Great Harvest Honey Whole Wheat Bread Copycat Recipe

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Questions & Reviews

1. Kimberly says:

   After the loaf has doubled in size, in the 20-30 min, do you remove from the oven, heat it to 350 and then return to the oven to bake or leave it in while the oven heats to 350?
2. Margo says:

   I took it out. My daughter got started on a batch a couple of weeks ago forgetting she had conflicts and it survived an extra punch-down and refrigeration before the final rise, so it's pretty tough.
3. Margo says:

   I'm working on this bread at high altitude (6000 ft) and my first effort wound up a little flat on top. Can you specify the bread pan size you're using? I'm in 9x5 pans, but these loaves are huge, and I'm afraid the combination of low air pressure and no support as it rises contributed to the flat tops. My typical altitude adjustment involves adding gluten (and not using fast yeast, which seemed to be no problem here). But gluten dulls the taste, and I don't want to touch the wonderful flavor of this bread if I can avoid it!
4. Cyd says:

   Hi Margo. We used the standard 9 x 5 inch loaf pan. We are at about 5000 feet and didn't have a problem. Let us know how it all turns out. Thanks for stopping by our blog and have a great week.
5. Ashley Jaggi says:

   No oil? Wow. Guess I need to try this to become a believer. :)
6. Camille says:

   Hi Kimberly! So sorry about that- yes, take it out. :) Let the oven preheat, and then return it to the oven. I am so sorry that I didn't clarify! I re-wrote the instructions so that there is no confusion. :) Thanks so much!
7. Kristy says:

   Hi. I was just wondering if you can cut this recipe in half? It seems like anytime I have tried to cut a bread recipe in half in past cases, it never turns out. What about with this bread?
8. Cyd says:

   You should be fine cutting this recipe in half to get one loaf.
9. Debbie says:

   Is this accurate? 10-11 cups of flour and this only yields 2 loaves of bread? I cannot fathom how big those loaves must be! I use 6-7 cups of flour in my current recipe and can get 3 loaves of bread out of it. Granted, they are in 8x4 pans, but still! :)
10. Bill Gates says:

    I love making homemade bread.
11. Janett says:

    Does it have to be FAST active dry yeast? I just have active dry... also can I use the yeast packets? If so would it just be like 2 packets?
12. Kristi says:

    I too am wondering if this recipe should yield 3 or 4 loaves instead of just two ... I tried following the recipe to a 't' and after rising in the oven just 10 min, the dough of each loaf was already so huge, they were drooping over the sides of my 9x5 pans. The ingredient list feels like it should yield at least 4 as well, so I'm just a bit confused what I could be doing wrong here!
13. Mary says:

    When you put the bread into the oven for the second rising do you turn the oven off like you did the first time or do you leave the oven temp at 107 degrees while the bread is rising?
14. Camille (Six Sisters Stuff) says:

    Hi Janett! I have only made this recipe using Fast Active Dry yeast, but if you try it with something else, let us know how it goes! :)
15. Camille (Six Sisters Stuff) says:

    Hi Kristi! To be honest, every time I have made this bread I have only gotten two loaves . . . I am not sure if it has anything to do with my altitude? I only know the very basics when it comes to bread, so I am not sure why yours didn't turn out. I am so sorry!! Thanks for stopping by!
16. Camille (Six Sisters Stuff) says:

    Hi Mary! I turned it off while the bread was rising. :)
17. Shannon says:

    Hi! I made this recipe exactly as directed....EXCEPT....I used 3, 9X5 loaf pans. This made 3 nice sized loaves of bread. My altitude is 1500. So altitude could very well make a difference:)
18. Christina says:

    Can you use this recipe in the bread machine?
19. Camille (Six Sisters Stuff) says:

    Hi Christina! I have only made this bread in the oven, so I don't know if it would work in a bread machine or not. Let us know if you try it! :)
20. rachel says:

    I make a recipe similar to this one, but for the flour I use 7-8 cups whole wheat flour OR 10-11 cups freshly ground flour. I wonder if that'll work out better for some people.
21. rachel says:

    And I make 2 large loafs plus 1 medium loaf with this.
22. Courtney says:

    Can you substitute instant yeast 1:1 for the active dry yeast here?
23. Hayley Anderson says:

    Has anybody made this with a KitchenAid stand mixer? My user manual says not to use recipes that call for moth than 8 cups of whole wheat flour so I am hesitant, but I really want to try this.
24. Tara says:

    What size bread pans are you using?
25. Cyd says:

    9 x 5 inch or 8 1/2 x 4 1/2 inch bread pans will work great.
26. Alyssa says:

    In step 6 do you turn the oven off again while the loaves rise? Or leave it at 170 degrees?
27. Cyd says:

    Turn it back off after it heats up.
28. Maria Gonzalez says:

    How long does the bread last after being made? Can you freeze to serve at another time?
29. Cyd says:

    You can make the bread and then freeze it and use as needed. We always freeze it and pull a loaf out one at a time. Freeze in a freezer bag for freshness.
30. Jill Poulsen says:

    This bread recipe is missing a key ingredient - there is no oil or fat and it turns out like a dense brick of condensed wheat. Would recommend not making it or the author reviewing the recipe for missing ingredients.
31. D Brown says:

    It is designed to use no oil, for those of us who don't use oil at all in any foods cooked or eaten.
32. Former Baker says:

