This recipe for Honey Whole Wheat Bread is the best sandwich bread recipe.  I’ve been using it for so many years, and I get emails from readers quite often who tell me that this is the best Honey Whole Wheat Bread recipe.  I first published this recipe back in 2012, but I’m bringing it to the forefront today so you don’t miss this perfect bread recipe!

Watch the video showing you how to make this Honey Whole Wheat Bread, then scroll to the bottom of this post and print out the recipe so you can bake it at home.

Sliced Loaf of Honey Whole Wheat Bread

The story behind this Honey Whole Wheat Bread recipe:

Before food blogs were popular, I visited food blog forums- places on the internet where you can discuss recipes and food.  It’s where I became “RecipeGirl,” really… since that just happened to be the name I chose for my identity on those forums.  I learned so much from people in those forums- home cooks, emerging bloggers and cookbook authors too.  If you posed a question on those forums, members would openly share feedback, give recommendations and share their great grandmother’s secret recipes.  It was a fun place to be.

Sadly, the forums no longer exist. The bread I’m sharing today is a recipe that a gentleman named “Pete” on Cooking.com’s forum gave me many years ago.  Pete gave me permission to share the recipe he had been using for 40+ years! We lost Pete a few years ago, but I’m happy to let his famous bread recipe live on! I’ve been using this recipe since he gave it to me, and it’s now my go-to, homemade Honey Whole Wheat Bread.

Let me just state for the record that I’m not a very experienced bread baker.  I haven’t made a zillion different kinds of loaves, and I usually look to the experts for recipes and advice.  But this guy Pete… he gave me a good recipe that is easy to follow.

Dough for Honey Whole Wheat Bread

Tips for Making the Best Honey Whole Wheat Bread:

  • When I make bread, I always make sure I have freshly purchased flour (I used the bread flour in combination with whole wheat flour). It makes a difference.  You can make the dough by hand if you want to (mix and knead yourself), but if you have a stand mixer with a dough hook… it will do all of the work for you!
  • Use freshly purchased yeast too.  There is no “proofing the yeast” in this recipe.  Just mix, let it knead and then shape it into a round to let rise.

Dough rising for Honey Whole Wheat Bread

The round of dough is placed into a bowl, which is set in a warm place with a clean dishtowel on top.  Just let it rise until it’s about doubled.

Rolling out Honey Whole Wheat Bread dough

The dough is divided in half and rolled into rectangles.

Preparing Honey Whole Wheat Bread dough

Then, here’s the funny part:  you roll it up just like you roll up cinnamon roll dough.  No kiddin’.

Honey Whole Wheat Bread dough in a loaf pan

Then you wiggle it into a 9×5-inch bread pan.  Cover it again- warm place and let it rise…

Honey Whole Wheat Bread dough rising in loaf pan
…until it has risen about an inch above the pan.  Then bake it!

Honey Whole Wheat Bread sliced

This Honey Whole Wheat Bread is the best sandwich bread recipe.  And since there tend to be so many preservatives in those commercial brands, you can feel good about eating this bread homemade and feeding it to your family too.

P.S. Don’t be afraid of trying to bake your own bread.  As I mentioned before… I’m not a bread baker!  Just follow the instructions and try it out.  You’ll be surprised how easy it is!

Here are a few more bread recipes you might enjoy:

4.84 from 25 votes

Honey Whole Wheat Bread

This Honey Whole Wheat Bread is the perfect recipe to use for everyday sandwich bread.
Prep: 30 minutes
Cook: 25 minutes
Rising Time: 1 hour
Total: 55 minutes
Servings: 2 loaves (16 servings per loaf)
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Ingredients

