Bread Machine Honey White Bread

This bread machine honey white bread recipe creates a soft white bread with the “natural” sweetness of honey. This is a delicious bread that works well as a sandwich bread or as toast.

Honey white bread is for people who want to replace the processed sugar found in many white breads with more natural honey.

Recipe Sections

1. Ingredients
2. Instructions
3. Helpful Tips

My bread machine honey white bread recipe is very easy because your bread machine mixes, kneads & bakes the bread for you. You just add the ingredients and the bread machine does most of the hard work!

Ingredients – 1.5 lb setting

• 1 Cup – Milk (warm) – 237 milliliters
• 1/4 Cup – Honey – 58 milliliters
• 3 Tablespoons – Unsalted Butter (softened) – 43 grams
• 3 Cups – Bread Flour – 360 grams
• 1 1/4 Teaspoons – Salt – 7.5 grams
• 1 1/4 Teaspoons – Bread Machine Yeast (Instant Yeast) – 4.5 grams – This recipe does not use active dry yeast.

Ingredients – 2 lb setting

• 1 1/3 Cup – Milk (warm) – 315 milliliters
• 1/3 Cup – Honey – 77 milliliters
• 4 Tablespoons – Unsalted Butter (softened) – 57 grams
• 4 Cups – Bread Flour – 480 grams
• 1 1/2 Teaspoons – Salt – 9 grams
• 1 1/2 Teaspoons – Bread Machine Yeast (Instant Yeast) – 5.4 grams – This recipe does not use active dry yeast.

Servings – Roughly 12 slices

Equipment Needed (for bread machine honey white bread) – Measuring cup & spoons, silicone spatula, oven mitts, cooling rack and a bread machine.

Bread Machine Honey White Bread

Instructions

• Bread machine settings – 1.5 or 2 lb loaf, light color and “basic/white” bread setting.
• Unplug your bread machine.
• Remove the bread pan from the unplugged bread machine (so when you add the ingredients, they can not accidentally spill into the machine).
• Soften the butter. FYI – I like to use a microwave to semi-melt the butter for better mixability.
• Pour the milk, honey & softened butter into the bread pan and then add the other ingredients. Place the instant yeast/bread machine yeast in last and the yeast should not touch the liquid (until the bread machine is turned on and the ingredients start to be mixed together by the bread machine). FYI – Many bakers like to make a crater/pocket in the top of the flour to hold the yeast so the yeast does not contact the liquid or salt in the bread pan.
• Put the bread pan with ingredients back into the unplugged bread machine.
• Plug in the bread machine. Enter the correct settings (1.5 lb or 2 lb, light color, basic/white bread) and press the “start” button.
• When the bread machine has finished baking the bread, unplug the bread machine and remove the bread pan from the bread machine. Wear oven mitts as the bread pan & bread machine will be hot.
• Remove the bread from the bread pan and place the bread on a wire cooling rack. Use oven mitts when removing the bread as the bread & bread pan will be hot.
• Optional (but Recommended) – Right after removing the bread from the bread pan (while the bread is still very hot), brush on 1 tablespoon of melted butter on the top crust of the bread. This creates a more buttery top to the bread. Use a pastry brush to brush on the butter.
• Let the bread cool on the wire cooling rack for 1-2 hours before cutting.
• Please read the tips section below for extra information on how to make this recipe successfully.

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Helpful Tips

• The tips below are designed to help bread machine “novices”. Intermediate and advanced bread machine users probably know most of these bread-making tips.
• Click on this “print recipe” link if you want to print out this recipe. It includes all of the recipe’s ingredients and instructions. However, the recipe print function does not include our tips section. Please read the tips section in order to avoid common recipe problems.
• This recipe is part of Bread Dad’s series on easy Bread Machine Recipes such as recipes for banana bread, extra soft white bread, multigrain bread and French bread.
• This bread machine honey bread recipe will not work in small bread machines (e.g. compact bread machines). To bake the bread in your bread machine, it will need at least a 1.5 lb loaf capacity.

• If you want to make an oven-baked version of this bread machine honey white bread, please check out my main Honey White Bread page. That recipe shows you how to make the dough in your bread machine and bake it in your oven. Oven-baked breads provide a more traditional loaf shape (versus the “block” shaped bread created by many bread machines).
• This bread maker honey white recipe does NOT create a super sweet bread. Rather it uses honey to replace the sugar used in regular white breads. Therefore, my honey bread is a delicious white bread with a very mild honey taste.
• I created this honey white bread recipe because some of my visitors prefer to use honey in their baked goods instead of sugars such as white granulated sugar, etc. They want to use a more natural sweetener versus processed sugar.
• Other bakers like to use honey in order to enhance the flavor of their baked goods. As you probably know, honey comes in many different flavors such as orange blossom honey, buckwheat honey, alfalfa honey and eucalyptus honey.
• Visitors – Why do you like to use honey instead of processed sugar when making homemade bread? Please leave your thoughts in the comment section below.

