Whole Wheat Honey Bread

This is my revised rating, I rated it several months ago, and now make this bread about 3 times a week. Of course, it's still a 5, I just found some ways to make it even better, and perhaps my tips can help someone else. I use the Basic setting, NOT the wheat, and I use the light crust option. I mix all dry ingredients together-except for salt-before adding them to the machine, including 3 TBS of vital wheat gluten (1 TBS per cup of flour). My machine takes wet ingredients first, and I add the salt to the liquids instead of the dry, because I have learned that salt can kill the yeast at a certain stage. I have had no more problems with rising since I started doing this (and also adding the wheat gluten). This bread is my family's standby...we haven't bought bread in several months! It's wonderful to see my loved ones eating such healthy bread, and it's very easy to make in the bread machine. Sometimes I even mix up the flour mix in separate bags, and then when I want to make a batch, I just dump a premixed bag in with the water, salt, honey, and yeast. It's working out just fine, thank you for such an easy, healthy recipe that is now our basic every-day bread.

Wonderful whole wheat bread ... my family loved the sweetness. I did substitute butter for the shortening and it turned out great. The crust was a little chewy so will bake it on "light crust" next time.

This recipe was fantastic! YUMMY! I used 1 cup of unbleached bread flour and 2 cups of stone ground whole wheat to get a better rise. I don't have a bread machine, so i proofed the yeast and made the dough in my mixer with a dough hook. For the few people having trouble with this recipe, the recipe works, but bread can be tricky if you don't understand the basics. If you're making this in a bread machine and adding the yeast with all of the dry ingredients, take note of a few things: first, the water needs to be the right temp. around 120 degrees F if you are adding yeast to the dry ingredients in the breadmaker. if it is not warm enough, the yeast will not activate, if it is too warm (about 130 degrees) the water will burn and kill the yeast. the honey content needs to be just right as the yeast eat sugar, and like people, they can starve or overeat if there is too much sugar in the recipe (which makes them lethargic), if you want more honey, add more yeast. also, wheat flour must be kneaded longer to glutenize, i kneaded it for about 10-15 minutes.

This is the best whole wheat loaf I have made so far. Great flavour and texture .I replaced 1/2 cup wholewheat flour with bread flour for lighter texture.Definitely be making it again.

First time using bread machine and I've heard of many first time failures...I used this recipe, bread came out great, just the right amount of honey and everyone loved it!

YESS! I played around with this a couple of times and used some of the other reviewers suggestions, and finally came up with a perfect loaf of sandwich bread. or serve a nice, warm, buttered slice w/ soup. Delicious!! SO here's what I did (based on other reviews): 1. Used butter instead of shortening (and put it in w/ the wet ingredients). 2. Subbed 1/8 cup warm milk for 1/8 cup of water, because i didn't have milk powder. 3. Used 1 cup of unbleached bread flour and 2 cups whole wheat. 4. Added 2 TBSP of wheat gluten and mixed dry ingredients (except yeast and salt) before putting in the machine. 5. Cooked on the white bread (basic) setting & light color, as someone recommended. It turned out PERFECT. Perfect height, shape, texture, and great flavor. Hearty but still soft. I am going to try upping the whole wheat flour 1/8 cup at a time, as I'd like to do 100% WW but it never seems to make a very good loaf for sandwiches. Thanks everyone for the tips!

The best wheat bread I've made. Light, soft and moist, with a hint of honey. I've made this several times, and will keep on making it.

We love this recipe! I've been making it for months now. I use whole wheat that I grind myself. In order to accomodate my Zojirushi Bread Maker (2lb loaf), I adapted the recipe to 16 servings. For a perfect loaf I add the salt to the water, 3T. of wheat gluten to the flour and I sub butter for shortening. Bake on the Basic/Light setting not wheat. If bread is still a little too dark, decrease honey (the extra sugar content is what causes browning. Thank you for a wonderfully healthy recipe!

I have made this recipe twice and it has not done well either time. It is too tough and lacks flavor.

