Just like my favorite homemade white bread recipe, two loaves of this simple Honey Wheat Bread will be ready to eat in about 3 hours, with only about 20-minutes of hands-on effort.
Thanks to a touch of olive oil and milk, this bread has an exceptionally soft and tender crumb. The loaves are hearty and substantial, but not heavy, dry, or overly dense.
Lightly sweetened with honey (or molasses), each slice is slightly nutty and supremely comforting, like only homemade bread can be.

Simple Homemade Whole Wheat Bread with Honey and Oats
Homemade bread is always a treat no matter how often I bake it.
I've been baking bread nearly every week - sometimes two or three times in a week - for at least 25 years. And yet, every single time a warm, fresh loaf comes out of the oven, we all hover over it, impatiently waiting for it to cool enough to slice.
Simple sandwich loaves like this whole wheat recipe (and this white bread recipe) require a ridiculously minimal amount of time when weighted against the immensely satisfying reward of baking - and eating! - homemade bread.
Tips for Making Homemade Honey Wheat Bread
What ingredients do you need for these honey whole wheat loaves?
Two loaves of homemade whole wheat bread require only 9 ingredients, and one of them is water. Here's what you need:
- Water
- Milk
- Honey (or molasses)
- Active Dry Yeast
- Extra Virgin Olive Oil
- Old Fashioned Oats
- Whole Wheat Flour
- All-Purpose Flour (or Bread Flour)
- Salt
Should you use an electric stand mixer to knead the dough?
If you choose to use a standing mixer to knead the dough, the actual hands on time for producing 2 gorgeous honey wheat bread loaves is only about 20 minutes. 👏👏👏
You can, of course, knead your bread by hand instead of letting your mixer do the work - an enjoyable activity that I sometimes choose over machine kneading when:
- I've been sitting at my computer for too long and feel antsy and restless.
- I'm aggravated, frustrated, or outright angry. I can't help but think that the world would be a MUCH better place if more people chose to make bread before responding to someone who's driving them crazy. Honestly.
- I'm listening to a super awesome audio book or podcast and want an excuse to keep listening.
- I just feel like it. (Probably the best reason of all.)
No oats? No problem.
Just ¾ cup of ground old fashioned oats gives these loaves a heartier texture and slightly more complex flavor without messing up the super soft tender crumb.
But, if you don't happen to have any in your kitchen on the day you plan to bake, or if you just don't really care for oats, leave them out, adding a bit more whole wheat flour in their place.
These homemade honey wheat loaves are delicious with or without the oatmeal. In addition, the dough accepts many other additions exceptionally well.
I've heard from people who have added all variety of grains and seeds to their dough with great success. So, don't be afraid to experiment with additional add-ins.
How to make bread dough with the perfect consistency
One of the challenges to homemade bread is finding the right balance between flour and liquid.
The key is to add the last cup and a half of flour slowly, using only as much as you need.
How much flour bread dough requires depends on a lot of different factors. In humid climates, or seasons, you'll need more flour than during times of the year - or areas of the world - when the air is dry.
Before you begin mixing the dough, add all the ground oats and whole wheat flour. But, only add some of the all-purpose flour to the dough to start.
Then, slowly add more, bit by bit, just until you have dough that's soft and smooth, not sticking to the sides of the bowl at all, but still wet enough to stick slightly to the bottom of the bowl.
If you accidentally add too much flour, so that your dough is looking overly dry, no worries. Bread dough is remarkably forgiving. Simply add more milk - teaspoon by teaspoon - until the dough is damp enough to stick to the bottom of the bowl slightly.
Honey (or molasses) adds a slight sweetness and additional flavor to the dough
Molasses imparts a deeper flavor and darker color to whole wheat bread, while honey creates a lighter loaf with a slightly milder flavor.
Both are equally delicious, and so I generally alternate between the two, using whichever strikes my fancy in the moment.
More Popular Homemade Bread Recipes:
- Simple Homemade White Bread
- Homemade Cinnamon Bread
- Buttery Homemade Dinner Rolls
- Homemade Flour Tortillas
- Simple Homemade Pizza Dough
- Soft, Buttery Potato Rolls
- Homemade Cinnamon Rolls {Overnight Recipe}
- Homemade Overnight Caramel Rolls
- Homemade Hamburger and Hot Dog Buns
- Simple Cream Biscuits
- Chocolate Almond Babka
The other kind of bread I make on the regular is sourdough bread. I mostly follow this recipe and method from Tartine Bakery and it's absolutely delicious. I also highly recommend the Tartine Bread Book.
This Honey Wheat Bread is a Building Block Recipe
Building block recipes are tried-and-true recipes that I consider foundational to great home baking. They are the kind of recipes I come back to over and over again, sometimes baking them as is, but often using them as a jumping off point to create something new. > Scroll through all Building Block recipes.
If you give this recipe a try, let me know! Leave a comment, rate it, or take a picture and tag it #ofbatteranddough on Instagram.
Happy baking!
Honey Wheat Bread
This honey wheat bread recipe creates exceptionally soft and tender loaves, thanks to a touch of milk and olive oil. Lightly sweetened with honey (or molasses), each slice is slightly nutty and supremely comforting, like only homemade bread can be.
