Honey White Bread Machine Recipe

This honey white bread machine recipe makes a soft, fluffy two-pound loaf with a lightly sweet honey flavor. Made entirely in the bread machine, it is an easy everyday bread for sandwiches, toast, and serving with dinner.

Unlike a basic white bread machine recipe made with granulated sugar, this loaf gets its light sweetness from honey. The honey also helps the crust brown and keeps the crumb soft for days.

Why This Honey White Bread Machine Recipe Works

• Bread flour makes a taller, chewier loaf. Bread flour has more protein than all-purpose flour. More protein means more gluten. More gluten means better rise and a better chew. All-purpose works in a pinch, but the loaf will be shorter and softer.
• Honey does three things sugar cannot. It sweetens the loaf without heaviness. It pulls moisture from the air and keeps the bread soft on day two and three. It gives the crust a golden color that granulated sugar does not.
• Warm water wakes up the yeast. Too cold and the yeast stays asleep. Too hot and you kill it. Aim for 105 to 110 degrees Fahrenheit. It should feel warm on your wrist like bath water, not hot.
• Layer the ingredients in the order your bread machine manual recommends. Most machines want liquids first, then flour, then salt and honey in opposite corners, with yeast in a well on top. The salt and yeast should not touch until the machine starts mixing. Salt kills yeast on contact.
• Check the dough ball after five minutes. Open the lid and look. The dough should be a smooth ball pulling away from the sides of the pan. If it is too wet and sticky, add flour a tablespoon at a time. If it is too dry and the ball is breaking apart, add water a teaspoon at a time. Humidity changes how much flour absorbs.

How to Make Honey White Bread in a Bread Machine

1. Add the warm water, oil, and honey to the bread machine pan.
2. Spoon the bread flour on top of the liquids so it covers the water completely.
3. Make a small well in the center of the flour and add the active dry yeast. Add the salt in one corner of the pan, away from the yeast.
4. Place the pan in the bread machine. I use a Breville bread machine for this recipe. Select the basic white bread setting with a light crust and the 2-pound loaf size. Press start.
5. After five minutes of kneading, open the lid and check the dough. It should form a smooth ball. If the dough is too sticky and clinging to the sides, add flour one tablespoon at a time. If the dough is dry and breaking apart, add water one teaspoon at a time.
6. Close the lid and let the machine finish the cycle. When the bread is done, remove the pan from the machine using oven mitts. Turn the pan upside down and shake the loaf out onto a wire rack. Brush the top with melted butter while the loaf is still hot.
7. Let the bread cool completely before slicing. Cutting into hot bread smashes the crumb and makes it gummy.

Quick Tips

• This recipe is written for a two-pound loaf. Most bread machines have a loaf size setting. Make sure yours is set to 2 pounds.
• Use bread flour, not all-purpose. Better rise, better chew.
• Warm water between 105 and 110 degrees. Too hot kills the yeast.
• Layer correctly. Liquids first, flour on top, yeast in a well, salt in the corner.
• Check the dough at five minutes. Fix it wet or dry before the cycle advances.
• Brush with melted butter the second the loaf comes out. It softens the crust.
• Cool completely before slicing or the crumb turns gummy.

Make Ahead and Storage

Store the loaf at room temperature in a sealed bag or bread box for up to four days. The honey keeps it softer longer than a sugar loaf.

Slice the whole loaf, then freeze the slices. Pull out what you need and toast straight from frozen. The bread freezes well for up to two months.

How to Slice Homemade Bread

Cool the loaf completely before slicing. A warm loaf smashes under the knife and the crumb turns gummy. Let it sit on a wire rack until it is fully room temperature.

Use a serrated bread knife. A straight chef's knife tears the crust instead of cutting through it. A good serrated bread knife saws through the crust without pressing down, so the loaf keeps its shape and each slice is even.

Let the knife do the work. Hold the loaf steady with one hand and saw back and forth with the other using light pressure. Pressing down too hard compresses the bread. Sawing gently with a serrated blade gives you clean slices from the first cut to the heel.