Love a good honey wheat bread? Believe it to be healthier than plain Jane enriched white bread? Read those bagged bread ingredients then come back here and bake this honey wheat bread using your sourdough discard. Perfect for morning toast, rich in vitamins and minerals, this freshly milled honey wheat bread is better for you than any store bread you can find. And now you’ve got another recipe to use your sourdough starter discard in that your family will love.
Notes:
This recipe uses soft white wheat berries which are generally better for quick breads like banana bread or muffins, pancakes, and the like. It doesn’t produce a very fluffy, airy bread, but it is wonderful for avocado toast, toast and jam, cheese toast, and French toast! It may be a little crumblier than you’d like for a honey wheat sandwich bread.
Okay, I admit this recipe may be a little bit niche. Sourdough discard + 2 different wheat berries for freshly milled flour but if that’s your vibe… Hey, friend! Let’s bake some nutritious bread together!
Ingredients
1 1/4 cup very warm water
1 tbsp honey
2 tsp active dry yeast
5 tbsp butter, softened
2 cups freshly milled soft wheat berries flour
2 cups freshly milled hard wheat berries flour
1/2 tbsp salt
1 cup sourdough discard
Freshly milled honey wheat bread with sourdough discard instructions
Before beginning this recipe, make sure to take out butter to soften for a few hours before.
Start this bread recipe in a standing mixer or in a large mixing bowl by adding very warm water, active dry yeast, and honey. Stir the ingredients together well and allow it to sit for 5 minutes to activate the yeast. You may notice bubbles. This is good.
While the yeast mixture is activating, mill both soft and hard wheat berries into the same bowl. The goal is 4 cups of flour. See notes about freshly milled wheat berries below.
Important things to note about freshly milled flour:
- 1 oz wheat berries = 1 oz flour
- the texture will be different in your final baked product than with white flour
- if using soft wheat berries, use 2/3 cup of wheat berries to make 1 cup of all-purpose flour
Instructions continued…
Then in the yeast mixture bowl after 5 minutes, add the freshly milled flour, softened butter, salt, and sourdough discard. Using the dough hook attachment or your hands (you may need to stretch first for this workout if doing it by hand), knead the dough for 10 minutes. The dough could be a little sticky but the kneading will help fix that.
Note: I have noticed if I mix all ingredients together then allow it to sit for about 10 minutes BEFORE kneading for 10 minutes, this helps the freshly milled flour to hydrate, producing a more moist bread.
Now allow the dough to rest for 45 minutes in the bowl. If hand kneading, put the dough back into the mixing bowl. Then cover with plastic wrap or a clean damp tea towel.
After 45 minutes is up, shape the dough into a rectangle that fits a 1.5 qt bread loaf pan. Use the counter or simply your hands to stretch the dough (video) into a square or rectangle shape then roll it back up and pinch the seal and ends closed.
Place the dough roll into a greased bread loaf pan then cover pan with plastic wrap or damp tea towel to complete second rise for 30 minutes to 1 hour. If you notice the bread rising at or above the loaf pan, go ahead and bake it.
Now preheat the oven for 375 degrees F and bake the bread in the preheated oven for 45 minutes or until golden brown as you desire.
How to enjoy freshly milled honey wheat bread
Before slicing this bread (I know it is tempting!), allow the loaf to cool completely before enjoying a slice of butter honey wheat bread for taste testing. This is to ensure the heat within the bread loaf continues to bake the bread.
Slicing prematurely may cause the bread to become gummy. Allow at least 30 minutes of cooling.
This freshly milled honey wheat bread is perfect for a light breakfast like avocado toast, toast and jam, or cheese toast.
Enjoy your homemade honey wheat bread with far fewer ingredients and no preservatives than what’s in the store and called “bread”.
Is sourdough discard necessary for this recipe?
For this freshly milled honey wheat bread recipe, the sourdough discard is necessary, yes.
This is a way to use up sourdough discard in a healthy and nutritious way without the all day and sometimes, night, wait to ferment sourdough.
Subtracting the sourdough discard from this recipe will be subtracting moisture and flour content which can alter the results of this honey wheat bread significantly.
If you are looking for a sandwich bread recipe with no sourdough, try this one. This recipe yields 2 loaves– one for sandwiches and toast, the other half for burger buns or cinnamon rolls!
If you like this freshly milled honey wheat bread recipe, you may also like:
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Freshly Milled Honey Wheat Bread with Sourdough Discard
Ingredients
Equipment
Method
- Take out butter to soften for a few hours before you start.
- In a standing mixer or in a large mixing bowl by adding very warm water, active dry yeast, and honey. Stir the ingredients together well and allow it to sit for 5 minutes to activate the yeast. You may notice bubbles. This is good.
- While the yeast mixture is activating, mill both soft and hard wheat berries into the same bowl. The goal is 4 cups of flour. See notes about freshly milled wheat berries in the original post.
- In the yeast mixture bowl after 5 minutes, add the freshly milled flour, softened butter, salt, and sourdough discard. Using the dough hook attachment or your hands (you may need to stretch first for this workout if doing it by hand), knead the dough for 10 minutes. The dough could be a little sticky but the kneading will help fix that.
- Allow the dough to rest for 45 minutes in the bowl. If hand kneading, put the dough back into the mixing bowl. Then cover with plastic wrap or a clean damp tea towel.
- After 45 minutes, shape the dough into a rectangle that fits in the loaf pan. Use the counter or simply your hands to stretch the dough into a square or rectangle shape then roll it back up and pinch the seal and ends closed.
- Place the dough roll into a greased bread loaf pan then cover pan with plastic wrap or damp tea towel to complete second rise for 30 minutes to 1 hour. If you notice the bread rising at or above the loaf pan, go ahead and bake it.
- Preheat the oven for 375 degrees F and bake the bread for 45 minutes or until golden brown as you desire.
- Before slicing this bread, allow the loaf to cool completely before enjoying a slice of butter honey wheat bread for taste testing. This is to ensure the heat within the bread loaf continues to bake the bread.
Notes
- the texture will be different in your final baked product than with white flour
- if using soft wheat berries, use 2/3 cup of wheat berries to make 1 cup of all-purpose flour
- 1 oz wheat berries = 1 oz flour