Good riddance, store-bought bread! Couldn't be happier with how this turned out! There's a similar recipe on this site called "Honey Whole Wheat Bread" that calls for basically the same ingredients, except 1/2 bread flour and 1/2 whole wheat flour. I was happy to find this one with all whole wheat flour (bread flour is not whole grain, whereas whole wheat flour is). Anyway, it turned out wonderfully! Soft, moist, whole grainy goodness with just a hint of sweet. Also, I substituted vegetable oil for the shortening. I'd like to try e.v. olive oil next time and see how it does. One note - a lot of people complained about it not rising, etc. - I had no problems at all with my Breadman bread machine. Don't know why they did? My guess is they may have not layered the ingredients into the machine in the order they should have. Make sure to put the wet ingredients into the maker first (including the salt). Then, on top of the wet ingredients add the flour. Make a fairly shallow little indentation in the top of the flour (maybe 1/2" deep) with your finger and pour the yeast into that little groove. This keeps the yeast away from the salt and water until it's ready to be mixed in. Once you've layered the ingredients properly, shut the lid, choose the setting (1.5 lb whole wheat loaf), and press start! Voila!

Excellent! I was looking for a whole wheat bread recipe that used whole wheat flour only, and this was perfect. I doubled the recipe for 2 nice loaves. I do not have a bread machine, so I dissolved the yeast in the water with the honey mixed in, that had been warmed to 110-115 degrees. I proofed the yeast, then added the salt & olive oil for shortening, then mixed in the flour gradually along with the dry milk. Kneaded for about 8 minutes, let rise, punched down and formed the loaves and let them rise, and then baked for 30 mins at 350. It is delicious and not too dense or heavy at all, like some wheat breads can be. I highly recommend. If any of you like the Amish White Bread recipe for white bread, you will love this recipe. I now have a dependable whole wheat recipe.

We loved this bread! My kids and husband ate it up in just a little while! I am making for dinner again tonight!

This was very moist and good. Even my 3 yr old loved it.

This bread was so delicious and tasty! It makes me want to make it all the time and forget about about those store bought items. It is so healthy, too! It was one of the only recipes that we could find that called for all whole wheat flour instead of half white and half wheat flour. I made one heart healthy substitution of applesauce for the shortening. Who wants to throw shortening in something so healthy? Yuck! Applesauce works the same way and makes the bread more moist. Just use the same measurements. Cheers to breadmakers who do all that hard work of kneeding for you these days and make delicious bread. All I had to do was throw the ingredients in- and voila! I will be making this bread again and again.

Great recipe, made it many times now. I add 3 tbs of vital gluten and use butter instead of shortening for better flavor. I use the breadmaker to make the dough and freeze half. The other half is placed in a bread pan and allowed to rise for an hour or so then cooked in a conventional oven at 375 degrees for 35 minutes. (Bake for 45 minutes if using the whole loaf)

This is fantastic, my husband ate the whole loaf in a day! It's a wonderful recipe to set for overnight for nice warm bread for breakfast.

This is a wonderful bread, I do add 3 T of wheat gluten for a better rise.

A winner!!

I was not at all impressed.... the top was very wet and the rest of it was so hard I could have used it as a weapon!

Wow!! I made this last night and it came out perfect. I followed the advice of other people who had tried it and I used 1 1/2 cups of whole wheat bread flour and 1 1/2 cups of bread flour, and I used 1/8 cup of milk and deducted it from the water instead of the dried milk. I also sprinkled some sugar on top of the yeast- this seems to help it rise a little bit more. This bread was light and tasted great. I will be making this on a regular basis.

This is a wonderful recipe! all my past attempts at whole wheat bread had turned out disasterous, this loaf was perfect. It's slightly sweet, light and well textured. I substitued butter for the shortning and 1/2 cup wheat gluten for 1/2 cup of the flour. I also added a handful of toasted walnuts to give it that expensive bread taste. I will add more nuts next time and maybe some sesamee seed or sunflower seeds as well. Makes a fantastic ham sandwich!

