This delicious Honey Whole Wheat Bread is a healthy wheat bread recipe made with whole grains, honey, and Greek yogurt. It’s soft, moist and absolutely delicious!!
I understand that homemade bread can seem intimidating, but not this recipe! Whether you are a novice or advanced bread maker, anyone can make this easy bread recipe. If you love healthy bread, check out my Oatmeal Bread and Cinnamon Applesauce Bread!
Healthy Honey Whole Wheat Bread
There’s really nothing like a slice of warm wheat bread, fresh out of the oven! This recipe makes two loaves of bread, so you can enjoy one and give the other away, or freeze it for another day. It makes great sandwiches and yummy toast, but my family prefers it warm from the oven with Homemade Raspberry Jam or Strawberry Jam.
What is the difference between wheat and whole wheat?
There is a lot of confusion in the bread world over terms like white, bread, enriched bread, wheat bread, and whole wheat bread. When a grain of flour is “milled” it is put through a refining process where the grain is striped apart. This milling process strips the grain of valuable nutrients and results in white flour. When the grain is left whole, it’s left with all its components and contains high levels of nutrients, particularly and most importantly- FIBER!
When you are shopping for bread, many breads are labeled as wheat, but this does not mean they are “whole wheat.” Make sure to read the ingredients, and if the first ingredient is anything other than “whole wheat flour”, then it’s not true wheat bread. You can also compare the amount of fiber to be sure you are getting all the benefits of wheat bread.
Is wheat bread healthy?
Whole wheat is the recommended source of grains by the USDA. Whole wheat means the grain contains the entire grain (including the bran, germ, and endosperm) and is rich in vitamins and minerals. In particular, the fiber found in whole grains is shown to play a role in proper digestion, satiation, and in helping lower risks of heart disease and diabetes. So when it comes to choosing bread, choose 100% whole wheat bread that contains fiber and low levels of sugar!
Calories in wheat bread:
Wheat bread ranges in calories. Sara Lee’s whole wheat bread contains 60 calories per slice, Nature’s Own honey whole wheat contains 70 calories per slice, and Dave’s Killer whole wheat bread contains 110 calories per slice. The calories in this homemade honey whole wheat bread depend largely on how thick you cut your slices.
How do you make whole wheat bread?
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Add 4.5 cups wheat flour and instant yeast to the bowl of a stand mixer. Add warm water and mix well. Cover and allow to rise for 15 minutes.
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Add vital wheat gluten, salt, melted butter, honey, Greek yogurt and mix well.
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Add remaining 1 ½ cups of flour and mix the dough until it begins to pull away from the sides of the bowl. It should be slightly sticky when touched.
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Knead the dough with your mixer for 5 more minutes (or for at least 10 minutes if you’re kneading it by hand).
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Spray two 9×5″ bread pans with non-stick cooking spray.I also like to line the bottom of the pans with wax or parchment paper. Spray your countertop and hands. (If the dough is still sticky, flour your counter-top, instead of spraying it ).
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Turn the dough out onto your counter and divide it into two equal pieces. Press each portion into a rectangle about 9 inches on the long side. Roll into a log and place in you prepared bread pan.
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Cover and allow to rise for about an hour, or until the dough is rounded over the tops of the pans.
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Place both bread pans on the middle rack of your cold oven. Turn the oven to 350 degrees F and bake for 30-38 minutes, until the tops are golden.
How to freeze bread:
This homemade wheat bread is easy to freeze (I always like to eat one loaf warm from the oven and freeze the other). To freeze, first let it cool to room temperature. Then place it in a large ziplock freezer bag or bread bag. To thaw bread, take the loaf out of the freezer and let it come to room temperature on your countertop (about 3 hours).
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Recipe
Honey Whole Wheat Bread
Ingredients
- 6-7 cups whole wheat flour
- 2 3/4 cups + 2 Tablespoons very warm water
- 1 1/4 Tablespoons instant yeast , or active dry yeast
- 1 heaping Tablespoon vital wheat gluten *
- 1 Tablespoon salt
- 1/4 cup unsalted butter , melted
- 1/3 cup honey
- 2 Tablespoons plain Greek yogurts
Instructions
- Add 4.5 cups wheat flour and yeast to the bowl of a stand mixer and stir to combine.
