Back to the Bucket: Honey Whole Wheat Bread from Food Storage
Soft, slightly sweet, and made entirely with whole wheat, this honey whole wheat bread is perfect for sandwiches or toast. A true food storage staple, this one-rise recipe yields a big batch—ideal for eating, freezing, or sharing.
This recipe makes a huge batch—about 4 large loaves and 3 small loaves, depending on your humidity and dough-handling. (For reference: a large loaf = 1 lb 12 oz, a small loaf = 12 oz.)
I’m often in a hurry when baking, so here’s my trick: I turn the oven on to its lowest temp (currently 170°F in mine) while I grind the wheat, heat the water, and gather ingredients. Then, once I’m ready to start mixing the dough, I turn the oven off. After the dough is shaped and in the pans, I place them in the slightly warm oven to rise. I don’t take them out again—I just bake them right in place. That makes this a one-rise recipe, and a very forgiving one at that.
The result? Soft, lightly sweet bread that’s perfect for toast or sandwiches. Just a heads-up—since there are no preservatives, this bread will mold quickly. So eat it, freeze it, or share it fast!
Timing breakdown:
- Prep time: ~10 minutes
- Mixing time: ~10 minutes
- Shaping: ~10 minutes
- Rise and bake: 1–2 hours total, depending on your kitchen temperature, water temp, and yeast strength
What I love about this particular recipe is that it uses up food storage staples—namely wheat and milk powder. I haven’t tested this recipe with all-purpose or store-bought bread flour, and honestly, I wouldn’t recommend it. This is built for fresh-ground flour (or 100% whole wheat flour whether you grind it or buy it pre-milled).
As a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, I follow the counsel to keep ample food supply stored. Back in the day, we stocked up on wheat—and I really used it. I made our family’s bread, rolls, muffins, and even cooked wheat like rice (recipe coming soon).
When I started working outside the home, baking bread happened less and less. But now, between jobs and back at home full-time, I’ve been diving into projects again—and getting my hands back in dough.
Earlier this week, I pulled out the big wheat buckets and scooped out some red wheat—no problem. But the white wheat? Totally infested with bugs. Ew. Into the trash it went. A quick search of the second pantry turned up more red wheat but no white. So this first foray back into bread baking gave me five 100% red wheat loaves. They tasted good, but the texture was a bit heavier than I prefer.
I usually use a 2:1 ratio of white wheat to red—white wheat makes for lighter bread in color, texture, and flavor. These red wheat loaves were fine (still great with butter!), but the texture was off and the loaves sank a little while rising in the oven. Not ideal, but also not a dealbreaker. They’re getting eaten. I’ll just love them more when I get that rounded dome top again.
Funny thing—so many people don’t even know there are different kinds of wheat. Red and white are just the beginning. There’s spelt, kamut, and all kinds of specialty grains. I’m not trying to expand what I store—just working through what I already have. And luckily, baking bread is a lot like riding a bike. You don’t forget. Even after a long break, your hands remember what to do.
A few more bakes, and I think I’ll have those domed tops again. The bread may not be picture perfect, but it’s real, warm, and absolutely good. That’s my kind of recipe. Real food. Real kitchens. Real love.–The Food Civilian
Honey Whole Wheat Bread
Equipment
- 1 wheat grinder or use already ground flour
- 1 Bosch mixer this batch will burn out a KitchenAid
- 1 digital kitchen scale to make sure loaves are the same size
- 5 bread pans heavy duty
Ingredients
- 6 c warm water 115°F
- 2 TBS salt
- ¾ c oil I use ½ olive and ½ coconut
- ¾ -1 c honey
- 8 c fresh ground flour to begin with (ratio of 2c hard white wheat to 1c hard red wheat)
- 1 c dry milk powder
- 3 TBS instant yeast
Instructions
- In Bosch bowl, add water, salt, oil (first to coat cup) and honey (will slide out of already-oiled cup).
- Add 4-6c fresh flour, dry milk powder, then yeast.
- Mix on speed one and continue to add flour until dough starts to clean the side of the bowl.
- Turn to speed 2 and set timer for about 6-7mins to develop gluten.
- Remove from bowl, using oiled counter and hands, weigh and shape into greased loaf pans.
- Allow loaves to rise until approximately 1″ above edge of pan.
- Bake at 325°F for about 30-35 mins for the mini loaves and 40-45 mins for the large (or until your desired crust color is achieved–these directions yield a light golden crust, still soft enough for crust-haters to eat!). Loaves are done when the crust is your desired color and the internal temperature reads 190 °F (use an instant read thermometer)
- Remove onto cooling racks immediately after baking.
- Rub butter over tops and allow to cool.
- Place in bags and freeze or eat, enjoy!