This bread is so delicious! The modifications that I like are: Use whole wheat, wheat and oat bran to in place of just wheat flour. I halved the amount the honey and it still turned out sweet enough. I omitted the dry milk and substituted water with milk. For shortening I used tub margarin. In the end, this loaf turned out yummy and good in the bread maker. It's even great after a week in the fridge!

Excellent whole wheat bread. I used butter instead of the shortening and it was perfect. My family loved it.

This bread is delicious!

Very good, although I will probably lower the salt to just 1 tsp. I also added wheat germ and flax seed meal to up the fiber and nutritional content. My kids liked this better than the recipe I've been making for the last year so I guess this will be the new family bread recipe! **NOTE TO THOSE WHO SAY IT DIDN'T RISE - make sure a)that your water isn't too warm or it'll kill the yeast, b) that your yeast is good (you can test it by adding a pinch of yeast to some slightly warm water and if it "grows" and foams up then your yeast is good, and c) that your salt doesn't come into contact directly with your yeast or the salt will kill the yeast.

This recipe in a bread machine came out fantastic. The bread had a full body, wonderful tecture, and moist and not dry.I used 1T of milk instead of dry milk,1/2C of Honey. I placed the warm water and dry yeast first,then the rest of the ingredients with the flour last. Dave

This bread was a little heavier than I expected, but a very pleasant surprise! It had just a hint of sweetness, and was very moist. My whole family loved it.

FANTASTIC! I'm not a big whole wheat fan but this was so moist and tasty! This was my first attempt at a whole wheat bread with my bread machine and it came out perfect!

Best wheat bread ever!! We liked this bread better after using butter in place of the shortening.

If I could give this 10 STARS I would. This is by far the best whole wheat bread I've ever made in my bread machine. I love that there are just a few basic ingredients that I always have on hand. I used shortening the first time and butter the second time with no difference in the loaf. I did not have to add gluten or modify it in any way. Try it as written before you start tweaking it. It is perfect for sandwiches - I may never buy bread again all because of this recipe!

This is a favorite of everyone I bake it for! Great consistency and texture. I use about 1 1/4 cup water vs what the recipe calls for and use the manual cycle on my machine, then shape into a loaf, let rise and bake at 350 for 20-25 minutes. It is perfect every time.

Made this bread today with some modifications after reading the reviews -- it was the bomb! It was extremely light for a whole wheat bread. We've tried several whole wheat bread recipes, looking for a loaf we can make for our day-to-day bread -- this recipe fits the bill. Healthful, but not heavy. Mods: subbed butter for shortening, reduced honey to 1/4 c, added 3T wheat gluten, upped milk powder to 1 1/2T. I also followed Flannery's suggestion of combining the salt with the water instead of with the dry ingredients (I actually combined water, salt, honey, and butter in a pyrex measuring cup and microwaved slightly to bring liquid temp to approx 110º before adding to the bread machine). Then mixed dry ingredients separately before adding to the bread machine. I don't know if these steps made a difference, but they make sense to me and didn't take much longer. The bread came out so well that I'll probably keep following this method.

I substituted margarine for the shortening. I couldn't believe how delicious this bread is! We've finally found a wheat bread we can live with. It's perfect!

This bread is awesome! It is moist and hearty with a tinge of sweetness. I added 1 and 1/2 teaspoons of gluten to the mix. My boyfriend and I gobbled it up with fresh fish and sausages hot off the grill!

Very moist and delicious.

This bread is amazing! I don't use a bread maker, so I kneaded the dough, then let it double in size. I punched it down, kneaded it some more and then put it into 2 greased bread pans and let it rise again. I then put it in a 350 degree oven for 30-40 minutes until browned.

This is a great, light whole wheat bread. I was expecting a very dense loaf but was very pleasantly surprised! Try it!

This one stuck in my pan & I've never had this happen before. I live at a higher altitude & it probably needs ajustment. Personally I really didn't care for it.

We've been looking for a tasty 100% whole wheat bread recipe. This is the one!!!

