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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.
Here's the problem tonight: I realized I forgot to buy bread.
Normally that's not a big deal. But dear reader, tonight it was.
My son Zen requested his favourite school lunch: 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, so I whipped up a batch of my favourite whole wheat bread machine recipe, just in time for school tomorrow
This whole wheat sandwich recipe is dedicated to cucumber sandwiches!

Jump to:
Whole Wheat Bread Tips + Tricks
- No. 1 --> 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.
- No. 2 --> 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.
- No. 3 --> 1.5 lb - this recipe is for a 1.5lb loaf of bread. Please ensure your machine has the capacity to handle a 1.5lb loaf!
- No. 4 --> Join my bread machine jump start email series!

Ingredients
- warm water - I always start my bread machine recipes with warm water, I find this helps to get everything off to a good start and give a tender, fluffy crumb.
- butter - I like to use butter in this recipe, that said, it's easily swapped out with oil. Just use the requested amount.
- salt - the kind of salt doesn't much matter in this recipe, but I do recommend using coarse ground salt. If you're using table salt, reduce the amount of salt your using to avoid an over salty loaf.
- honey - the yeast needs something to feed on to give us a quick and active ferment. If you don't want to use honey, swap that out too! You can use maple syrup, brown sugar, or even granulated sugar. I prefer honey or brown sugar as they add more flavour than a granulated sugar would.
- unbleached flour - yup. Busted! This is a half and half recipe. I prefer to use half whole wheat flour and half unbleached flour.
- whole wheat flour - whole wheat flour gives a lovely fleck and body to this bread recipe. Not to mention the much deeper flavour profile. I'll always prefer whole wheat to basic white bread.
- bread machine yeast - also called quick or instant yeast.
How to make whole wheat bread in the bread machine
- Add warm water, butter, salt and honey to the loaf pan of your bread machine.
- Add flour, and sprinkle yeast on top of the flour.
- Return bread pan to the bread machine.
- Set to desired whole wheat setting - On my Breville Bread Maker I usually use Bake Rapid - Whole Wheat - 1.5 pound loaf - Medium Crust.
- Allow bread to cool before cutting.

Flour matters
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 (I'm a Canuck!) and your results if you are using American flour, which doesn't have a protein requirement.
Now that we know the differences between flours, 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 below- or any flour with 12-13% protein.

What's my protein content?
The easiest way is to look at the nutrition label and do some quick math!
Grams of Protein / Grams per Serving = _________ X 100 = ______%

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

Adapting this whole wheat bread machine 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.
Check out my bread machine troubleshooting guide for more information.
More bread recipes:
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📖 Printable Recipe

Honey Whole Wheat Bread Recipe
An easy whole wheat bread machine recipe 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.
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
Instructions
- Add warm water, butter, salt and honey to the baking basket of your bread machine.
- Add flour, and sprinkle yeast on top of the flour.
- Return baking basket to bread machine.
- Set to desired whole wheat setting - I usually use Bake Rapid - Whole Wheat - 1.5lbs - Medium Crust.
- Allow bread to cool before cutting.
Notes
*IF you do not use Canadian flour, please please take a quick look at the information above under the A NOTE ON FLOUR heading.
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Nutrition Information:
Yield:
10 slicesServing Size:
1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 165Total Fat: 3gSaturated Fat: 2gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 1gCholesterol: 6mgSodium: 253mgCarbohydrates: 31gFiber: 3gSugar: 4gProtein: 5g
Pin this bread machine whole wheat recipe!

Brandy
Tuesday 9th of February 2021
This was fantastic! I can not believe how great this turned out, so delicious and soft! I did have to convert it to a 1lb for my machine and converted to weight measurements. Thanks so much!
Angelique
Sunday 10th of January 2021
I just baked this today. I used your above directions for using the bread machine dough setting and then letting rise in th loaf pan and baking. And it turned out incredible. I followed your reciped and instructions to the t. I wouldn't change a thing. So darn good. We ate half of it and now I have a second loaf in the machine. I would use my machine to bake it if I had a horizontal baking machine, but I have an older model, and the weird square loaf just doens't work for toast. Thanks for a wonderful recipe.
Ally
Monday 11th of January 2021
So happy to hear you loved it! <3 That made my day!
Christine
Sunday 10th of January 2021
this was tHe first recipe i used in my bread maker (newbie here!) and it turned Out pErfect...thanks so much! TRying your no knead bread today!
Ally
Monday 11th of January 2021
Christine, that's awesome! Here's to more success!
Christine
Sunday 8th of November 2020
Hi there, I was wondering if you have tried to bake the loaf in the oven? I want to use my bread machine on the dough setting and remove the dough to rise and bake in the oven. Any ideas for timing and temperature to bake in the oven?
Ally
Monday 16th of November 2020
Hey Christine, I haven't! But if I did, here's what I'd do.
Make the dough as stated in the recipe in the bread maker, once the dough cycle is complete, turn the dough onto a floured surface and form into log/ logs, depending on the size of your bread pans. Place the dough into greased pan (s). Allow the dough to rise in the pan covered with a damp towel for 45 minutes or so. When the dough is about 20 minutes away from being fully risen, preheat the oven to 375f. Bake the bread for 35-45 minutes. The crust should be nicely browned and the underside sounds hollow when knocked.
Hayley
Wednesday 22nd of April 2020
Hi Ally! Thank you for the excellent recipe. Im in canada too. Can i use all purpose flour For the white flour? Did i read this correctly? Also you mentioned rapid bake. I have a sunbeam machine which says use bread flour for “express” bake, which is done in like an hour. Can i do this in the regular 3 hour cycle? Thanks for your help.
Ally
Thursday 23rd of April 2020
Yes certainly use all-purpose! I use unbleached AP as a matter of preference. As for the baking settings, my Breville has a "rapid bake" setting that works in conjunction with the whole wheat setting. I use that one out of the desire to have it done sooner, but the full-length whole wheat setting will work the same!