This honey wheat bread is made from a combination of whole wheat and white flour, and is sweetened with honey. Soft and light, but sturdy enough to slice into sandwich bread. Makes 2 loaves. This post contains an affiliate link.
Looking for another delicious white bread recipe? Try our Amish white bread or English muffin bread!
Watch our step by step video!
If you are like me and prefer homemade white bread to wheat bread you NEED to try this recipe! It contains whole wheat and isn’t dense like many wheat recipes. I’ve been baking up loaves of homemade bread for 20 years and still haven’t found a recipe for 100% whole wheat bread that I love, but this half and half loaf is divine.
Making Bread by Hand
My Grandma Eva made loaves of fresh honey whole wheat bread every week. Her bread was always 100% whole wheat, sweetend with honey, and made without a mixer. Just a wooden spoon. She taught me that you can definitely make delicious homemade bread without any fancy machines. I’ve used my stand mixer to make my dough, and it works great, but I really don’t find it that much easier than just stirring by hand. My favorite tool for dough making is this dough whisk. I highly recommend it!
This honey wheat bread is half whole wheat and half white flour. Sweetened with honey it is RIGHT UP THERE on the list of favorites with our Amish white bread recipe. I make loaves of this for the kids to use for toast and sandwiches.
Soft and Light Honey Wheat Bread
(Scroll down for printable version)
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup warm water
- 4 1/2 teaspoons yeast
- 1 3/4 cups warm water
- 1/3 cup honey
- 1/4 cup shortening
- 1 Tbsp. salt
- 3 cup whole wheat flour
- 3 cups all purpose flour
- butter
Instructions
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Combine 1/2 c. warm water and yeast in a small bowl. Cover and let proof for 5-10 minutes or until yeast is bubbly.
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In a large bowl combine the rest of the water, honey, shortening and salt. Add yeast mixture and stir.
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Stir in whole wheat flour. Mix for 2 minutes.
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Stir in all purpose flour 1 cup at a time until a soft dough forms.
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Knead on a lightly floured surface 5 minutes, until the dough is elastic.
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Lightly oil the mixing bowl (2 tsp.) and place dough into bowl. Turn dough over so that oiled side is facing up. Cover and let rise in a warm place until doubled (60-80 minutes).
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Punch dough down and divide dough into two sections and form into loaves. To form into a loaf roll dough out to a 9″x18″ rectangle. Roll up the 9″ side. Pinch edges to seal.
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Place into greased bread loaf pans. Cover and let rise for an additional 40 minutes.
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Heat oven to 375 degrees and remove all racks except for the bottom rack so that the tops of the bread are in the center of the oven. Bake bread on bottom rack for 40 minutes or until tops are a deep brown and the loaves sound hollow when lightly tapped.
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Remove from pans while hot and brush with butter. Cool 30 minutes before slicing.
Just look at that texture! Soft and light and so easy to slice. Make sure to brush the top with butter to make it even softer. This bread stays fresh for 2 days on the counter and freezes well.
To see exactly how I make and shape homemade bread, be sure to watch our step by step video at the top of the post. Spread warm bread with butter, honey butter, or homemade strawberry jam. Yum!
Honey Wheat Bread
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup warm water
- 4 1/2 teaspoon yeast (2 packages)
- 1 3/4 cup warm water
- 1/3 cup honey
- 1/4 cup shortening
- 1 Tbsp salt
- 3 cup whole wheat flour
- 3-4 cup all purpose flour
- butter
Instructions
- Combine 1/2 c. warm water and yeast in a small bowl. Cover and let proof for 5-10 minutes or until yeast is bubbly.
- In a large bowl combine the rest of the water, honey, shortening and salt. Add yeast mixture and stir.
- Stir in whole wheat flour. Mix for 2 minutes.
- Stir in all purpose flour 1 cup at a time until a soft dough forms.
- Knead on a lightly floured surface 5 minutes, until the dough is elastic.
- Lightly oil the mixing bowl (2 tsp.) and place dough into bowl. Turn dough over so that oiled side is facing up. Cover and let rise in a warm place until doubled (60-80 minutes).
- Punch dough down and divide dough into two sections and form into loaves. To form into a loaf roll dough out to a 9"x18" rectangle. Roll up the 9" side. Pinch edges to seal.
- Place into greased bread pans. Cover and let rise for an additional 40 minutes.