I tried making this bread 4 times this week to get it right, because it bothered me to follow the instructions and not have it turn out! The first try, I followed the recipe exactly (except using butter instead of shortening and 1/8C milk for powdered milk) and it was a flop. I also used soft whole wheat flour (not thinking there was a difference).The recipe states to use the whole wheat setting but like other reviewers suggested, they said use basic and the time given on the recipe was closer to the basic setting, so I used basic. The salt was added with the flour (because I consider that a dry ingredient). The loaf was dense and sweet. So it was a fail. The second attempt, I used whole wheat bread machine flour as the only change and that was a flop. Slightly better than the last, but still horrible in terms of rising. So now, here are the tricks. You can use hard whole wheat flour or whole wheat bread machine flour, BUT remove 1 tbsp for every cup you put in, and replace it with gluten flour (which is the same as vital wheat gluten - so many names). Add the salt with the liquids on the bottom. And use INSTANT yeast instead of dry active yeast and DO set it on the Whole Grain/Wheat Setting. It allows longer time for rising and gives you wonderful whole wheat bread. Better than store-bought. And use the light crust setting. I've played arounf and added seeds, herbs, flax and it's great. I just use less than half the honey because I found the full too sweet - my bf agreed.

loved it for all wheat bread!

Yum! Yum! Yum! I almost ate the enitre loaf straight from the breadmaker! Will definately make again.

Finally ! 100% whole wheat bread that is not too dense! Very good.

This is a great wheat bread. Because it is so soft and light, it can even appeal to people who don't like wheat bread - great for toast and sandwiches!

My husband and I LOVE this bread. Really moist and (for a whole wheat bread) very light. Thanks for sharing it, I had just about given up on a whole wheat that didn't weigh a ton!

I thought the loaf to be really heavy for bread. It tasted wonderfull, but was very dry for me.

I have FINALLY figured this one out. I was having trouble with the loaf not rising correctly and being very dense. Perhaps it's my bread machine, but this is what I do...a little unconventional, but it's what works for me. I proof the yeast in the 110 degree water with the honey in the bottom of my bread machine pan (yes, I know you're supposed to add yeast last, but this allows it to start its work a little early). I proof it until the yeast starts to float to the top. Then I add oil (I use olive oil, not shortening), and the rest of the dry ingredients on top of the liquid, ending with the salt on the top. I add the 3 tablespoons gluten, as well. I use the basic setting on my bread machine, light crust. This is what works for me. Like I said, maybe it wasn't working as written because of my machine, but I thought I would share, in case someone else out there was having the same problems. This produces a light, flavorful bread that people love. And if you make a basil butter for it, you'll be in heaven!

Great whole wheat bread! I subsituted the shortening with 5 tbsp. of applesauce and added 3 tbsp. of wheat germ to make it a bit healthier :)

Great every time - the whole family loves it!

Just finished trying a piece of this bread. Wow... really great taste. I used butter instead of shortening, added wheat gluten (1 1/2 Tbsp.) I will, however the next time, cut down the honey as I thought it a little too sweet for my taste. I don't have a bread machine so I baked it at 350 for 40 minutes in my electric oven. I will probably add a little more gluten the next time too to help it raise a little more. Thanks for sharing this treasure!

LOVE this recipe! Made the changes someone suggested by using 1 cup water, 1/8 cup milk, and the honey heated in the microwave along with half wheat flour/half bread flour and my family loved it! It was gone almost immediately. I am making another loaf right now and of course, I had to play with it a little. I added 1/8 cup steel cut oats and 1/8 cup wheat berries to make it a heartier loaf and I have no doubt it will be spectacular. Thank you for the great recipe!

The first time I made this, I would of gave this a four. The flavor was there,yet extremely dense. Second time around I used margarine instead of shortening and did the 1/2 bread flour and 1/2 wheat. The results wowed me. I haven't bought bread in weeks now.

This bread was the talk of thanksgiving dinner this year. Everyone raved about it. Mom said it makes fantastic toast the next day, too! A must try!

