Bread Machine Whole Wheat Bread
This simple honey whole wheat bread machine recipe is full of rich whole wheat flavor, the delicate sweetness of honey, and the soft crumb of white sandwich bread.
Craving The Recipe Details?
What it is: A soft, sandwich style loaf made entirely in your bread machine. Half whole wheat flour and half unbleached flour give you all the whole wheat flavor without the dense heaviness.
Why you’ll love it: My go to while wheat bread recipe for the bread machie: dump-and-go simplicity, fluffy slices, a hint of honey. Slices that stand up to sandwiches and toasting. What’s not to love?
How to make it: Add water, butter, salt, and honey to the bread machine pan. Top with both flours and sprinkle yeast over the flour. Select the whole wheat setting, let the machine do the work. Cool, then slice!
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. (Okay, maybe he gets a little of that from his mother too.)
So I did what any determined mom would do on Sunday night: dragged out the bread machine. Luckily, I always keep bread machine yeast on hand, and if you don’t there’s a bread machine yeast substitute for that. Three hours later, I had a soft, honey sweetened whole wheat loaf, just in time for school tomorrow.
This whole wheat bread machine recipe is dedicated to cucumber sandwiches!
Jump to:
Key Ingredients
Flour: This is a half and half loaf. Unbleached flour helps keep the crumb fluffy and soft, while the whole wheat adds the hearty fleck and deeper flavor.
Canadian flour is different than American flour. Here’s why that matters:
Canadian all purpose flour has a higher protein content and this can cause discrepancies between my recipes and your results if you are using American flour. If you’re using American flour, I recommend using bread flour or any flour with a 12-13% protein content. If you’re using Canadian flour, all purpose or bread flour both work in this recipe.
What’s my protein content?
Check the nutrition label: grams of protein divided by grams per serving multiplied by 100.
Grams of Protein / Grams per Serving = _________ X 100 = ______%
Warm water: I always start my bread machine recipes with warm water. It gets the yeast off to a good start, helping to achieve a tender, fluffy crumb. I usually just test the water on the inside of my wrist, like a baby bottle – too hot can kill the yeast.
Butter: I like the flavor butter brings to this recipe. It can easily be swapped for oil – just use the same amount.
Honey: Honey is hygroscopic, which means it attracts water, helping baked goods stay softer longer, and its sugar content helps to brown the crust. Honey is a classic companion for whole wheat bread, so that’s what I always reach for. I guess it helps that I have honeybees right in my backyard!
Bread machine yeast: Also called quick or instant yeast. Just make sure it’s nice and fresh!
If you don't have instant yeast or bread machine yeast
Use active dry yeast. Increase the amount to 2 teaspoons of active dry yeast and bloom it in the warm water until bubbly before adding to the bread pan.
Read More: Bread machine yeast substitutes
How To Make Honey Whole Wheat Bread In The Bread Machine
This recipe makes a 1½ lb loaf - please ensure that your bread maker has a 1½ lb loaf capacity before starting.
- Step 1: Add 1 cup warm water, 2 tablespoons cubed butter, 2 tablespoons honey, and 1 teaspoon fine salt to the baking pan of your bread machine.
- Step 2: Add 1½ cups unbleached bread flour and 1½ cups whole wheat flour, then sprinkle 1½ teaspoons bread machine yeast on top of the flour.
- Step 3: Return the baking pan to the bread machine.
- Step 4: Select your machine’s whole wheat setting. On my Breville Custom Loaf, I use Bake Rapid, Whole Wheat, 1½ lb loaf, Medium crust.
- Step 5: When the cycle finishes, remove the loaf from the pan and let it cool before cutting.
Is Your Dough Sticky Or Shaggy?
Every machine has its quirks and a ratio it likes the best. This recipe is perfect in my machine, but take a peek at your dough about 10 minutes into the kneading cycle. It should be quite smooth and forming a ball.
If the dough is sticky: you may need a little more flour.
If the dough is lumpy and shaggy: You may need a little more liquid.
Still stuck? My bread machine troubleshooting guide walks you through the most common problems.
Expert Tips
- Spoon and level: Spoon the flour into your measuring cup and level it off with the back of a knife. Scooping straight from the flour bag packs in extra flour and can lead to dry, dense bread.
