Fast No Fail Recipe for Honey Wheat Bread Homemade

 There is nothing quite like the aroma of fresh bread baking in your oven, and the sound of your loved ones saying “It smells so good, I just can't wait”.

Why Make Homemade Bread?

Golden, soft, perfectly dense homemade honey 
wheat sandwich bread – cooled, sliced,
and ready to eat!

  For centuries, bread has been the ultimate comfort food and a staple at our dinner tables. 

  With bread being a highly demanded food, there may come a time when the bread you want is not available at the grocery stores, it's happened to me a few times. It’s a frustrating feeling, but it’s also the perfect excuse to learn how to make your own. Once you realize how easy it is to bake a gorgeous, golden loaf from scratch, you’ll never look at store-bought bread the same way again. Plus it's a great feeling to be able to say “that's okay, I'll just make homemade bread” when the shelves are bare. Jump to the Homemade Honey Wheat Bread Recipe below, or you can go through it with me step by step with pictures.

More Bread for Less Cash

  Baking your own sandwich bread isn't just a delicious win for your tastebuds, it's a massive win for your grocery budget. You will pay significantly less for bulk baking staples than you would buying a single premium loaf at the store. In fact, when you buy just 5lbs of each flour used in this bread recipe, you can bake this loaf six times over, plus have leftover staples for pancakes, doughnuts, or other homemade batter, for the price of two store-bought premium loaves.

A Foolproof, No-Fail Yeast Recipe

  Even if you've tried to make bread before and haven't had the best success, this homemade bread recipe could be just what you need to learn how to make your own bread. The step-by-step instructions for this homemade sandwich bread recipe are incredibly easy to follow and specifically designed to keep you from accidentally killing your yeast. You'll end up with a beautiful, soft, perfectly dense honey wheat loaf every single time. 

Best Homemade Sandwich Bread Ever

  Honestly, once you taste this homemade honey wheat bread, you’ll realize that quality this good is usually only found at high-end bakeries. But with this recipe, you can save it right in your own kitchen.

Bread Machine Owner Friendly Honey Wheat Bread Recipe 

  I’ll admit, I’m typically not a huge fan of bread machines because they leave that classic hole in the bottom of your sandwich slices. However, if you love your machine, this recipe is completely bread-machine friendly and turns out delicious either way!

How Long Does It Take to Bake Homemade Bread?

  Don't let the 3 hours and 25 minutes total time scare you off! One of the biggest misconceptions about baking from scratch is that you'll be trapped in the kitchen all day, derived from outsiders who don't realize that once one finds out how easy baking from scratch can be, and they eat the resulting better for you, delicious baked good, they can't stop baking. 

  In reality, your actual hands-on work, the mixing, kneading, and shaping prep takes maybe 20 minutes total. Most of the time you're waiting for the yeast to do its magic, resting the dough. For the most delicious magic to occur, the resting time can be 2 hours if your room temperature is in the low 70’s. The last 40 to 45 minutes baking this delicious bread recipe that fills your house with that incredible bakery aroma is also mostly waiting.  

  This recipe makes 1 loaf with 22 slices of sandwich bread. (Unless you're like myself, and can't slice bread evenly without a bread slicing guide, then you'll get about 16 slices.)  

Ingredients for a Foolproof Yeast Sandwich Bread

Whole wheat flour, all purpose flour, honey,
yeast, oil, some salt, baking powder, and a pinch
of sugar is all it takes to make the best, perfectly
dense sandwich bread!

• 1½ c Whole Wheat Flour
• ¾ tsp or 1 package Active Dry Yeast
• 3 tbsp Honey
• 2 tbsp Shortening / vegetable oil / olive oil
• 1½ - 2 c All Purpose Flour (preferably unbleached)
• 1c + 4 tbsp lukewarm filtered water (can range from 85°F to 110°F) (I like to use my Big Berkey to filter water, but you can use the filtered water of your choice.)
• ¼ tsp Sugar
• 1¼ tsp Baking Powder
• 1½ tsp Salt

Essential Kitchen Aids to Make Bread from Scratch

  Some of the kitchen tools listed below aren't strictly mandatory, but they make the baking process a lot smoother. The items I consider essential for a perfect loaf are marked with an asterisk (*).

• Measuring cups & spoons*
• Large mixing bowl* (plastic wrap friendly)
• Medium mixing bowl* (for sifting dry ingredients into if not using my time-saving kitchen hack)
• Fork / Butter Knife / Rubber spatula* (if mixing by hand)
• Plastic wrap* (Saran Wrap)
• Bread pan* (standard loaf pan, if not using a bread machine)
• Wire cooling rack* (prevents a soggy bottom crust!)
• Your hands* (no rolling pin required to shape the dough)
• Bread knife* (for clean, even slicing)
• Baking sheet or oven-safe bowl* (for the secret bakery-style crust trick)
• Cooking thermometer* (to test water temperature)
• Sieve (to sift ingredients)
• Optional: 1-Gallon Ziploc bag (for my favorite time-saving kitchen hack, which replaces the need for a small mixing bowl)
• Optional: Stand mixer with a dough hook
• Optional: Bread machine
• Optional: Rolling pin & silicone pastry mat
• Optional: Basting brush

Directions to Make Honey Wheat Sandwich Bread

Active yeast creates a froth. 