LOVE this recipe! Made the changes someone suggested by using 1 cup water, 1/8 cup milk, and the honey heated in the microwave along with half wheat flour/half bread flour and my family loved it! It was gone almost immediately. I am making another loaf right now and of course, I had to play with it a little. I added 1/8 cup steel cut oats and 1/8 cup wheat berries to make it a heartier loaf and I have no doubt it will be spectacular. Thank you for the great recipe!

Very moist and sweet. Great whole wheat bread. No sandpaper slices here! I'll definitely make this over and over. Thanks bunches for this recipe.

Very tasty! I think I might add just a little more honey next time to give more honey flavor. I will make this again - it was a big hit at the dinner table.

Very good whole wheat recipe. Very moist and great texture. Will use this recipe often.

I found it very moist but also a very heavy bread. Nice and easy to slice even after a few minutes out of the bread machine.

Great recipe! I made a 2 lb recipe (18 servings) twice on the white bread setting as others suggested. The first time I did not vary from the original. The second time I reduced honey to 3T and added 2T olive oil instead of the 2T+1+1/2 t shortening for what I hope is a healthier loaf. The second rose better than the first and makes a little lighter loaf, but does not slice as well as the first denser loaf. Both are wonderful! This is the first time I have tinkered successfully with a bread recipe and it's hard to ruin this one! Thank you!!

Great tasting bread and easy to make even without a bread machine thanks to another reviewer (SCHMOO2) who broke it down for me. Those who don't have bread machines just follow those instructions and you will be all set to enjoy this bread. Absolutely worth the time to make as it was great and it was only my second time trying to bake bread with yeast. My husband absolutely LOVED it. Thanks Melinda for sharing and thanks to SCHMOO2 for breaking it down for those of us who don't have bread machines!

This is a supurb bread. I made a few changes for me. I added 1/2 c of sourdough starter in place of some of the water and added about 3 T of vital wheat gluten. I also added 1 c of whole wheat pastry flour in place of some of the whole wheat flour to make it lighter. I make this bread at least 2 times a week. This is the best.

This is a keeper! I made changes to the recipe according to what others suggested and it turned out great. I used all white whole wheat pastry flour, canola oil instead of shortening, only 1 cup of water then used 1/8 cup of milk instead of the milk powder and also added 3 tbsp. vital wheat gluten. It's so quick and easy. The bread is light and fluffy. I also used the dough cycle then baked it in a well greased bread pan in the oven at 350. No more store bought bread for us!

What on earth?! I wasn't expecting anything other than a mediocre tasting bread (sorry! I was in a hurry!). This bread turned out surprisingly tasty - especially for a 100% wheat flour bread! I'm not kidding when I said I was in a hurry...not having a bread machine, I tossed all of the ingredients into the Kitchenaid (no proofing required thanks to ACTIVE dried yeast, btw), cranked that baby up, added some vital wheat gluten (1 T) to it to bring it together (didn't want to set up), beat the living tar out of it in the mixer, started to let it rise, but decided it probably wasn't going to turn out anyway, so I formed it into a single loaf pan, let it rise on the warm stovetop as the oven was heating up (it did rise - much to my surprise - I thought my yeast had died), slashed the top a couple of times with a knife, tossed it into the oven at 375F for 35 minutes and voila! It made a BEAUTIFULLY formed, dense, but not too dense loaf that was cooked perfectly throughout. To avoid a hard crust, I brushed some butter across the top (erm...ran the butter stick across the top...). This is the PERFECT sandwich and toast bread. Holds up nicely when slicing (just make sure to cool it thoroughly before making your first cut!). Thank you, thank you, thank you!

Very good!

I omitted the water and milk powder and substituted milk for it. This was soft and delicious! Perfect!

EXCELLENT!