Ingredients
- 1 ¼ cup (296ml) water, at room temperature
- 1 cup (236ml) milk, at room temperature
- ¼ cup (3tbsp) honey - OR molasses
- 1 tablespoon (⅓oz/ 9g) active dry yeast
- 2 tablespoon (25g) extra virgin olive oil
- ¾ cup (67g) old fashioned oats
- 3 cups (339g) whole wheat flour
- 2 ½ cups (192g) all-purpose flour OR bread flour
- 1 tablespoon (8g) kosher salt - Or 2 teaspoon (9g) table salt
Instructions
- Add the water, milk, and honey to the bowl of a standing mixer, and stir to combine. Sprinkle the yeast over the top of the liquid and stir briefly. Let the mixture stand for 5 minutes, until the yeast is activated and looks creamy. Stir in the olive oil.
- Put the oats in a food processor or spice grinder and process to a fine powder. Add the ground oats to the mixing bowl along with the whole wheat flour and 1 cup of the all-purpose flour.
- Fit the mixer with the dough hook and begin mixing the dough on low (speed level 2 or 3 on a KitchenAid mixer) to bring the dough together. As the dough beats, slowly add only enough of the remaining all-purpose flour to bring the dough together into a soft dough. The dough should clean the sides of the bowl, but still stick to the bottom. (*See note.) This will take about 7-8 minutes.
- With the mixer continuing to knead the dough (keep it on low speed), slowly sprinkle in the salt. Once the salt is incorporated, let the mixer continue to knead the dough for another 3 minutes, until the dough is elastic, smooth and soft. Your total knead time should be about 10 minutes.
- Spray a bowl large enough to hold double the amount of dough with non-stick spray, or coat it with a bit of melted butter. Remove the dough from the mixing bowl, shape it into a ball, and plop it down into the greased bowl. Spray a sheet of plastic wrap with non-stick spray, or brush it with a bit of melted butter, and use it to cover the bowl.
- Let the dough rest at room temperature until it has doubled in size. Depending on the temperature of the room, this will take between 60 and 90 minutes. (*See notes below about controling the temperature of the dough as it rises.)
- Spray two 8 & ½ by 4 & ½ inch loaf pans with non-stick spray, or coat with a bit of melted butter. Dump the dough out onto a clean work surface and divide into two pieces. Lift one piece of dough and form it into a ball by using your thumbs to gently stretching the outside of the dough into a ball, pinching the dough together at the bottom. Bring the opposite sides together and pinch together at the bottom. Lay the ball of dough on your work surface, and roll it back and forth a few times to create an oblong ball. Lay the dough, seam side down, into one of the loaf pans. Repeat with the other half of dough.
- Spray two sheets of plastic wrap with non-stick spray, or brush them with a bit of melted butter and loosely cover each loaf.
- Allow the loaves to rise at room temperature until they double in size again, rising over the tops of the pans, 45 minutes – 1 ½ hours.
- While the loaves rise, preheat your oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). When the loaves are fully risen, bake for 35-40 minutes, until they are golden brown and an instant read thermometer plunged into the center of one of the loaves registers between 190 – 200 degrees.
- Remove from the oven and use a dish towel to grip the top of each loaf to lift it from the pan onto a wire rack. Allow to cool completely.
- Once cool, the loaves can be wrapped in plastic and stored for 2-3 days at room temperature. For longer storage, wrap the bread airtight and freeze for up to 1 month. Thaw at room temperature, still wrapped.
Notes
What to do if the dough is dry:
If you add too much flour and your dough is dry and tough, just add in more milk, teaspoon by teaspoon until the dough is wet enough to stick ever so slightly to the bottom of the bowl.
How to control the temperature of the dough as it rises:
My husband and I are full time travelers, living and working in a 5th wheel RV as we travel the country. Because I am always baking in different locations, I nearly always use a Bread Proofer. Using a proofer is fantastic because if offers you total control over the temperature of the dough as it rises. For this dough I usually set the temperature of the proofer to 84 or 85 degrees and it comes out perfectly every single time.
You can also use your oven as a bread proofer: Fill a bowl or a pan with boiling water and place it in the bottrom of the oven. Set the dough inside the oven and shut the door. The boiling watter will create a warm, humid environment that supports the development of the dough. Refresh the boiling water as necissary to keep the inside of the oven nice and warm.
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Nutrition Information:
Yield: 20 Serving Size: 1 sliceAmount Per Serving: Calories: 239Total Fat: 3gSaturated Fat: 1gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 2gCholesterol: 1mgSodium: 364mgCarbohydrates: 50gFiber: 3gSugar: 17gProtein: 6g
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Philip says
Where in recipe is the extra virgin olive oil used?
Rebecca Blackwell says
Hi Philip! Stir in the olive oil after the yeast is activated and creamy - The last part of Step #1. Please let me know if you have any other questions!
Dianne K says
I have two questions regarding this recipe. First, can I use quick oats? That's what I have on hand. Second, can the loaves be shaped by hand and baked on a sheet pan or will the loaves lose their shape? Thanks for any help.
Rebecca Blackwell says
Hi Dianne! Yes to both questions. Quick oats will work perfectly fine and the loaves will hold their shape while baking. I've had a couple of people tell me they had success shaping the dough into loaves and baking them on a sheet pan. Just keep an eye on the loaves as they bake. My guess is that they won't take as long to bake as they do when baked inside a loaf pan. Please let me know if you have any other questions! And, I'd love to hear how your loaves come out! xo
Dianne K says
This bread turned out perfect for me! I followed the recipe using quick oats and molasses, shaped into 2 oval loaves and baked on a sheet pan. They took just shy of the 40 minutes to bake through. Thanks for sharing this recipe. I will be adding this to my bread rotation and look forward to experimenting with additional add ins!
Rebecca Blackwell says
I'm so happy to hear that this worked well for you, Dianne! Thanks so much for taking the time to let me know! I truly appreciate it. xo