- Check your yeast. If your loaf didn’t rise, test the yeast: stir a little into warm water with a pinch of sugar. If it isn’t foamy in a few minutes, it’s time for a fresh jar.
- Mind the water temperature. Warm, not too hot. Too hot water can kill the yeast before it even starts working
- Make it your own. Readers have added rosemary and shredded cheese, swapped in milk, and baked the dough in the oven after having the machine make the dough.
Why This Recipe Works
Half whole wheat, half unbleached gives you the best of both loaves. You get the flavor and hearty fleck of whole wheat with the soft, fluffy crumb of white sandwich bread.
Honey feeds the yeast and adds flavor. It gives the yeast something to work on for a strong, quick ferment. Plus it gives extra flavor to the loaf that granulated sugar can’t match.
As close to hands off as it gets. 5 minutes of loading the pan and your machine does all the mixing, kneading, rising, and baking for you!
Bread Machine Whole Wheat Bread FAQs
Yes, but it can affect the overall rise and texture. Bread flour or any flour with a protein content of 12-13% gives the best results. See flour matters below.
Use your machine’s whole wheat setting. Whole wheat flour is heavier and absorbs more water than white flour, so these cycles typically have longer knead and rise times to give the dough time to develop.
On my Breville Custom Loaf, I choose Bake Rapid, Whole Wheat, 1½ lb loaf, Medium crust, and the loaf is done in about 3 hours.
If your bread machine doesn’t have a whole wheat setting, check your manual, as each machine’s cycles are a little different. If you don’t have your manual, you should be able to find it with a little help from your favorite search engine, simply search [Bread machine model] manual. In my case, I would search Breville Custom Loaf manual.
Almost. This recipe makes a 1½ lb loaf, so your bread maker needs at least a 1½ lb capacity. If you’re unsure, check your manual or bread machine for clues.
Making this bread in a machine that’s too small can cause the dough to rise over the top and make a mess.
Once it’s completely cooled, store the loaf in a bread bag or airtight container at room temperature for 2-3 days. Thanks to the honey, which attracts water and helps baked goods stay softer longer, this loaf holds up pretty well, but because it lacks preservatives, it’s best enjoyed within a couple of days of baking.
To freeze a whole loaf: wrap it tightly in plastic wrap, then a layer of aluminum foil, and freeze for up to 3 months. Thaw at room temperature, still wrapped, for a few hours.
To freeze individual slices: slice the cooled loaf, freeze the slices in a single layer on a baking sheet until solid, then move them to a freezer bag. Pull out what you need for toast or sandwiches, and either toast straight from frozen or thaw on the counter.
More Bread Machine Recipes:
If you tried this Bread Machine Whole Wheat Bread recipe or any other recipe on my blog, please leave a 🌟 star rating and let me know how it went in the comments below. Thanks for visiting!
📖 Printable Recipe
Honey Whole Wheat Bread Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 cup warm water, (90-100°F)
- 2 tablespoon butter, cubed
- 1 teaspoon fine salt
- 2 tablespoons honey
- 1 ½ cups unbleached flour
- 1 ½ cups whole wheat flour
- 1½ teaspoons bread machine yeast
Instructions
- Add 1 cup warm water, 2 tablespoons cubed butter, 2 tablespoons honey, and 1 teaspoon fine salt to the baking pan of your bread machine.
- Add 1½ cups unbleached bread flour and 1½ cups whole wheat flour, then sprinkle 1½ teaspoons bread machine yeast on top of the flour.
- Return the baking pan to the bread machine.
- Set your machine's whole wheat setting.
- When the cycle finishes, remove the loaf from the pan and let it cool before cutting.
Notes
Expert Tips
- Spoon and level: Spoon the flour into your measuring cup and level it off with the back of a knife. Scooping straight from the flour bag packs in extra flour and can lead to dry, dense bread.
- Check your yeast. If your loaf didn't rise, test the yeast: stir a little into warm water with a pinch of sugar. If it isn't foamy in a few minutes, it's time for a fresh jar.
- Mind the water temperature. Warm, not too hot. Too hot water can kill the yeast before it even starts working
- Make it your own. Readers have added rosemary and shredded cheese, swapped in milk, and baked the dough in the oven after having the machine make the dough.