- Heat oven to 375 degrees and remove all racks except for the bottom rack so that the tops of the bread are in the center of the oven. Bake bread on bottom rack for 40 minutes or until tops are a deep brown and the loaves sound hollow when lightly tapped.
- Remove from pans while hot and brush with butter. Cool 30 minutes before slicing.
Nutrition
WHAT IS THE BEST KIND OF FLOUR TO USE for honey wheat bread?
For wheat I like to grind my own if I have wheat berries on hand. The wheat tastes so much better when ground fresh, but that isn’t always an option so my second favorite is King Arthur’s 100% whole grain wheat floud. For whtie flour I generally use bread flour or all purpose. I’ve switched back and forth many times and honestly, I can’t tell a difference between the two for most recipes. This batch of honey wheat bread was made using all purpose flour.
3 Delicious Variations for Honey Wheat Bread
- Before rolling up the bread into a loaf shape, spritz with water and sprinkle with cinnamon and sugar for a cinnamon swirl loaf.
- Brush with butter before baking and sprinkle with oats.
- Make a cinnamon raisin loaf by spritzing with water, sprinkling with cinnamon and sugar and adding a handful of raisins before rolling up into a loaf shape.
WHAT IS THE BEST WAY TO PROOF YEAST?
I like putting 1/2 c. of the warm water into a small bowl with the yeast and 1 tsp. of sugar (if the recipe calls for sugar. This recipe calls for honey so I leave the sugar out and just proof the yeast with warm water). Give it a stir. Place a small plate on top and let it sit for 5 minutes. When you go to add the rest of the ingredients make sure to subtract the 1/2 c. of water and 1 tsp. of sugar that you already used for the yeast proofing.
CAN YOU USE INSTANT AND DRY ACTIVE YEAST INTERCHANGEABLY?
For the most part I use whatever yeast is available. Most of the time it’s the instant yeast that comes in a large package from Sam’s Club. When I use dry active yeast I add 10-15 minutest to the rise time. Technically you do not need to proof instant yeast, only dry active yeast, but I’ve gotten so used to proofing my yeast that I proof it for every recipe.
WHERE IS A GOOD PLACE TO LET THE DOUGH RISE?
A warm place is the perfect place for yeast to do its thing. I preheat my oven for 60 seconds then shut the heat off. I place my bowl of dough with a damp cloth covering it inside my oven.
How Do You Know When Your Bread Is Done?
The top should be nice and golden, and when you tap the top it should sound hollow. When you’ve achieved both, pull those loaves out of the oven and brush with butter. They’re done!
Welcome! I'm Brandy, mother to 5 darling kiddos and a cute black lab named Toby. My husband is in the Coast Guard so we've lived all over the place, turning each house into a home. I love baking, sewing, making cute things with my kids, and sharing what I've learned with all of you!
Can this be made in a breadmachine?
Hi Donna! I haven’t tried making it in a bread machine before. I’m sorry!
Brandy, I never comment but this bread is so delicious! My whole family enjoyed it so much that I had to thank you.
This is my first attempt at whole wheat and I was worried it would be too dense.
Nope! It rose so high and is so fluffy! It was sheer torture waiting 30 minutes before digging in.
Thank you from my whole family. 10+ stars on this recipe! 🙂
Debra
This made my day! I’m so glad your family enjoyed it!
What kind of shortening can I use? Is butter ok?
Hi Anne! You can use butter.
Making bread for the first time. What size pan did you use?
9″ x 5″. Good luck!! 🙂
Hello there,
Have you tried full wholemeal flour instead 50/50 flour?
Will there be a difference in texture of the bread?
Hi Siti! I have not made this with 100% wheat bread, just because I prefer a mixture, but you can make it with all whole wheat flour! There will be a difference, it will taste stronger like wheat and might not be as light, but it will still work great!
Can you make this with all all purpose flour? Asking have made your honey wheat bread into a sandwich bread in a 16x4x4 bread pan successfully! But I can’t find a white bread recipe that will work in that pan!
I don’t see why not!
Hi Brandy,
What oil would you recommend as a replacement to the shortening? I need to make it dairy free so can’t do butter..
Thanks,
Niki
You might try canola oil! This is my go-to oil for other recipes.
