This Honey Wheat Brown Bread is a terrific loaf of bread that is sweet, hearty and a perfect accompaniment to soups. Slather the warm slice of bread with a spoonful of butter and enjoy it for snack or dinner! You will love the texture of this bread – it’s fluffy, light and super delicious.
Baking bread is therapeutic. I love baking, and among all, homemade bread is my favorite. Absolutely nothing beats the smell and taste of a warm freshly baked bread right off the oven that is covered in homemade butter. It’s heavenly and amazing!
Now, who can resist that! Today’s homemade Honey wheat brown bread is made with healthy ingredients and is my go-to recipe. It is a perfect combination of wheat flour, bread flour, rolled oats, and is mildly sweetened with honey and brown sugar. Yummmm! Once you taste this stuff, you’ll never go back to the store-bought bread!
Baking Bread is tough!
To many, bread making can seem a little intimidating, but trust me, it’s not.
Bread baking is artistic. It involves a beautiful process that begins with the “proofing of yeast” at a temperature that will activate it. This activation is significant for bread making.
Once the yeast is activated or awakened, ingredients are combined to go through a rising process that is completed in a warm place. The end product is a golden brown loaf of bread that is tender, fluffy, delicious, and slightly dense in texture.
How to make Honey Wheat Brown bread?
The recipe that I am sharing with you today is quick, simple to follow and bakes 4 loaves of bread. Once you try it, you will be tempted to make your own bread every week!
Begin by activating the yeast in the warm water. It will take about 5 minutes. Once the yeast looks bubbly and frothy, proceed with the recipe.
In a mixing bowl, combine all the dry ingredients, add honey, activated yeast, and water. Beat for 2-3 minutes, until the mixture finally starts to form a ball. Transfer the dough ball to a greased bowl and cover it with a damp cloth or plastic wrap and allow it to rest/proof for an hour.
One hour later, the dough must have doubled in size. Remove from bowl and punch it down on a lightly floured surface. Knead the dough by hand for 4-5 minutes until it looks smooth and non-sticky. Form it into 4 loaves, cover and let it rise for the second time. After the resting time, garnish with rolled oats and bake the bread as directed until it is fluffy and golden brown.
How long will this bread last?
Unlike store-bought bread, homemade bread doesn’t have a longer shelf life. It will last for 4-5 days because it is free of all the preservatives and additives. Once the loaves are completely cooled, wrap the leftovers in a plastic bag and store it in the refrigerator. When ready to serve, cut a slice and microwave for 10-12 seconds. Slather with butter and enjoy!
Perfect for gifting too!
Wrap the cooled bread in decorative plastic bags and gift out to your family and friends. This homemade bread will garner a lot of compliments and wows!
Treat your family to a homemade Honey Wheat Brown bread tonight. I often bake this bread as an accompaniment to may soups and pasta. I encourage you to give this recipe a try. Let me know in the comments if you try this recipe. Got questions related to the recipe, shoot me an email and I would be happy to answer them. ?
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Thanks for reading.?
Honey wheat brown bread
INGREDIENTS
- 3.5 cups Wheat flour
- 2 cups Bread Flour
- 1 teaspoon Baking powder
- 3 tablespoon Cocoa powder
- 1.5 tablespoon Active dry yeast
- 1 teaspoon Sugar
- 2 teaspoon Salt
- 1/2 cup Honey
- 2 tablespoon Brown sugar
- 1/4 cup Oil
- 1.5 cup Water (add 1/4 cup more if needed)
- 2 tablespoon Butter for brushing
- 2 tablespoon Rolled Oats to sprinkle on top
- A pinch of Brown color (optional)
INSTRUCTIONS
KNEADING THE DOUGH - BAKES 4 LOAVES
- Combine yeast and sugar together.
- Add water and..
- Mix it well. Let it sit undisturbed for 5 minutes.
- Once the yeast activates (frothy and bubbly), go ahead with the recipe. If the yeast fails to do so, please discard and start over.
- In a bowl add wheat flour,bread flour, and baking powder.
- Add salt.
- Cocoa powder.
- Brown sugar.
- Stir in liquids - honey and oil.
- Pour in yeast, water and..
- Knead the dough until starts to come together like a ball of dough.
- Transfer the dough to a greased bowl and set it in a warm place. Cover with a clean a kitchen towel or plastic wrap and let it rise for an hour.
- The dough will double in size.
- Choose a big bowl for the dough. 🙂
SHAPING THE DOUGH
- Move the dough to a lightly floured surface and knead it again for a few more minutes.
- Knead the dough by hand for 4-5 minutes until it looks smooth and non-sticky. Keep adding flour as necessary.
- Divide the dough in 4 equal parts.
- Using a rolling pin, flatten the dough.
- Fold and roll the dough as shown in the pictures.
- Pinch all the seams and ..
- Roll on the surface and make it look like a loaf of bread or a log.
- Since I don't have a small loaf pan, I have wrapped all my loaves in aluminum foil.
- Cover it again and set it in a warm place and let it rise for another 1 hour. Since the dough was wrapped in foil, it will maintain it's loaf shape.
- Preheat oven @ 350 degree F. Arrange loaf on a baking tray.
- Brush with butter and sprinkle rolled oats on top.
- Bake for 30-40 minutes.
- Remove the bread from the oven and let them cool. Brush with butter and..
- Serve hot with your favorite soup or pasta.
RECIPE NOTES
- Wheat flour can be swapped with all purpose flour.
- No bread flour, no worries, sub it with all purpose flour. I chose bread flour because of its protein content that helps in gluten formation.
- Don't have brown sugar - leave it out or use the exact amount of honey. This bread has the right amount of honey to balance the flavor of cocoa powder.
- Not a lover of cocoa in bread, skip it altogether and make a simple honey wheat bread.
- Initially, I had added 4 tablespoons of cocoa powder to attain this dark brown color but found it too much so altered it to 3 tablespoons. Feel free to add a pinch of brown color to achieve this deep rich brown color. Mix equal part of red and green to make brown color.
- Since I didn't have small loaf pans, I have wrapped my loaves in aluminum foil. But if you have a small loaf pan bake the bread in that.
- Yeast not activated - please discard and start again. Do not proceed with the recipe.
- Do not over knead the dough. Over kneading may result in denser bread.
- Give the loaf a nice warm place to rise. My best spot is my oven - with its light (oven light) on.
- 1/2 cup of honey can be substituted with 1/3 cup of Maple syrup + 1.5 tablespoons of sugar.
- Replace regular butter with vegan butter.