Hi! This is my first time rating a recipe at this site. All I can say is THANK YOU!!!! Well, I guess I have alittle more to say than that. I have had such terrible sucess at making really good making any kind of whole grain bread. When I was reading the recipe I was quite the cynic, but with the average rating being 5 stars, I thought I'd at least give a try. I am so amazed at how this bread turned out. It is moist, light and fluffy and the perfect flavor. I did have to make some minor changes due to the ingredients that I had on hand but it still turned out like everyone was saying. I didn't have any honey, however I had just bought a jar of molasses. Thr first time I made the bread I used 1/2 cup of molasses -- mistake. It was good but it was too sweet. So tonight when I made the bread, I used 1/3 cup and it came out just the way my husband likes his whole wheat bread. The other thing I did use half wheat flour and half white. Then I cut the salt back to 1 teaspoon because I wanted a fluffier bread. After it cooled, we dove in. PERFECTION! My husband and I just ate turkey sandwiches w/ lettuce and tomato and cheese. He told me that I was finally catching on to baking bread. I didn't want to tell him that all the credit should go to you. [I hope you don't mind =)]You have my vote! Keep up the great work!!!! Vicky Sorry about the length of this post!

This was my first successful recipe using my bread machine and I'm sticking with it. I've since made a few adjustments. I used 2 cups of whole wheat flour and 1 cup of whole oats. I added a tiny bit more honey, a tablespoon of sesame seed, and 2 of flax seeds. Great fiber, and therefore a great carb for the day.

I used butter instead of shortening and it still came out beautiful. I got a bread machine for mother's day.

Great sandwich bread! I get perfect results using the wheat cycle on my bread machine every time.

First loaf of bread I have made in 6 years...Delicious! My husband polished off the entire loaf in a day and a half. I also made the bread the old fashioned way...Warm water, yeast, honey and milk powder in my mixing bowl for about 5 minutes making sure the honey was dissolved. Added the butter, turned on my kitchen aid with dough hook attached and started adding flour...Let it go for about 10-15 minutes, sprayed a glass bowl and let the dough proof covered in plastic for about an hour...punched it down and placed it in my greased loaf pan...let it proof for another 30 minutes or so and baked in a still 350-75 degree oven until it was golden and beautiful! YUM!!

This is an awesome bread! The first time I made it it was dry, but still good enough that my hubby wanted another loaf. Both the 2nd and the 3rd loaves have been awesome! Sweet and moist. I did use the dough setting on my 3rd loaf and cook in my oven, as it is easier to control how dark the crust gets (it was really dark in the bread machine, even when I used the light crust setting). Slices very well. Goes great with soup. If you had trouble with your first loaf try again, it is worth the time: what do you have to lose?

Wonderful recipe. Made these changes as recommended by others: Used 1 1/2 cups whole wheat flour and 1 1/2 cups bread flour, 1 cup water, 1/8 cup milk and sprinkled honey on yeast. Warmed the milk, water and honey in microwave. The result is a delicious loaf of bread.

I was worry about trying this recipe after reading the reviews and all of the modifications to the original measurements. Anyway, I followed the recipe with exact ingredients and measurements and it was delicious, it came out great, fluffy and moist. I used the 2 lb, basic option. I guess the variant in the result would be machine you are using.

I make bread at least 3-4 times per week and I like to try different recipes! Wow!! This is excellent!!Good for you and so tasty! Very moist with a sweetness that is perfect not too sweet! So often wheat breads are dry and boring not this one!! Even my picky kids loved it, thanks!!!

We loved this bread. Thank you so much for this recipe. I have tried a few other whole wheat recipes before and either they didn't rise or I didn't like the flavour. I prefer to bake my bread in the oven, and this recipe was perfect for that. Even though the recipe yield is for a 1.5 lb. loaf, I divided it into two. After rising for an hour, I baked it at 375 degrees for 30 minutes and my end result was two perfect loaves of bread. The flavour was great and the texture was light and fluffy. I will definately be making this my new whole wheat bread recipe and I won't be changing anything.

I have been trying different wheat recipes in my bread machine for about a year. I have been looking for the "just right" sandwich size bread for packing lunches. This is it!! I finally found it! I used the recommendations from other reviewers and baked it on basic / light setting and it was perfect! I did sub butter for shortening since it is all I had on hand. Thank you for sharing!!

