Honey Whole Wheat Sandwich Bread

What is there to say about sliced bread?! I’ll tell you what: making a sandwich on home-baked Honey Whole Wheat Sandwich Bread is the most satisfying thing ever! This Honey Whole Wheat Sandwich Bread is super wholesome, heart, and light at the same time. If you’ve been following along for a while, you know that I love making rustic, artisan sourdough loaves, but with little kids who have a hard time with the chewy crustiness, sometimes a softer loaf is in order. In about 3.5 hours, you’ll have delicious homemade bread!

How to make great sandwich bread

This Honey Whole Wheat Sandwich bread is so straight forward, and only requires one bowl, no fancy mixers, and wholesome all-natural ingredients. Making this bread is actually one of my favorite baking projects to take on with my kids. They get so into it, and I let them go nuts because there’s no fear of over-mixing.

First, you bloom the dry active yeast in room temperature water to activate it. While that’s working, I do gently heat the almond milk, honey, and avocado for a few minutes in a small pot on the stove to melt the honey. You want to make sure the ingredients aren’t too hot when you pour them into the yeast mixture.

Then I add the honey almond milk mixture to the yeast, and add the rest of my dry ingredients. I use a wooden spoon to mix it all up, then pour it out onto a well floured work surface. Feel free to use about 3-4 tablespoons of flour while you’re kneading the dough. If you notice the dough sticking to the board, just sprinkle a bit more flour and keep kneading for 3-4 minutes until the surface of the dough is nice and smooth.

I let it rise at room temperature for about an hour, until the dough has doubled in size. Then, shape it into a loaf by pressing it out into a rectangle, then folding it up like a letter. This bread only makes for about 40-45 minutes in a 350 degree F oven, until the crust is deeply golden brown, and your house smells like a bakery!

One thing I can’t stress enough when you’re making bread is the importance of the quality of your ingredients! You want to be sure to use really good quality flours that are unbleached and minimally processed. I ALWAYS buy King Arthur Flours because they truly care about the quality of the products, and they consistently deliver great results. Also, I used filtered water or spring water. This may seem trivial, but water is a main ingredient! And tap water has VERY different tastes depending on where you are in the world, and many tap waters have additives like chlorine and fluoride!

Third, make sure that the dry active yeast you’re using is very fresh and kept in the refrigerator.

I LOVE this recipe because you don’t need a bread machine or even an electric mixer to make amazing hearty, homemade bread!

Make sure to tag me @lions.bread on Instagram if you make this Honey Whole Wheat Sandwich Bread! I love seeing my recipes come to life! To pin this recipe and save it to your favorite boards, simply Tap any image on this page and the Pin It! icon will appear, or click the icon at the end of each post!

Love this recipe? Be sure to check out Everyday Artisan Bread, Homemade Sourdough Bread, and Seeded Multigrain Bread.

xoxo – LeAnne

5 from 1 vote

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Honey Whole Wheat Sandwich Bread

Home-baked soft whole wheat sandwich loaf that just slightly sweetened with honey - perfect for slicing!

Servings 1 loaf

Ingredients

• 1 cup lukewarm water
• 1/2 cup lukewarm almond milk (or reg milk)
• 3 T neutral oil (grapeseed, avocado, vegetable)
• 1/4 cup honey
• 1 1/4 cups whole wheat flour
• 2 1/3 cups unbleached all purpose flour
• 2 tsp kosher salt
• 2 1/2 tsp active dry yeast

Instructions

1. In a large mixing bowl, combine the lukewarm water and the dry active yeast. Whisk well to dissolve the yeast, and let sit for about 5 minutes to activate the yeast.

   In a small saucepan, combine the almond milk, oil, and honey. Heat gently over low heat. You don't want to cook the liquids, just gently warm them and whisk to dissolve the honey. Pour the liquids into the activated yeast water, and stir to thoroughly combine.

2. Add the whole wheat flour, unbleached all purpose flour and salt to the bowl. Use a wooden spoon to combine all of the ingredients until a shaggy dough forms. 

   Pour the mixture out onto a well floured work surface. Sprinkle the dough with a bit more flour, and knead for about 3 minutes, until you get a smooth soft dough. Place the dough ball back into the bowl, and cover completely with plastic wrap. Let rise at room temperature for 1 hour.

3. Spray a large 9x5" loaf pan with nonstick cooking spray. Flour your work surface again, and remove the risen dough from the bowl and place on floured surface. Sprinkle with a bit more flour, and pat the gently dough out into a rectangle. Fold the dough in 1/3s like a letter, and shape the dough into a long rectangle that will fit into the loaf pan. Place the shaped dough into the prepared pan. Spray a large piece of plastic wrap with nonstick cooking spray, and place on top of the dough, so it doesn't stick. Let rise for about 1 hour 15 minutes, or until the dough has risen about 1/2" above the edge of the loaf pan. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

4. Bake The bread for 40-45 minutes, until golden brown on all sides. Allow to cool completely before slicing.

Recipe Notes

If you want a shiny crust, brush the top of the loaf with beaten egg right before it goes in to bake. You can sprinkle with your favorite seeds as well!

Or just leave it just the way it is, because it will be delicious no matter what!

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