Honey Wheat Bread Recipe with Oats

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!

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