EXCELLENT!! If I could give this more than 5 cards, I would! My whole family loved this bread. I substituted margarine for the shortening, and regular milk for the milk powder, and it was still outstanding. Thank you for this recipe--it will be used many times in this house!

Great! I don't have a bread machine so I just mix it all in a bowl and let it rise for 1 - 2 hours. I have made this several times and like to add all kind of other stuff such as oatmeal, cornmeal, flax seed meal, chia seeds, and wheat germ. I also add a half teaspoon of baking powder and/or vital wheat gluten to get it to rise properly. Great base recipe to add to!

This is a very good basic bread machine recipe. I have made a few changes and am now very happy with how it is turning out. I changed the 3 cups of whole wheat flour to 2 cups and then added 1/2 cup quinoi flour, 1/4 cup milled flaxseed and 1/4 cup kasha. It adds more complexity to the flavours. I reduced the honey from 1/3 cup to a scant 1/4 cup as I don't like bread to taste sweet. I substituted olive oil for shortening as it is a healthier oil. It does come out very dense but I don't mind that at all. We just slice it more thinly.

Delicious bread! It came out nice and soft and full of flavor. It was even good plain and had a nice sweetness to it! This is definitely one of my favorite bread recipes now! I did replace the shortening with butter. But other than that, I followed the recipe. It was great with just a little butter spread on a slice and drizzled with more honey! So good! Thanks so much for the great recipe!

I really enjoyed this bread. The first time I made it, I followed the recipe exactly and it was wonderful, but I have since changed it a bit to suit my own tastes. I omit the dry milk powder completely; instead of 1 1/2 tsp. of salt, I only use 1 tsp.; I use olive oil instead of shortening; and I have just started using 1/2 c. of raw wheat germ and 2 1/2 c. whole wheat flour instead of just 3 c. whole wheat flour. It still tastes great, and now no dairy and no trans fats.

This is my default wheat bread recipe, thank you, Melinda! I followed some other reviewers' advice and use 1/8 C milk, reducing the water to 1 C, and I use 2 C of whole wheat flour and 1 C of either whitewheat or regular bread flour.

Great every day whole wheat bread! I replaced shortening with unsalted butter and added 3 tablespoons of vital wheat gluten. I used the whole wheat setting and light crust and it came out perfect! My order for adding ingredients into the bread machine are water, butter, honey, salt, wheat flour, dry milk, vital wheat gluten, yeast. Beautiful loaf and easy to slice. If your loaf came out lopsided, it might be too dry. It takes wheat flour a little longer to absorb water. Allow it to knead for 5 minutes before deciding to add more flour.

This bread is a winner. I just started making bread and have tried 6 recipes that were O.K- but i was on a search for a good 100% whole wheat bread and this one is perfect- also convenient with so little ingredients. I omitted the dry milk powder as well, and used 1/4 cup of honey. This will be made often.

My most favorite bread. Raised perfectly (I tried the salt in with the wet ingredients) set on whole wheat, 1.5 lb loaf, with light crust. I used butter. My family LOVES it, and so do I. I'll never buy bread again. :P

Best bread recipe ever!! I think maybe some problems others have had with the recipe are because all bread machines are different. Mine overcooks my bread. So I stop the bread machine early and put it in the oven after it has risen, at 350 for 30 minutes. Also, make sure that your ingredients aren't cold or you may have problems with rising. Great recipe!!

Tried this for my first ever bread machine loaf. Turned out GREAT! Love that it's more substantial than your typical grocery bread. Honey flavor is delicious. I didn't have milk powder so I sub'd 1/8 c of milk and only used 1 c of water. Worked just fine.

I have been using recipes from this site for a several years now and this is my first review to give (sorry!). I have 3 young ones 5 and under and usually go on this site for a quick "ingredient" search. I made this bread last night and it was awsome! I did use 2 cups whole wheat flour and 1 cup bread flour to ease my way into making a whole wheat bread to see if my kids would eat it. They have devoured it this morning. Next time I will use all wheat flour and I'm sure it will be just as yummy as well as healthier. Thanks so much for the recipe.

