It's not every day that I make something and my husband tells me to laminate the recipe. And then a few days later tells me that when he dies, he wants his ashes baked into a loaf of this bread so that I can feed the bread to the fish at his favorite fishing spot on the Pere Marquette River. Say what? Don't worry. I would never do that. It does speak volumes to his enthusiastic love for this bread though. He talks about it all the time. He said that if man could live on bread alone, it would be this bread. I don't know about all of that, but I do know that it is wonderful bread. We enjoyed sandwiches at the beach this weekend, and Hubby even made me French toast for breakfast with this Honey Wheat Sandwich Bread. Making your own sandwich bread takes a little bit of time, but not a lot of effort. Believe me, it's well worth it if I get compliments for days and days from my Hubby.
This recipe uses a sponge starter technique for the yeast. If you haven't used a sponge method for baking bread before, I highly recommend that you try it. I think you'll like the texture and depth of flavor that the sponge method provides because the yeast has a bit of time to develop. The yeast flavor is not as strong as a traditional sourdough starter, but it is more flavorful than the non-sponge methods. The resulting bread is soft and light in texture, but still holds up well to slicing for sandwiches.
Honey Wheat Sandwich Bread
- Total Time: 3 hours
- Yield: 2 loaves 1x
Ingredients
For the Sponge:
- 3 cups warm water
- 4 ½ teaspoons (2 envelopes) active dry yeast
- ⅓ cup honey
- 5 cups bread flour
For the Bread:
- 3 tablespoons melted butter
- ⅓ cup honey
- 1 tablespoon salt
- 3 cups whole wheat flour, plus more as needed
- 1 additional tablespoons melted butter, for brushing crust
Instructions
- Make the Sponge: Combine warm water, yeast, and honey in a very large bowl. Stir in bread flour. Cover with plastic wrap and let rise 30 minutes until risen and bubbly.
- In a small bowl, mix together the melted butter, honey, and salt. Stir into the sponge. Stir in 2 cups of whole wheat flour. Knead in just enough of the remaining cup of flour that the dough is smooth and tacky, but not overly sticky.
Cover and let rise in greased bowl until doubled, about 1 hour.
Once risen, punch down dough and divide into 2 loaves. Place each loaf into a greased 9x5-inch loaf pan.
Let rise until dough has risen 1-inch above the rim of the pans. Cut a slit into the top of the dough if you would like a split-top loaf.
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
Bake 25-30 minutes, or until golden brown.
Remove loaves from oven and brush tops immediately with melted butter. (This allows the top crust to stay nice and soft.)
Let cool in pans 10 minutes before removing to a wire rack to cool completely before storing.
Anne
That looks amazing! I'm looking for a soft sandwich bread recipe and this looks perfect!
Deb C.
Approximately how long is the second rise time for the dough (in the pans)? Another hour? Just want to make sure I have enough time to also let this yummyness cool and rest before I dig in!
Mandy
My second rise usually takes about 45 minutes, but will vary based on size of pan and room temperature. It is quicker than the first rise though. I hope you enjoy!
sa
I don't ever use active dry yeast. Would I be able to use instant yeast instead. Thanks
Mandy
No, I would not recommend it. Instant yeast is designed to rise once, as opposed to the two rises that this recipe requires. Active vs. Instant are not interchangeable.
mdhi
Can i use replace bread flour with wheat flour in the sponge step?
Mandy
You're welcome to try it and see how you like it, however it may affect the texture. I have not done it, so I can't say for sure. Thanks for visiting!
Mary
I saw the comment about not using instant yeast after I had already used it in place of active yeast. However, the bread still turned out wonderfully! I've made 2 unsuccessful loaves this week, so I am very happy with how this recipe turned out! Thanks :)
Mandy
That's wonderful! Thanks so much for letting me know how yours turned out. I hope you enjoy. Thanks for visiting.
Sara
I've made this bread two days in a row. I had to halve the recipe, but it worked out really well! It's crispy on the outside with a soft and pillowy inside. It's got the perfect touch of sweetness from the honey....
The bonus is that even the pickiest of the bunch here loves it! Thank you for sharing!
Mfrench
Made this bread and ended up with the loaf being slightly doughy in the center of the loaf. It appeared to be an odd fold of the dough that just didn't bake well. Any ideas to troubleshoot this problem?
Mandy
It sounds like maybe it just wasn't baked long enough, causing the doughy center to collapse? I'm not sure how else there would be a fold in the center. My best recommendation is to be sure the loaves baked thoroughly. They should sound hollow when tapped on, and register 190-200 degrees Farenheit internally. Be sure not to slice it right away either. It needs time to cool first. Hope this helps!
Laurie
I've been using this recipe for a few years, it is a house favorite.
Today when I went to make it I didn't realize I didn't have any whole wheat flour until I already had the sponge made and the other ingredients melted. I substituted in more bread flour. It took more bread flour than the wheat does to get to the correct consistency. However it was still fantastic.
★★★★★
Wendy
I would love to see this recipe adapted for sourdough! We love your sourdough sandwich bread, but am trying to incorporate more whole grains, and this one sounds like something my husband would also love!
Mandy
I'm planning on sharing a sourdough version of honey wheat sandwich bread soon!