Wheat & Honey Bread

This wheat and honey bread is built for the bread machine, with the dry-to-wet layering that keeps yeast away from salt and water until the kneading paddle takes over. A blend of bread flour and whole wheat flour gives you wheat character without the dense, doorstop texture that all-wheat loaves can land in.

Honey is doing more than sweetening here. It feeds the yeast, helps the crust brown to a deeper amber, and keeps the crumb tender for a couple of days longer than sugar would.

One egg adds richness and a softer, almost brioche-leaning bite, while a tablespoon of butter coats the gluten strands enough to mellow any wheaty bitterness.

Pro Tips

• Layer ingredients in the order listed: liquids first if your machine kneads from the top down, dry first if it kneads from the bottom up. Check your manual.
• Bring the egg and water to room temperature. Cold ingredients shock the yeast and slow the rise.
• Use the white setting, not the wheat cycle. With this much bread flour, the standard cycle gives a better lift than the longer wheat program.

Variations

• Add a handful of raisins at the fruit-and-nut beep for a lightly sweet breakfast loaf.
• Stir a teaspoon of cinnamon and a tablespoon of brown sugar into the dry ingredients for a warmer, spiced version.
• Swap the egg for an extra two tablespoons of water and use plant-based butter for a quick dairy-free, eggless version.