• You should make my 1.5 lb version first (before making the 2 lb version) until you have a better idea of what your machine can manage. Some bread machines with a 2 lb capacity have lots of extra capacity in their bread pans whereas other 2 lb machines have very little extra capacity (and thus can’t handle large fluffy 2 lb loaves). Unfortunately, the height of loaves can vary due to incorrect ingredient measurements, the heat of the kitchen, different flours with different gluten levels, different bread pan sizes & shapes, etc. Therefore, it is always safest to start with the 1.5 lb recipe even if you have a machine with a supposed 2 lb capacity. You will be able to see how much of your bread pan is filled by a 1.5 lb loaf and then determine if your bread pan can handle a larger 2lb loaf.
• Of course, if you have a large 2 paddle bread machine (such as the Zojirushi Home Bakery Virtuoso Plus or the West Bend 47413), you can ignore this advice and make the 2 lb version first. Most 2 paddle machines have lots of bread pan capacity (versus some 1 paddle machines).
• I have also added a page with bread machine pan sizes. This should help you to determine if your machine is capable of handling Bread Dad’s 1 lb, 1.5 lb or 2 lb recipes.
• Do NOT confuse or mix up the 1.5 lb & 2 lb ingredient amounts and machine settings when making this bread machine recipe (e.g. accidentally using some of the 2 lb ingredient amounts when making the 1.5 lb version). Cough, cough… I know because I have done this before!

• Do not add more honey than what is listed in my bread maker honey white recipe. Extra honey means you will be adding extra liquid. Adding too much liquid to a bread recipe can throw off the liquid-to-dry ratio of a recipe. This can result in a greater potential for bread “collapses” or misshapen tops.
• Have a problem getting the honey out of your measuring cup? Some people like to spray the interior of the measuring cup with cooking spray. This allows the honey to stick less to the sides of the measuring cup.
• Have a problem with honey coming very slowly out of its container? Some people like to place the entire honey container in a bowl of warm water. The water will warm the honey and improve its viscosity (making it more pourable).
• Optional – If you want to create an even SOFTER honey white bread, use buttermilk instead of the milk called for in my recipe. Buttermilk is acidic and this helps to “tenderize” the gluten in the flour. Buttermilk is a great way to soften homemade bread. However, most people do not have it at home (thus the use of regular milk in this recipe).
• Visitors – What type of honey do you use to make your honey white bread (a generic supermarket honey or a specialty premium honey)? If you use a premium honey, do you think it improves the bread (e.g. adds a better flavor or higher level of ingredient quality & safety)? Or do you prefer the lower cost of generic supermarket honey? Please leave your honey thoughts in the comment section below.

• Optional – I like to brush on 1 or 2 tablespoons of melted butter (with a pastry brush) on the top crust of the bread right after the bread is baked (while the honey bread is still hot). This adds a nice buttery top to the honey bread.
• Do NOT use cold milk (or super hot milk) to make this recipe or the yeast may have trouble growing properly. Yeast is sort of like Goldilocks – it doesn’t like things too hot or too cold. The ideal liquid temperature should be around 100-110 F.
• I like to use whole milk when making this bread because it adds a richer flavor. However, skim milk or plant-based milk (e.g. soy milk or oat milk) is okay too!

• Use FRESH ingredients (e.g. flour) for the best results. Ingredients that have been sitting in the pantry for months can become stale or pick up weird smells & flavors.
• Try to keep your ingredients (e.g. flour) in airtight food containers in order to extend their shelf life. Airtight containers help to prevent ingredients from being exposed to pests, dust, moisture, odors, etc.
• Old flour (when not stored in an airtight container) can absorb a lot of moisture from the air. This extra moisture throws off recipes and can lead to bread collapses, etc.

• This recipe calls for the use of bread flour. If you are out of bread flour, you can use all purpose flour in a pinch. However, an all purpose flour bread will be less airy and fluffy (when compared to honey bread made with bread flour).
• My recipe will NOT work with gluten free flour. Gluten free flour differs significantly versus flours with gluten and requires you to use recipes specifically designed for the use of gluten free flour. If you use gluten free flour in this recipe, you are likely to have a baking disaster.
• Make sure to level off the ingredients in your measuring spoons & cups. No “mountains” of ingredients in your spoons & cups!! If you add too much of an ingredient, you can have a baking problem. FYI – I like to level the ingredients in my measuring spoons & cups with the back of a butter knife.

• This bread recipe uses bread machine yeast or instant yeast. It is not focused on active dry yeast. This recipe is targeted towards instant yeast & bread machine yeast as many of our visitors are bread machine users.
• Active dry yeast is different from instant yeast & bread machine yeast. Instant yeast & bread machine yeast are added directly to the recipe’s ingredients. In contrast, active dry yeast must be activated in water before being added to a recipe’s ingredients. Many bakers find it quicker to use instant yeast because you just add it to the dry ingredients. With active dry yeast, you need to spend roughly 5-10 minutes “proofing” (activating) the yeast with a liquid & sugar.
• If your dough is having trouble rising properly, you should check out my How To Test Yeast page. This yeast test will show you if your yeast is alive & active or dead/expired. It will save you from a few bread disasters!
• I would recommend NOT reducing the salt in this recipe. You generally want to keep the salt-to-yeast ratio at a 1:1 basis in most bread recipes (1:1 based on teaspoons to teaspoons and NOT grams to grams). The salt moderates the growth of the yeast. If you cut the salt (and disrupt this 1:1 ratio), the yeast will grow faster than expected. In turn, this leads to more bread collapses (because the yeast rises too high and then craters in the middle) and/or results in “slack” less manageable dough. In addition, less salt will impact the flavor and browning of the bread.

