Name: Irresistible Honey Whole Wheat Bread
Prep time: 5 min
Cook time: 3 h
Total time: 3 h 5 min
Yield: 1 Loaf
Cuisine: American
Ingredients: 1 cup warm water; 2 tbsp butter, cubed; 1 tsp Himalayan salt; 2 tbsp honey; 1 1/2 cups unbleached flour *see notes above; 1 1/2 cups whole wheat flour; 2 tsp bread machine yeast

An easy whole wheat bread machine recipe that has the rich flavour of whole wheat, the delicate sweetness of honey, and the soft fluffiness of white sandwich bread. This irresistible homemade honey whole wheat bread is simply the best.

As I stood in my kitchen on Sunday night, trying vigorously to warm my frozen fingers, panic set in. I couldn’t find any in the cupboard and an exhaustive search of the deep freeze turned up nothing.

I’d forgotten.

The top crust of a loaf of honey whole wheat bread from the bread machine. The golden crust is kind of swirled and you can see flecks of the wheat germ.

So here’s the problem: that night, I realized I forgot to buy bread.

Normally that’s not a big deal.

Tonight it was.

My son Zen requested his favourite: cucumber and cheese sandwich. He would not be swayed, he’s stubborn like his father.

You know, maybe he got some of that stubbornness from his mother too. I was determined to give him that sammy because he’s cute, and I love him. I whipped up a batch of my favourite whole wheat bread machine recipe, in no time flat.

This whole wheat bread recipe is dedicated to Zenen and cucumber sandwiches!

A slice of honey whole wheat bread laying in front of the loaf it was cut from. The crust is golden brown and the crumb is flecked with wheat germ and air pockets.

This Whole Wheat Bread Machine Recipe is ready in 5 easy steps:

Add ingredients to the loaf pan in the order listed.
Pop it in the bread maker.
Choose the correct setting.
Drink coffee and wait.
Fight your family for the first slice.

A brown honey dripper is dripping straw coloured honey with a loaf of wholw wheat bread from a bread machine in the background.

A NOTE ON FLOUR:

CANADIAN flour is different than American flour. By law, Canadian flour is bound to have at least 13% protein content and this can cause discrepancies between my recipes and your results if you are using American flour, which doesn’t have a protein requirement.

Canadian flour is the first and still the greatest Canadian success story. Canadian wheat makes the finest flour in the world, bar none. Despite everything that is said about bread vs cake vs pastry flour, somehow magically Canadian all-purpose flour basically handles all those tasks effortlessly. Canadian home cooks and home bakers, in general, don’t really experiment with different types of flour — if you say flour in Canada, it means all-purpose, end of story. Here apparently is the breakdown of Canadian all-purpose flour: 73.0% carbohydrates; 13.0% protein; 14.0% moisture (including 1.0% fats.)
https://www.cooksinfo.com/flour#ixzz2Ty9igK8t

Now that we know the differences between flour nationalities, I recommend anyone using American made flour to use Bread flour – I linked to two flours that passed the protein test in the recipe card – or any flour with 12-13% protein.

A loaf of golden brown whole wheat bread machine bread with swirled looking crust.

HOW TO MEASURE PROTEIN CONTENT IN YOUR FLOUR:

The easiest way is to look at the nutrition label and do some quick math!

Grams of Protein / Grams per Serving = _________ X 100 = ______%

nutrition information chart on the side of a bag of flour.

In this image, the protein percentage of the flour is: 4/30=.1333 = 13.3%

HERES WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT THIS HONEY WHOLE WHEAT BREAD MACHINE RECIPE:

USE local honey. Supporting your local economy is good, but the best reason for buying local honey is that the flavour and freshness can’t be beaten.
THIS recipe mixes whole wheat and all-purpose unbleached flour – I found it gives a perfect mix between fluffy white bread and the flavour and heartiness of whole wheat bread.
1.5 LBS – this recipe is for a 1.5lb loaf of bread. Please ensure your machine has the capacity to handle a 1.5lb loaf!
MY family LOVES when I bake bread, and they all show up like little bloodhounds sniffing the air as the bake cycle comes to an end.

A honey dipper resting atop a slice of honey whole wheat bread. The crust is a golden brown and the honey has pooled on the hole filled surface of the bread.

If you love bread, you should check out my other awesome bread recipes:

Best Bread Machine Recipe

Cardamom Cranberry Bread Recipe

Hearty Homemade Hamburger Buns

The best bread machine bread recipe. I'm serious! |Cravethegood.com

Two loaves of bread with dark crust, dotted with dried cranberries.

Adapting this whole wheat bread recipe for your bread machine:

Every machine has it’s quirks and has a ratio it likes best. This recipe is perfect in my machine, and with the tips in the Flour section above, it should be in your machine too.

That said, take a peek at your dough during the first kneading cycle – 10 or so minutes in. The dough should be smooth and forming a nice ball.

If the dough is sticky, you may need more flour (or to check the Note On Flour Section above).

If the dough is lumpy and shaggy, then you may need more liquid.

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1 Loaf