    It should be fine. Great Harvest uses fresh, block formed yeast. They make a loose dough called a poolish using the honey, water, yeast (not salt, at this point) and about a third of the asked for flour. Mix this by hand until incorporated, cover and let sit for about 20 minutes in a draft free and moderately warm space. After that, add the rest of the flour, a cup at a time, and salt and mix. Proofing the dough in the oven is something I have never tried but it could work. The bakery I worked at left the dough in the mixing bowl, covered, for about 40 minutes or until double in size. Then punch it down, turn it out onto a lightly floured surface and shape into loaves. Loaves were allowed to rise in a draft free place for another 30 minutes or so. Bake, cool and eat.
33. Jay hardman says:

    Trying to get the honey wheat bread recipe! Cant find it?
34. Melia zaugg says:

    Do you use ground red wheat or white wheat?
35. Cyd says:

    We usually use white wheat. But here is some info on Red vs White - https://oureverydaylife.com/407230-hard-white-wheat-vs-hard-red-wheat.html
36. Kathy Dobbs says:

    I have made this recipe 4 times this month since the beginning of our stay-at-home orders. The lack of oil is definitely not a problem- this is the most delicious homemade bread we have ever had!
37. Kathy Dobbs says:

    Thank you for this delicious recipe! We love it so much at our home. ❤️ I have been getting 3 loaves each time though. We are at 5500’ so maybe that’s why? It has also been more humid and warm here which I’m sure changes things. Thanks for making our shelter-in-place orders more palatable!!
38. Stephanie says:

    Have you ever tried making this with a sourdough starter or wild yeast? If so how would you change the recipe?
39. Sierra Y says:

    My bread turned out dry and crumbly. Any tips on making it turn out soft and chewy instead?
40. Sandra says:

    I made this and the recipe was perfect! It was better than I remember the great harvest bread sold at their shops. Wondering if I can switch out wheat flour for bread flour to copy cat great harvest’s country white bread? What would you recommend for modifications?
41. Cyd says:

    Here is a great post that explains the difference between types of flours. https://www.realsimple.com/food-recipes/cooking-tips-techniques/baking/difference-between-flours
42. Cyd says:

    Crumbly bread is often due to too much flour in the mixture. This can result, as we have said, from using the wrong quantities or from adding extra flour to compensate in dough that seems too wet. Many people also flour their work surface liberally when it comes to kneading.
43. Cyd says:

    With this recipe, we have only made it as directed.
44. Nicholas says:

    Have made your recipe many times now, both for my family and for my bed & breakfast guests. The last time I made it I was out of whole wheat flour so I just used regular all-purpose. And it was still soooo tasty! Sometimes I toss in some culinary lavender and dried cranberries....Lavender Cranberry Bread, toasted, with butter, is just such a nice breakfast indulgence! Thank you for sharing this recipe with all of us home bakers.
45. Cyd says:

    So glad you like the bread recipe. The lavender and cranberries sound delicious! Have a great weekend and thanks for leaving us a sweet comment.
46. Irene rowland says:

    I make mine in a kitchen aid. You just have to watch it as it will start to labor and heat up. Maybe just give it a little chance to rest midway through to avoid any problems? I weighed my dough then divided that into 3 equal loaves. They were still a bit oversized (but impressively so!!). I am making this again and will probably divide it into 4 equal loaves or two regular sized loaves and a couple of mini loaves to give away. 🙂
47. Debbie Peskin says:

    Any chance you could recreate the recipe for Great Harvest's challah? It's my absolute favorite, and unfortunately our local Great Harvest has permanently closed, a victim of the Coronavirus. I'd be so grateful!
48. Cyd says:

    So sorry about your Great Harvest closing because of the virus. Here is the link from one of our favorite bloggers. https://abountifulkitchen.com/challah-bread/
49. Irene Rigas says:

    I looked at your bread and thought it's too light in color to be whole wheat and after reading some if the reviews it turns out I was right as you used white wheat. When you state whole wheat, your bread would turn out a lot darker and more dense. That being said , this recipe looks delicious and I can't wait to make it. Thank you for sharing. Perhaps you could update the recipe to say white whole wheat. Thx again
50. Gigi says:

    Whoa - sounds amazing, but what if I don't have an army to feed? Is there a scaled down version for making a single loaf?
51. Kim says:

    I found this recipe to be a disaster. When it said to put it in an oven at 170 degrees and then turn off...it killed my yeast/bread. Anything over 140 degrees kills yeast so why this terrible suggestion? After a whole morning grinding wheat and getting this recipe going, I ended up with a hard lump of wheat brick. Sorry, next time I will rise at room temperature or use an oven heated to 110 degrees and turned off.
52. Cindy Byrd says:

    Can you tell me what size of mixer you used for this? I have a 5 qt, and my dough went all the way up the shaft and into the mixer head. I don’t know how I’m going to get it all out.
53. Momma Cyd says:

    Oh no! We use a Bosch mixer and it's a 6.5 quart.
54. George R says:

    I wonder if you suggest fresh ground white or red wheat?
55. Momma Cyd says:

    For bread making hard wheat is the best. Hard red or hard white both work great.
56. Sarah Bean says:

    My loaf is way too big 😂 I’m reading this right- just 2 loaves?

    
57. Dana says:

    This is my new regular recipe fro whole wheat bread. I cannot believe it is so east and fast when it is so good- and no added oil. Works reliably. Have shared it with several friends. Whole grain and honey for your health! I need to look into your cookbook.