This is the whole wheat sandwich bread you have been looking for! I have made many whole wheat breads over the years in my breadmaker, committed to making as many of my own foods as possible. They were good, but never like this. This is the soft, spongy, hearty whole wheat sandwich bread that you buy at the store. I only made 3 small changes. I added 3 T vital wheat gluten, used butter instead of shortening, and used the basic or the white setting instead of whole wheat. The bad thing is I can't tell you how long it lasts (although honey is a natural preservative) because it doesn't last long enough in my house to tell. I've made 3 loaves already this week and given the recipe to 2 friends who love it!

I didn't actually get to try this, but it got RAVE reviews at my house. I didn't have milk powder, so I replaced the water with milk and reduced the honey to 1/4 C. Thanks!

I received my very first bread machine today and this was the first recipe I tried. I've never been successful making yeast breads/rolls, so I was hoping a bread machine would help by doing the tricky part. What a success! I love whole wheat bread and this is excellent! It's very soft and fluffy. The crust is thin and crisp. This is excellent sandwich bread. I followed the directions exactly but added 3T of vital wheat gluten. It's so great to have a tasty authentic whole wheat bread, as in it's made with 100% whole wheat flour. I will make this again and again.

This turned out really good. I did a few changes, I used white whole wheat flour,by King Arthur, and reduced the honey to 2 table spoons. I took anther reviewers suggestion and baked it using the basic setting and light crust. The bread turned out nice and fluffy. Next time I think I'll reduce the salt to 1 teaspon, it seemed a little satly, but thats just me.

This tastes better than the honey wheat bread you pay 4.00 a loaf for at the store. I added the salt to the water and put the dry milk next to the yeast per my machine's manual. Loved by the whole family!

This is seriously the best and easiest whole recipe EVER!!! First attempt fell short, I realize (like many)it was becuase my machine overcooked the loaf PLUS it does require a bit more rising time. Last 2 loaves I proofed yeast in a cup and added to the dry ingredients and kneaded it in the machine. I let it rise in a warm bowl, punch/kneaded and let rise again. baked at 375 for about 40 min and it was perfection. I used 4.5 tbs of ground flax instead of the shortening, decreased honey t0 1/4 cup and added 4 tsp. of vital wheat gluten. Unreal how good this is. If your loaf did not turn out well try the above suggestions and you will NOT be disappointed.

yum! everyone loved this one! I didn't have powdered milk so I used a bit less water and filled up the rest of the measuring cup with regular milk.

Delicious! First time I made it in the bread machine with 1/2 cup bread flour and 2 1/2 cups whole wheat flour. I set the machine on wheat, which allows for an hour for the flour to sit in the fluid and soften up - I got a very light loaf. The whole family enjoyed it. I made another loaf using all white whole wheat flour (King Arthur brand) and just setting the machine on dough, baked it in a stone loaf pan. This came out wonderfully as well. I'm going to use this as my standard recipe from this point on. Makes excellent toast, sandwiches, everything!

This bread is great, but did not rise sufficiently in my old Panasonic bread machine. Here are some changes that make it work more consistently for me: 1 1/8 cup milk (skim or 2% works fine) 2 1/2 cup whole wheat flour 1/2 cup all purpose white flour 1/3 cup honey 2 tablespoons butter 1 1/2 teaspoon Kosher salt 1 1/2 teaspoon active dry yeast Put all dry ingredients in pan, top with liquids and use the 4 hour LIGHT bake cycle.

I am somewhat new to breadmaking, and this was the third or fourth recipe I've tried. I wanted a recipe that is healthy and uses only whole wheat flour, but that still has good texture. I LOVE this recipe and now make it every week, and I've stopped buying bread at the store! The changes I've made are: I use butter instead of shortening I add 3TBS gluten flour for a lighter texture I add 3TBS flaxseed and some oats I use my breadmaker to knead the dough and do the first rise, then I put it in a buttered loaf pan, let it rise for another 30 minutes and then bake for 30-35 minutes in a 350 degree oven. (I like the shape of a loaf pan better than the square bread my machine makes.)