Why You'll Love This Recipe

```

Prep Time: 25 mins

Cook Time: 25 mins

Additional Rising Time: 2 hrs

Total Time: 2 hrs 50 mins

Servings: 36

Yield: 3 loaves

```

Why You'll Love This Recipe

• This bread uses simple, everyday pantry staples plus a hint of honey to create ultra-soft, pillowy, fragrant loaves with barely any hands-on effort.

• The recipe yields three tender, cloud-textured loaves, and it’s forgiving enough for total beginner bread bakers to pull off perfectly.

• “This recipe is so easy and unbelievably tasty. It’s definitely a keeper I’ll make again and again.” — Allrecipes community member Phyllis

Ingredients

• 3 cups warm water (110°F / 45°C)

• 2 (.25 ounce) packages active dry yeast

• ⅔ cup honey, divided evenly

• 5 cups bread flour

• 5 tablespoons melted butter, divided

• 1 tablespoon salt

• 4 cups whole wheat flour, plus extra as needed for kneading

Directions

1. Measure out and gather all your ingredients before you get started.

2. In a large mixing bowl, combine warm water, yeast, and 1/3 cup of honey, stirring until everything dissolves completely.

3. Add all 5 cups of bread flour and stir to form a rough, uniform mixture.

4. Cover the bowl and let the mixture rest for 30 minutes, until it puffs up and turns large and bubbly on top.

5. Mix in 3 tablespoons of melted butter, the remaining 1/3 cup of honey, and salt until evenly combined. Stir in 2 cups of whole wheat flour.

6. Turn the rough dough out onto a lightly floured work surface, and gradually knead in the remaining 2 cups of whole wheat flour as you work.

7. Continue kneading until the dough pulls cleanly away from your work surface. If the dough remains overly sticky, add a little extra whole wheat flour. The finished dough should feel slightly tacky to the touch, not wet or unmanageably sticky.

8. Place the kneaded dough in a lightly greased bowl, turning the dough over once to coat the entire surface lightly with grease.

9. Cover the bowl with a clean kitchen towel, and set it in a warm, draft-free spot to rise until the dough doubles in size, 45 minutes to 1 hour.

10. Grease three 9x5-inch loaf pans. Once the first rise is complete, punch down the dough to release trapped air, then divide it into 3 equal portions to shape into loaves.

11. Place each shaped loaf into a prepared pan, then cover again and let rise for a second time until the top of the dough is 1 inch above the rim of the pans. This second rise takes another 45 minutes to 1 hour.

12. While the loaves finish their second rise, preheat your oven to 350°F (175°C). Bake the risen loaves in the preheated oven for 25 to 30 minutes, until the tops turn golden brown. Do not overbake, as this will dry out your bread.

13. Right after removing the loaves from the oven, lightly brush the tops with the remaining 2 tablespoons of melted butter to keep the crust from hardening as it cools.

14. Let the loaves cool completely before slicing. Enjoy your fresh homemade bread!