Thanks so much for this yummy & simple bread recipe. As a diabetic, it’s often hard to find quality products in stores, so I find myself searching for homemade recipes. I often have to search quite a bit for ones that don’t use sugars as well so was pleased to see your recipe use natural honey instead. 😀 As I’m also watching my weight, I do use coconut oil instead of shortening and do use a 3 to 1 ratio of wheat to white flour instead of a 50/50 ratio, but the recipe still works great and the family loves it! They ask me to bake this regularly. Thanks so much for a great and easy recipe.
So glad to hear!!
Awesome bread, thanks! What is the best way to store it?
I store mine in a plastic bag on the counter for up to 3 days. You can also freeze it!
This is now my most favorite wheat bread! Soft and delicious, not dense-doorstop wheat bread. I used coconut oil instead of shortening.
So good to heart and I’ll have to try making it with coconut oil!
I let the bread rise for 60 mins instead of 40 the second time around because they didn’t look big enough but when I put them in the oven one of them collapsed. The other did too but not as much. What did I do wrong?
Hi Niki! I’ve had this happen sometimes over the years and never really knew why. Most loaves turned out fine, but then there was always one that flattened and made me feel like I couldn’t bake, haha. I’ve heard it can happen if the dough is over-worked (kneaded too long), not kneaded long enough or the dough was left to rise too long. Maybe one of those happened to you, it’s hard to know!
Hi Will this recipe half for a single loaf?
Hi Sara! You can make a single loaf!
I truly enjoyed making this bread. Thank you for the recipe. I especially love the smell in my home while rising and baking. It lasts all day.
I feel the same way! Smells so good! So glad you enjoyed the recipe. 😊
Love this recipe. Have you ever tried to make it into dinner rolls instead of just loaves?
Not this particular recipe, but you totally could! Make the dough normally then follow the directions here for the rise, shaping, and baking! https://gluesticksblog.com/dinner-rolls-recipe/
I made this recipe as 24 dinner rolls tonight and they were DIVINE. I used about 4tsp instant yeast (no proof, just tossed it in with all the warm water), white whole wheat and just over 2 cups of all purpose flour (didn’t need the full 3 cups). I also used refined coconut oil (scooped while solid) instead of shortening. I followed the roll instructions you linked in your comment and brushed with butter when they came out of the oven. SO yummy. I can see how this would be a great bread loaf! If it is helpful information, I found that the rolls needed a couple extra minutes to brown on top when baked in a glass baking dish as opposed to a dark-colored metal baking sheet. I split them between the two to bake all 24 at once and thought that was interesting.
Great info! These would make amazing rolls and I’m glad to hear about the alterations you made. I’ll try using coconut oil next time too!
Hi tried the recipe….. the bread was delicious….. but can I swap shortening and use coconut oil instead? Thanks!
Hi Alex! I don’t see why not. I haven’t tried it, but have used coconut oil for many other baking recipes with great success! 🙂
What is the carb count
Hi Ann, I’ve never calculated carbs in a recipe before.
Can I add a grain soak to this recipe?
I don’t see why not, I’m not sure what adjustments would need to be made.
Tried this recipe with butter and turned out to be delicious. Just wanted to know if I interchange butter with coconut oil or shortening is the quantity used same? Thanks for sharing.
Hi! I think that would be fine! My grandma used to make hers with shortening. 🙂
Hi, I used butter instead of shortening and replaced some water and flour with sourdough discard and it turned out perfect. I’m never sure of what shortening is as, in Australian, we have butter or margarine.
So glad to hear! Shortening is similar to lard (only vegetable oil based). Butter is a wonderful substitute!
I’ve made 6 loaves now and all but 1 have been pretty flat. Not tall and fluffy like yours. Any suggestions?? Either way absolutely delicious!
I was wondering. I am wanting to try this but 1 tbsp of salt is alot. Do you think I could reduce this. I need to watch my hubbys intake of salt
Hi Marion, absolutely! You could probably reduce it by half and it would be fine. I have other bread recipes that I use that make two loaves and use 1 1/2 teaspoons of salt.
This is so straightforward and just a great recipe. The only thing I did differently was swap butter for the shortening, but they came out so well. It’s my new go-to sandwich bread. I’ll definitely be making it a few times a month. Thank you.
So glad to hear!!
Thank you for this recipe! I followed the recipe exactly as written and it turned out perfectly! I’m not an experienced bread maker, so I was a little nervous about trying it. But both my husband and I give it two thumbs up.
So glad to hear!!
