixing bowl. Add gluten and half of flour; mix thoroughly. Add yeast and enough of remaining flour to make a soft dough. Knead until smooth and elastic, about 6-8 minutes.
  • Cover dough and allow to rise until doubled. Shape dough as desired; cover and allow to rise again until doubled. Bake 1-lb. loaves at 350 for 25-30 minutes. Rolls will bake for 20-25 minutes.
  • To make in bread machine:
  • Add water, oil, honey, salt, and egg to bread machine pan. Add gluten and flour on top of liquid ingredients. Make a well in center of dry ingredients and add yeast.
  • Set bread machine to desired settings. You may choose to allow the bread to finish completely in the machine, or use the dough cycle and shape and bake the dough as desired.
  • To make by hand:
  • Combine water, oil, honey, salt, and egg in large mixing bowl. Add gluten and half of flour; mix thoroughly. Add yeast and remaining flour. Continue to add flour as needed until mixture forms a kneadable dough. Knead until smooth and elastic.
  • Cover dough and allow to rise until doubled. Shape dough as desired; cover and allow to rise again until doubled. Bake 1-lb. loaves at 350 for 25-30 minutes. Rolls will bake for 20-25 minutes.

 

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10 Comments

  1. YUM – I am so glad you shared this recipe. Honey wheat is one of my favorite types of bread, and my mom (who lives with us) is an amazing breadmaker who’s always willing to try something new for us!!

  2. Karla Bly says:

    Thanks for sharing the bread machine receipe! I only make 1 loaf per week–my kids don’t eat bread–can you believe it??? I love my bread machine although I don’t particularly care for the shape of the loaves it makes. So I use the dough feature and then bake the bread in the oven. We invested in a grain mill awhile back and I’ve been purchasing my wheat from Azure Standard. Very reasonably priced for great quality, organic wheat (both hard and soft). I wouldn’t be able to afford wheat if I had to purchase it locally!

    1. Judy Hoch says:

      It’s hard to believe that your kids don’t eat bread–mine will literally eat two or three loaves straight out of the oven if I allow them! I miss my bread machine, but since we are bread-lovers, I probably will just stick with my mixer. So glad you got a grain mill! Fresh ground flour is sooo much better than what you can buy in the store. 🙂

  3. Thanks for this great recipe! My son and I are excited to try it out, but have two questions: how many loaves does one batch make (your weekly 12?)?
    Do you use cake yeast or dry yeast?

    Thanks again!

    1. Judy Hoch says:

      I obviously overlooked some very important information–thanks for letting me know! 🙂
      This recipe makes two 1-lb loaves of bread OR two dozen rolls. I make a triple batch twice each week for twelve loaves. This recipe uses dry yeast, which is so much more convenient than the cake yeast, I think! I’ll update the recipe with this info, as well.
      I’d love to hear how the bread turns out for you!!

  4. Traci'sTeachingTimes says:

    Mmm, home made bread, so so so good. You’ve gotten something started now. Everytime I say anything about home made bread, my children naturally assume Amish /Friendship bread & then we have to bake. Looks like we will be baking that next week. Not as healthy as your’s.

  5. Jackie B. says:

    Thank you so much for sharing this! I use a recipe from the Bread Beckers, but my loaves don’t come out as nice as yours do. What is your secret? Mine were recently becoming crumbly and dense. I read that it means I am adding too much flour when kneading. Also, does your bread tend to spoil easily since you use egg in it? I haven’t used eggs in mine, so I’m just wondering. Thanks again!

    1. Judy Hoch says:

      Hi Jackie,

      I based this recipe on the recipe from the Bread Beckers cookbook. 🙂 I do have a bread mixer, which I think allows me to use less flour than if I were kneading by hand. I use SAF Instant yeast (affiliate link) which I buy in bulk from Amazon. I also add about 1 Tbsp. of gluten for every 2 pounds of dough–that is more than what Mrs. Becker recommends, but it really helps.

      I do have to say that this photo is from a while back, so I can’t be sure whether or not it was 100% whole wheat flour or not. (I sometimes substitute some white flour to help with rising issues and texture).

      I haven’t noticed the bread spoiling easily, but it doesn’t last very long around here! I need to make 6 loaves, twice a week, to keep us in bread, so obviously it disappears really quickly!

      I’m no expert, but I hope this is helpful!

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