Instructions 

  • In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the the whole wheat flour, 4 cups bread flour, sugar, salt and yeast.
  • In a medium bowl, combine honey, milk, water and butter, and heat to between 105 and 110 degrees in the microwave.
  • Stir the liquids to melt the butter and add, all at once, to the dry ingredients in the mixer bowl.
  • With the dough hook installed on your stand mixer, mix the dough. Add more bread flour by the tablespoon, as needed, until the dough comes together and clears the bowl. Mix for 5 minutes with the dough hook and remove to a lightly floured counter surface.
  • Knead by hand until no longer sticky, adding flour as necessary. Form the dough into a large round and place in a large, greased bowl.
  • Cover the bowl with plastic wrap or a clean dish towel, let rise in a warm place for 30 minutes (or until about doubled in size). Remove the dough from the bowl and divide it in half. Roll each half into a 10 x 12 rectangle and roll each up like a cigar. Pinch the seams. Roll on the counter-top to make a uniform log and place each roll in an oiled 9x5-inch bread pan seam-side up. Shake the roll to oil the bottom, turn the pan over, catch the dough and reinsert it into the pan, seam-side-down.
  • Return the pan to a warm place, cover lightly with a clean dishtowel and let rise an additional 30 minutes or until at least 1 inch above the pan top. Bake in a preheated 400°F. oven for 25 minutes, or until the center of the bread tests 190 to 200 degrees. Remove the bread from the pans and let them cool on a rack.

Notes

  • If you don't have a stand mixer, you can mix and then knead the bread by hand. It'll be a bit of a workout, but it's worth it.
  • To create a nice, warm place for your loaves to rise, turn on oven for 60 seconds and then turn it off. Turn the oven light on too. The temperature should be just about right for your loaves to rise nicely. (don't forget to turn off the oven!)
  • Want a buttery component to it? Brush butter onto the top of the loaf as soon as it comes out of the oven. Let it soak into the loaf, then remove the loaf from the pan to cool.
  • If you do not plan to consume both loaves right away, they freeze beautifully. Wrap loaf with foil as soon as it comes out of the oven- just foil, nothing else- the wrapping-while-hot trick retains the moisture so when thawed it's very fresh tasting.
  • Over-kneading and adding too much flour may result in a drier, denser loaf. Be careful.

Nutrition

Serving: 1slice, Calories: 108kcal, Carbohydrates: 19g, Protein: 3g, Fat: 1g, Saturated Fat: 1g, Cholesterol: 4mg, Sodium: 112mg, Potassium: 51mg, Fiber: 1g, Sugar: 3g, Vitamin A: 55IU, Calcium: 12mg, Iron: 0.4mg

Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.

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4.84 from 25 votes (4 ratings without comment)

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140 Comments

  1. Angela Button says:

    Wow.. Nice bread recipe! I love this kind of flavored bread. I will make one soon.

  2. Cat Davis - Food Family Finds says:

    I made this bread today and have to say … it was a big hit with my family, even my overly picky parents. The only change I made was doubling the honey and it worked out quite nicely.

  3. Jay-Lynn says:

    In reply to Cat – I’ve baked a number of loaves in a bread machine and just switched over to using the machine to just prep the dough. I don’t like the shape of the loaf coming out of the machine and wanted bread that “looked right” (tee hee). Has worked wonderful. My bread machine is older and not fancy but does beep when the initial mixing is done. I remove the dough to a bowl and allow to rise. Then I just follow the rest of the baking instructions. I’m going to bake this loaf today – looks wonderful

  4. Anna @ hiddenponies says:

    I’ll definitely be trying this, I need a good basic bread recipe that isn’t just plain ol’ (delicious) white 🙂

  5. Carlas Confections says:

    LOVE that recipe! I am definitely going to make this one soon. I love that you can just barely see the spirals in the bread. So pretty. I do love the idea of a healthier option too. I will be making this one soon for sure. Yours turned out so perfect too. Literally no imperfections!

  6. Dana @ This Silly Girl's Life says:

    Wow, this looks so delicious and perfect!

  7. shelly (cookies and cups) says:

    I have always been scared of making bread..you make it sounds so easy! I’m gonna do it 🙂

  8. Angelyn @ Everyday Desserts says:

    Your loaf is beautiful!!

  9. Brandon Savage says:

    I love making home made bread. Every wheat bread requires gluten, so it’s important to use good flour. I never use store brand flour because it’s so inconsistent in gluten content. Also, the reason you roll it up is that gives it the nice crumb. Makes it easy to get it in the bread pan too! Thanks for inspiring me to go bake!

  10. Renee - Kudos Kitchen says:

    One of my favorite things to bake in my kitchen is yeast breads! This looks incredible Lori! It’s picture perfect!