This Whole Wheat Honey Oat Bread is the perfect healthy, hearty, sandwich bread and easy enough for any new bread baker to make!
Haaapppyyyy New Year, friends! How's everyone doing with their resolutions so far into this first week of the New Year? Although I didn't really set any this year, after the success of this Whole Wheat Honey Oat Bread, I'm taking that as a hint that I need to resolve to make more breads and add more gluten to my New Year! 😉
My husband is usually the bread baker in our house. He's the Dan behind Dan's Como Bread. He knows all about hydration levels and proper kneading techniques, etc. I, on the other hand, I've got our No Knead Rosemary Garlic Bread and No Knead NY Deli Rye Bread down. Can you guess why? That's right. I'm a lazy bread maker. I will eat the hell out of all of the delicious and complex bread my husband will make, but when it comes to making it? I leave that to him. That's why I love this recipe so much. It's practically a no knead recipe.
Ingredients Needed
- Flours - A mixture of Bread flour and Whole Wheat Flour. We love Bob's Red Mill flours.
- Active Yeast - You could also use instant yeast, it will activate much faster.
- Old Fashioned Rolled Oats - Be sure that they are old fashioned, instant oats wont work for this one.
- Milk - We use 2% but you could also use 1%.
- Honey - To add the sweetness!
- Butter - Unsalted. But you can also use salted if that's all you have and then just reduce the salt in the recipe by just a touch.
Step-by-Step Instructions
Step 1: Prep your dry ingredients in a large bowl and then add your activate your yeast by adding warm milk, honey, and water in a bowl of a stand mixer.
Step 2: Pop that dough hook on and put that baby to use and let it do the kneading.
You can knead this by hand, but of course, that just takes more work.
Step 3: Let your dough proof in a large bowl.
Step 4: Add dough to a well-greased loaf pan and then let it rise again in the loaf pan and sprinkle on a few more oats.
Step 5: Bake!
This bread is the perfect sandwich bread. It's a little dense and has a nice soft chewy center with just a touch of sweetness from the honey.
It's our new go-to sandwich bread! Simple, fast, and easy enough for this lazy bread baker to make!
Our Other Favorite Homemade Breads
- Dan's Como Bread
- English Muffins From Scratch
- Copycat Dave's Killer Bread
- No Knead Rosemary Garlic Bread
- Easy White Sandwich Bread
- Easy Dinner Rolls From Scratch
- Easy Crusty French Baguette
Happy New Year of more fresh-baked bread, friends! If you decide to give this recipe a try, be sure to share it with me on Pinterest, Facebook, or Instagram!
Whole Wheat Honey Oat Bread
Equipment
Ingredients
- 2 1/2 cups Whole Wheat Flour
- 1 1/2 cups Bread Flour
- 2 cups Old fashioned rolled oats reserve some to top bread with
- 1 tablespoon salt
- 1 1/2 cup milk 2% of 1%
- 1/2 cup water
- 4 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted and cooled
- 2 1/4 teaspoons active dry yeast or instant
- 3 tablespoons honey
Instructions
- Heat milk and water in microwave for 45 seconds. Add to bowl of a stand mixer with honey and then sprinkle yeast on top. Let sit for 10 minutes until yeast activates (becomes foamy). If using instant yeast, this will only be a couple of minutes.
- Meanwhile, mix flours, salt, and oats together in a large bowl and melt butter. You want the butter to be slightly cooled when adding to the dough.
- Once yeast has activated, add butter to mixer bowl and with the dough hook attachment, beat on medium low. Slowly add flour and oats mixture and beat until a sticky dough forms.
- Scrape sticky dough onto a lightly floured surface (whole wheat flour). Gently knead with your hands until dough is still a little sticky, but able to be formed. Form into a large ball and place into a large, lightly greased bowl. Cover with plastic wrap and let rise until doubled (about an hour). If your house is cold and your oven has a "proof" setting, this works well too.
- Pre-heat oven to 400 degrees.
- Generously grease the sides and bottom of a loaf pan. Use butter or crisco because an oil will simply fall to the bottom of the pan.
- Once the dough has doubled gently "punch down" (deflate) the dough. The dough will still be a little sticky, so you may want to either lightly flour your hands with whole wheat flour or wet them with water. Flatten the dough in the bowl, then fold up the bottom half of the dough to the center. Then fold down the top half to the center and take a piece of the sides of the dough and fold into the center.
- Gently add the dough to the loaf pan by flipping it so that folded side is down, and smooth side is facing up. Gently place a linen towel over bread and let rise for another 30 minutes.
- Sprinkle a few oats on top of the loaf and then add it to the middle rack of the oven. Bake for 35-40 minutes or until top of the loaf is a deep golden brown.
- Remove from oven. Gently transfer to a cooling rack. You can check to see if it is done by giving the bottom of the loaf a thump with your thumb. If it sounds hollow, it's done. You could also use a thermometer and check for an internal temperature of 190° F.