•   In a large mixing bowl, stand mixer bowl, or your bread machine dissolve the yeast and sugar in ¼ c of lukewarm filtered water no hotter than 110°F. Let sit for 5 minutes or until the yeast mixture is frothy. If your yeast mixture doesn't start to form bubbles within 10 minutes that is an indication the yeast is no longer active or no good.
• 
  
•   In a medium mixing bowl, sift both flours and baking powder into the bowl, add the salt, and mix together until well combined.  
• 
  
•   Time-Saving Kitchen Hack: Instead of a bowl use a 1 gallon Ziploc bag, add the whole wheat flour, all purpose flour, baking powder, and salt. With air in the bag zip it closed. Shake to mix together the ingredients until well combined. (I like to write the amount of flour, baking powder, and salt for the recipe on the bag then add the measured flours and salt to make a pre made bread mix. It makes bread making so much faster.)
•  

  

  When the dough starts forming
   a ball from mixing, it's time
   to start kneading.

  
  
•   Add the remaining warm water, honey and oil or shortening to the yeast mixture that you have in either a bread machine, large mixing bowl or stand mixer bowl. Add the flour mixture 1 c at a time to the water mixture, mixing with a butter knife / fork / bread machine or mixer on medium speed until dough starts forming a ball. Still mixing on medium speed, add ¼ c of the flour mixture at time until the dough is only slightly sticky. 
• 
  
•   Knead until smooth and elastic (this can be done in the bowl, but if you prefer you can turn it onto a ligjtly floured surface to knead the dough),

  

  Kneading a mixture
  of whole wheat and
  unbleached all
  purpose flour.

  adding a teaspoon of each flour as needed if the dough is sticking too much to your hands. Try not to knead the dough for more than 15 minutes to keep from tearing gluten strands, and having a sticky mess on your hands. The dough will not only be smooth and elastic but it will feel much like a stress ball when it has had enough kneading. (If you happen to accidentally tear the gluten strands, don't worry, just let the dough rest a bit longer to allow the gluten strands to relax) 
• 
  
•   Bread Machine Directions: If using a bread machine, leave the dough in the machine and it will do the kneading part for you. However, you should check if possible to see that the dough forms a smooth ball. If the dough looks rough towards the end of the mixing/kneading cycle, add the flour as stated in the kneading dough step above. Remove the mixing attachment when the bread machine has stopped mixing. Butter or grease the bread machine pan for easier bread realease, and place dough back in the bread machine pan, then just wait for bread to be baked.
• 
  

  

  Honey wheat bread dough
  resting while building flavor.

  
  
•   Grease or butter the large mixing bowl. Place the dough back in the bowl. Cover with saran wrap, making sure to have excess wrap to allow the dough to rise. Press the plastic wrap against the sides of the bowl to prevent air from going in and drying out the dough. Let rise until doubled in size; 40 to 60 minutes.
• 
  
•   Punch down the dough and turn onto lightly floured surface. Flatten with hands or a rolling pin into a rectangle 18x9 inches. 
• 
  

  

  Flatten and fold the honey
  wheat dough into 3rds to
  create an even texture
  and crumb.

  
  
•   Fold into thirds, bringing the 9 inch side over ⅓ of the rectangle. Then bring the other 9 inch side on top of the first, overlapping one end with another. 
• 
  

  

  Honey wheat dough
  rolled and pinched
  together.

  
  
•   Beginning at the top / open end, roll dough tightly towards you. Pinch the edge of the dough into the roll to seal well. With the seam underneath the roll, press the ends of the roll to the table with the sides of your hands to pinch the ends together. Then fold the ends under the loaf; same side as seam on the dough roll. 
• 
  

  

  Honey wheat dough, shaped
   into a loaf panand resting
  the 2nd time to build even
  more flavor.

  
  
•   Grease / butter a loaf pan and place the loaf seem side down in the pan. Optionally you can brush the loaf with butter or olive oil, and sprinkle with whole wheat flour, crushed, or rolled oats. Cover as before with the syranwrap, making sure there's plenty of room for the loaf to rise while not letting any air in to dry it out. Let rise until double; about 35 to 50 minutes.
• 
  
•   Heat oven to 375°F. Once the oven has reached temperature place a baking sheet or an oven safe bowl with an inch of water on the lowest shelf. Place loaves low enough in the oven so that the top of the pan is in the center of the oven. At 20 minutes into baking remove the baking sheet with water and continue to bake. Bake until the loaf is a deep golden brown (40-45 minutes in all). Remove from pan and cool on a wire rack. Once cool, slice with a bread knife and store in an airtight container. 

Honey Wheat Sandwich Bread