• Cooler home temperatures in the winter can cause rising problems for bread dough. Ideally, your room temperature should be around 75-80 degrees F. Colder winter room temperatures can significantly delay the rise of the dough. You will need to raise the temperature of your kitchen (if you like a cold house in the winter) or find a warm spot for the dough to rise. I often put my dough (covered of course) next to a heating vent in the winter to make sure it is getting enough heat. Conversely, the dough can rise faster than expected in a very hot kitchen.
• Kitchen humidity can also impact a recipe. A winter kitchen tends to be drier due to your heating system drying out the air. In contrast, a kitchen in the summer can be much more humid. This change in humidity impacts baking as flour can soak up humidity from the air. Therefore, you might have to add 1-2 teaspoons of liquid in the winter if the dough is looking too dry. Or you might have to add 1-2 teaspoons of flour in the summer if the dough is looking too wet. If your kitchen is very dry or humid, you might have to add even a little more (but start with 1 teaspoon at a time until you achieve the right consistency).
• Of course, excessive kitchen humidity or dryness can impact a recipe at any time during the year (not just in the summer & winter)!
• Other factors that can impact the rise of the dough include old or expired yeast, contaminated yeast (e.g. the yeast was left in an open jar & air moisture contaminated it), water that is too cold or too hot, using heavily chlorinated tap water, placing salt next to or on top of the yeast (salt can kill yeast or inhibit its growth), not covering the dough during the rising period (as the exterior of the dough can dry out & limit the ability to rise), etc.
• If your bread comes out too dense, you should read Bread Dad’s Why Is My Bread Machine Bread So Dense? page. It covers potential reasons & solutions in order to prevent dense bread.

• You should let your bread cool down for 1-2 hours on the wire cooling rack before you cut any slices (or the slices will be “gummy” and not taste as good as expected). Excess interior moisture is released (via steam) during the cooldown period.
• If you have not made bread in a long time, please buy some NEW bread machine yeast or instant yeast before making your bread. Old yeast can die or lose its potency and this will lead to bread that does not rise properly. Yeast is not likely to be viable if it has been sitting in your pantry for years.
• Once you have opened the container that contains the yeast, the yeast will last longer if you store the bottle in the refrigerator or freezer. Just make sure the bottle is sealed tight (as yeast will deteriorate quickly if exposed to air, moisture and/or heat).
• If you are having trouble making bread machine bread, please visit my page focused on Common Bread Machine Errors. It covers common mistakes and potential solutions.

• According to Wikipedia, “Honey is sweet because of its high concentrations of the monosaccharides fructose and glucose. It has about the same relative sweetness as sucrose (table sugar)… It has attractive chemical properties for baking and a distinctive flavor when used as a sweetener”.
• Moreover, according to Wikipedia, “Typical examples of North American monofloral honeys are clover, orange blossom, sage, tupelo, buckwheat, fireweed, mesquite, sourwood, cherry, and blueberry. Some typical European examples include thyme, thistle, heather, acacia, dandelion, sunflower, lavender, honeysuckle, and varieties from lime and chestnut trees. In North Africa (e.g. Egypt), examples include clover, cotton, and citrus (mainly orange blossoms). The unique flora of Australia yields a number of distinctive honeys, with some of the most popular being yellow box, blue gum, ironbark, bush mallee, Tasmanian leatherwood, and macadamia”.
• To learn about some potential benefits of honey, you might like to read this Smiley Honey article.
• If you like using honey to make your baked goods (instead of white granulated sugar & brown sugar), you should try Bread Dad’s recipes for Bread Machine Honey Wheat Bread and Bread Machine Honey Oat Bread. Or my oven-baked recipes for Honey Banana Bread, Honey Oat Bread and Honey White Bread.

• You can also use this homemade bread to make one of Bread Dad’s delicious & toasty Grilled Cheese & Panini Recipes.
• My recipes are based on US ingredient measurements (e.g. US cups & tablespoons). However, as a courtesy to our European visitors, I have also included some very ROUGH European equivalents (e.g. grams & milliliters). Since I rarely use European measurements when baking, please let me know in the comment section below if any of the European ingredient measurements need to be changed (e.g. for XYZ ingredient, milliliters are more commonly used versus the grams information listed in the recipe).
• Always wear oven mitts/gloves when dealing with a bread machine and/or oven. Both can get very hot!
• For more easy bread ideas, please visit Bread Dad’s sections on Bread Machine Recipes and Homemade Bread Recipes.

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Reference Sources

1. Wikipedia, Bread
2. Wikipedia, Bread Machine
3. Wikipedia, Honey

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