- Let the dough cool for at least 1 hour before slicing (cutting it beforehand could make your center gummy). Enjoy!
Nutrition
Adapted from Girl vs. Dough
I may be overthinking this. Is the butter just used cold? Or is it softened or melted?
Not overthinking at all! My mistake for not including it in the recipe card - it should be mostly melted and cooled.
Hi! I’m wanting to try out this recipe but we only have instant yeast on hand. Would this change the amount? Thanks!
Hi Courtney! No problem at all! You can actually just skip the 10 minutes to activate the yeast and just mix in the flours!
How should I store this bread after I have sliced into it? How long is it good for?
Hi Ruth! It's best to store the bread in a cool dry place and to keep it nice and soft, store it in an air tight plastic bag. It's best for about 3-4 days. But I also like to pre-slice it and then store it in the freezer and just take out the slices that I want when I want them. In the freezer it will be good for up to 3 months! Enjoy!
I used to be a bread baker in a tiny health food store back in my college days. That's where I first made oat bread and I must say it was my favorite to make AND to eat. Your recipe...I completely love! The ingredient list is simple and pretty much all you need for perfect bread every time. Thanks for sharing this beauty!
What a FUN college job!! Although if that were me- it would have been the Freshman 35! ;P
I was just telling my husband how much I miss making homemade bread. When he used to take lunches into work, I'd make a loaf every week and send him off with these artisanal Italian sandwiches. Now he works for a company that basically buys them lunch every day. And I can't eat an entire big crusty loaf myself. BUT THIS. This looks freezer-friendly and perfect for my own sandwiches and toasts! I've been wanting to make more breads and more variations (like olive bread, omg)—but this is going at the top of my list.
Lucky husband and yes, you're so right - perfect for the freezer!
I've watched the rise (bread pun!) of gluten-free everything with mixed feelings. On the one hand, it's great to see so many more options for people with celiac, wheat allergies, etc. But I've always been a little irked by the tendency to view gluten and wheat as some sort of culinary scapegoat. Bread is awesome. Gluten is my friend. So I'm absolutely on board with this lovely bread. The crumb looks lovely, and the balance of ingredients sounds absolutely perfect. We're often experimenting with loaf-style bread recipes in an effort to get to one that works best for kids lunches, breakfast toast, etc, and I find that to be the toughest bread to get right. This looks like exactly the kind of loaf of bread we need! Time to fire up the Kitchenaid. Lol.
I am SO with you, Sean! This is a GREAT sandwich bread!
I’m a lazy bread maker too! Lol and I love the honey in this! Perfectly soft and sweet!
More gluten sounds like an excellent resolution to me! (I'm trying to be more organized, which isn't nearly as much fun.) And I'm a lazy bread maker too, so no-knead and almost no-knead breads are right up my alley. 🙂 Add in oats, which are like...my favorite, and this is a bread I have to try.
You know, every single year I tell myself that I'm going to start making bread. And then every year I never do. This one might just be easy enough to get me going this time! Thank you!
Thank you for the inspiration!! It's cold outside plus it's snowing -- an ideal day to bake a hearty whole wheat honey oat bread. There is nothing like the aroma of bread baking in the oven. Plus homemade bread is good for you besides tasting good. I'm printing the recipe now.
I really need to get my kitchenaid out for this. I hate kneading dough! Honey oat is one of my favourite flavours so I'm excited to be able to make it from scratch. I'm one of those people who can't pick JUST one bread so I always have breads expiring on me before I can finish all the flavours so it's nice to be able to make a small batch for myself 🙂
Who knew it could be so easy to bake homemade bread? Looks manageable, even for me. I would have never thought to use a loaf pan...duh!!! so now I see how it's possible to bake from scratch and still be able to slice for sandwiches.
You are SO lucky your husband will tend to Herman. I'm not really a lazy baker but I get intimidated sometimes. I don't know why I think anything I bake will turn out awful, it rarely does. Your step-by-step pictures are super helpful and give my the courage to do this. Thank you so much!
I've just started baking my own bread. It has become an obsession for me now! I have adopted twin kiddos who have an unhealthy guts right now so their digestive system is a bit sensitive to harder to digest foods. Gluten is something their guts are sensitive to at this time. It is not an allergy. Just a sensitivity until we can get their guts healthier to be able to digest it better. I decided that if I make my own bread, gluten and all, it is a healthier option for them and for their guts to handle. I am in control of the ingredients in my bread! I love sweeter, honey wheat breads and so does my family so I can't wait to try this recipe! I'm also going to try your Dave's Killer Bread Copycat bread. That is my favorite bread so I can't wait to try making that one either! Thanks for the recipes!
Hi Tina! Wow twins - congrats! I hope that their little guts regulate soon and that you all enjoy these breads!
I love Bob's Red Mill products, and use them all the time. This bread looks delicious. I love making bread, and the aroma as it bakes is so enticing. I would slice this while it was still warm, put on some butter and devour,