- Add warm water and mix. Cover and allow to rise for 15 minutes.
- Add vital wheat gluten, salt, melted butter, honey, Greek yogurt and mix well.
- Add remaining 1 ½ cups of flour and mix the dough until it begins to pull away from the sides of the bowl. It should be slightly sticky when touched.
- Knead the dough with your mixer for 5 minutes (or for at least 10 minutes if you're kneading it by hand).
- Spray two 9×5″ bread pans with non-stick cooking spray. I also like to line the bottom of the pans with wax or parchment paper. Also spray your countertop and hands.
- Turn the dough out onto your counter and divide it into two equal pieces. Press each portion into a rectangle about 9 inches on the long side.
- Roll them into logs and place in your prepared pans. Spray plastic wrap with non-stick cook spray and cover the pans. Allow the bread to rise for about an hour, or until the dough is rounded over the tops of the pans.
- Place both bread pans on the middle rack of your cold oven. Turn the oven to 350 degrees F and bake for 30-38 minutes, until the tops are golden.
- Remove from oven and smooth a stick of cold butter over the tops of the hot bread. Remove from pans and allow to cool.
Notes
Nutrition
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*I originally shared this recipe February 2015. Updated February 2019.
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Simply Amazing!!! I have tried SO many whole wheat bread recipes trying to find one where it wasn’t dry the next day and wasn’t so dense. This was it! My whole family was really impressed with the bread and said it was the best they have every had! I feel like I can give them something healthy without it tasting like cardboard. This recipe went into my keeper book. Thank you so much for the recipe! 🙂
Can’t see recipe for whole wheat
I have never made whole wheat bread before and my first time it turned out great!! It was delicious and perfect for sandwiches too.
Can I substitute anything for the honey to reduce calories?
i searched the internet for a while in hopes for a good honey wheat bread recipe. This recipe really out did my expectations
i didn’t t have yogurt so i used buttermilk and it still turned out absolutely amazing !!!! We (my husband and I) have eaten
almost half the first loaf already. Thank very much!!! I will keep this as my go to honey wheat bread recipe .
P.S.
Looking for a pumpernickel bread recipe to hint hint lol
My daughter tried making this and it turned out poorly. We had to add a huge amount of extra flour so that it wasn’t incredibly sticky. I decided to give it one more try. I thought maybe she didn’t add hot enough water to the flour and yeast. So I was careful about this. I still found that to get the dough to kneeding consistency we had to add a total of 8 cups rather than the 6-7 suggested. Otherwise I followed the directions exactly. It was much better but still not as light as I would have wished. A little heavy – had to drink water when eating. Can anyone tell me why you don’t need to proof the yeast in this recipe but you do in the white bread?
Kristen,
“Instant” active dry yeast has been produced with small enough granule size that it doesn’t need to be proofed. With “Active” dry yeast it’s a toss up. The granule size is larger and I personally would proof it. If the label says “Rapid Rise”, run the other way. Please understand that the longer the rise time the more the flavor your dough will develop due to the enzymes developing natural sugars in your dough. Rapid rise defeats that purpose.
As to adding extra flour, there are many factors that effect the hydration level of your dough. The predominant one being the moisture level or dryness of your flour. In short, whenever trying a new recipe plan on correcting the hydration by either adding flour if adding water as necessary. Keep careful track of your corrections so you can edit your recipe accordingly.
Nice recipe resource, I just signed up. I’ve been baking bread for over 35 years and am always on the lookout for new ideas. In perusing your Honey Whole Wheat recipe I noticed you appear to be using a Bosch Concept 7 for kneading your dough. If so, congratulations you own the best kneading device EVER for home use. I’ve been using mine for about 20 years and it’s still going strong. Too bad Bosch discontinued it.