I was so happy I found this recipe, my husband and I love honey wheat bread. Have been looking for a recipe I could make at home. Thank you so much for sharin!
You’re welcome! 😊
Hi Brandy, I’ve been doing the bread a few times but the last time when slicing my bread there are big holes in the slices, do you know why or what I’m doing wrong because before that everything was perfect and when the bread is sliced they are thick. Thanks for your tips/advice
Hi Nathalie! I’m not sure what would cause that! I’ve heard that the yeast, or gasses released during the baking process can sometimes do this, but I’m not sure how to prevent that. Especially if you make it exactly how you did last time. I’m sorry!
This bread is the best! Will be my go to recipe for Honey Wheat… better than store bought. So light & fluffy. I can’t post a picture because it didn’t last long enough! Great addition to my bread recipes
Lori, I’m so glad to hear this!
Hi Brandy! First time follower.
Just wanted to share my concerns: I followed this to a T (using my kitchenaid stand mixer) and could only get to 2 C of all-purpose before it got DENSE. Really dont know what you consider a soft dough but this was stiff. I moved on to the floured-surface step hoping working it with my hands would loosen it up and it was really hard to knead. Only made it about 2 minutes. I hope its elastic enough! Its pliable but if i stretched too far it would break off into a slab. In fear of already having over worked it, it’s now in the resting phase. Still hopeful it will rise and be fluffy! Really worried it’s going to be a brick. 😅 Any advice? Can I still divide it and make two loaves despite using significantly less flour? I’ll keep you posted!
Hi Stephanie! How did it turn out? Using less flour isn’t a bad thing if your dough was feeling stiff. Lots of things could affect it (humidity, etc.). I always use the full amount in this recipe and it turns out great for my environment.
Hey Brandy! I never received notice that this was published but I’m grateful for your response! Maybe it is a humidity thing. 🤔 We are in a dry part of the states.
I came back to repeat the recipe so obviously it worked out! The loaves were spectacular 🙂 my two little girls raved about your recipe and insisted to always have “mommy’s bread” instead of store bought. My husband was disappointed it didn’t have a pumpkin filling! (He came into the kitchen and spied a “roll” resting on the counter & thought I was prepping dessert. Sorry babe! Still delicious though.)
Today I ditched the countertop mixer & stuck with my hands. The dough was much more pliable by step 4, so perhaps it just became overworked by the machine. I was able to get up to 2.5C of AP flour this time. The loaves were a little on the small side the first go around – didn’t rise a whole lot in the pans – but was still the perfect size for sandwich bread & toast 🧡 This second batch is HUGE. About to load in the oven & I’m sure this go-around is gonna be even more fantastic!
Stephanie, I’m so glad to hear this! Sounds amazing!
This is where I should have asked this.. Mine are very small and pretty dense. I do it by hand and only add about 2 cups of AP flour as well. Should the dough be really sticky then whole time? I’ve made 6 and only 1 has been tall and fluffy and that onecthevdough was sticky 🤔. Always delicious! I want it to be correct though!
Hi Steffany! My first thought would be your yeast, but if one of yours turned out fine then the yeast is probably ok. The dough is sticky, but you should only need a small amount of flour to knead it. Is it possible that you used a little too much flour when handling the other loaves? I wish I could help more!
Everything about this recipe is perfect! The end result was a beautiful, delicious loaf of bread (or two)! My new favorite!
I began making homemade bread after I retired in January 2022. I invested in a good stand mixer and have tried many recipes, but never “got it right” because my bread never produced those lovely domed loaves. After some research I learned that the issue was mostly the bread pans I use (they are 4 1/2 by 12 long loaf pans). I found a conversion formula to adjust a recipe for 2 9×5 pans to my pan size and applied it to your recipe. These are the prettiest loaves I have ever made! I love the subtle touch of the honey (rather than sugar) and the mixture of whole wheat flour (I grind my own) and white flour (I use King Arthur’s bread flour). This recipe makes the perfect sandwich bread with the nuttiness of wheat bread. Thank you so much for an easy and easily adaptable recipe. I think this will become my go-to.
Shelley, I’m so glad to hear this!
Can I use a vegan butter in this recipe rather than regular butter?
I haven’t tried eating or baking with vegan butter, I’m sorry!
Just took a loaf out of the oven, and pray it taste as good as it smells…something tells me it’s going to❣️
I’m sure it will! Enjoy! 🙂