This recipe did not rise at all in my machine. Absolutely, completely flat. Used brand new yeast and flour. I did use all purpose flour. Maybe that’s the issue? I have to admit I’m very new to this. I have had great success with all purpose flour in other recipes but may this is not the one.
Hey Audre – I’d love to help troubleshoot this recipe with you – it’s one that never fails me. All purpose flour shouldn’t cause the bread to not rise at all, but can have an impact on the overall rise and texture, but I don’t think that’s our issue here.
Couple of quick thoughts:
– by not rise at all you mean the dough mixed but did not expand and baked into a thick brick with no bubbles, basically?
– have you baked with that new jar of yeast yet? It could be new but be a dud
– did you try to proof a small amount of yeast in a little warm water with a bit of sugar to confirm it’s not the yeast?
– was the water added to the machine too hot? Too high of temps can kill the yeast
Other whole wheat recipes are dense and heavy. This is perfect for sandwiches.
Happy to hear you enjoyed it, Shannon!
Followed directions to a T. Bread came out super dense and unedible.
Hey Tyler, that’s not common! Let’s try and diagnose – when you measured your flour did you scoop and level (like scoop with a spoon out of the bag and sprinkle into you measuring cup, then level it off with the back of a knife)? Is your yeast fresh? Is your flour fresh? Did you happen to check on it during the kneading cycle and notice the dough? Is it just run of the mill whole wheat flour you’re using or fresh milled? Are you high elevation?
I think that’s a good start!
I just made this following your instructions to the letter (except I didn’t use the Ultra-Fast setting) in my recently-purchased Cuisinart bread machine. The dough over-ran the pan, and the bread didn’t cook in the middle. The taste is wonderful, but the recipe didn’t work for my machine. Will not make again.
Hey Melody, sorry to hear that… Is the capacity of your bread maker high enough for this recipe? That’s the only thing I can think that would make this recipe overflow?
Just made this bread this morning, it is delicious and such a good riser! Followed your directions for baking it in the oven and it worked perfectly. I have an older bread machine and don’t like the way the bread bakes in it, but it works great for mixing and the first rise for bread and rolls. Thank you for the wonderful recipe!
So happy to hear you enjoyed the recipe! Thanks for sharing 🙂
Looks yummy
Turned out perfect this is going to be my go to whole wheat recipe!
I haven’t made this yet but it looks/sounds delicious! I’m wondering about high altitude changes. Do I just follow regular high altitude adjustments? An extra quarter cup of flour and two tablespoons of water.
Hi Sharlee, I am not a high altitude baker, so I can’t speak to this with any authority, but if that is the standard adaptation, I would be willing to give it a try! If you do, please let me know, I will make a note with your altitude and the adjustments for future bakers 🙂
This bread is super yummy and easy to make. My husband and I are going to make another loaf tonight. Thanks for the great recipe!
Glad you two love it!
Could I use instant yeast instead of bread machine yeast?
Yes, you can! Use it as directed in the recipe and you’ll be good to go. I have an article regarding bread machine yeast substitutes if you’re interested!
In this I add 50 leaves of Rosemary and half cup Shredded cheeze. I use milk instead of water.
Yum! That sounds amazing!
Have a new Cuisinart bread machine and I’m trying to find recipes that work…had a few disappointments but am ready to keep trying! We usually only use sprouted grains flour…I use the Annie brand from BC! Cannot seem to get the measurements adjusted properly!! Bread is great until the last few minutes of the bake then it collapses!!
Thank You!
I am so sorry Emily, I don’t have a lot of experience with sprouted flour. I do believe that sprouted flour would produce a different loaf and crumb than regular flour. If you have eliminated the other alternatives, like weak yeast, bakers percentage, etc, I would say the next culprit would be the flour.
I’m wondering if there are less consumable starches for the yeast in sprouted flour and if less yeast would get the job done. Here’s what I would try if it were me… and this is just shooting from the hip – reduce the liquid by 2 tablespoons, add a bit less yeast, like 1/2 teaspoon less.
I made this bread today.
Need to practice a bit more. I needed to make it softer on the inside and add milk to the recipe it was a bit crumbly needs to the milk as a binder). The hard shell came up good holds really soft bread well.
The crumbly inside could be due to measurement differences. When you’re scooping the flour, how are you doing it?
Has anyone added chia seeds to this recipe?