Honey Wheat Black Bread

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Honey Wheat Black Bread

star rating (18) rate this recipe »
Published prior to 2008

This loaf, often known as Canadian Brown Bread, is dark and quite sweet, but pleasingly so; we love it with just a plain pat of butter.

1 1/2 cups (12 ounces( warm water
2 tablespoons (1 ounce) unsalted butter or margarine, softened
1/2 cup (6 ounces) honey
2 cups (8 1/2 ounces) King Arthur Unbleached Bread Flour
1 2/3 cups (6 3/4 ounces) King Arthur White Whole Wheat Flour
1 tablespoon cocoa
1 tablespoon granulated sugar
2 teaspoons instant coffee
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1 tablespoon powdered caramel color* (optional)
2 1/4 teaspoons instant yeast*

Manual/Mixer Method: In a medium-sized mixing bowl, or the bowl of your electric mixer, combine all of the ingredients. Stir the mixture together, using your hands, a spoon, or your mixer, till the dough forms a shaggy mass that begins to pull away from the sides of the bowl.

Knead the dough, by hand or mixer, for about 10 minutes, till it's become smooth. Transfer it to a lightly oiled bowl, turning to coat all sides. Cover the bowl, and allow the dough to rise until doubled in bulk, at least 1 hour.

Bread Machine Method: Place all of the ingredients into the pan of your bread machine. Program the machine for manual or dough, and press Start. Examine the dough about midway through the kneading cycle; it should be soft and smooth, but not overly sticky. Adjust the consistency with additional water or bread flour, as needed. Allow the machine to complete its cycle.

Divide the dough into 8 pieces. Shape each piece into a small log-shaped loaf. This dough is soft, so use flour or a non-stick spray on your hands. Sprinkle a lightly greased or parchment-lined baking sheet with cornmeal, place the loaves on the sheet, and cover. Let the loaves rise for 1 hour, or until they look "puffy" but aren't doubled in size.

Bake the bread in a preheated 350°F oven for 20 to 25 minutes. The loaves will appear slightly darker on the top when they're done. Remove them from the oven, and cool on a wire rack. Yield: 8 mini-loaves.

This bread stays moist and delicious for at least four days. If you want a less sweet bread, just cut the honey to 1/4 cup and leave out the 1 tablespoon sugar. The bread won't stay moist as long, but has very good flavor. We also tried this bread with molasses in place of the honey, and it was very good.

*Available through our catalogue.

Reviews

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  • star rating 04/26/2012
  • mom244evermom from KAF Community
  • I have very mixed feelings about this recipe. For me, as for a lot of the bakers who reviewed this recipe as written, it was a batter. Definitely not something that could be shaped into a roll. I ended up adding a lot of AP flour. If I had it to do again I would add bread flour. I was looking for more "chew" from the roll, I was hoping it would be similar to Cheesecake Factory's brown bread. The color was spot on, the flavor was a little muddled to me. I subbed 1/4 cup molasses for 1/4 cup of the honey. I did include the caramel color. If I make this bread again I think I would reduce the amount of coffee, I felt it was a little too dominant and confusing in the roll. My rolls were not nice loaves as I was looking for. If I make them again I will try harder to make them long and lean so hopefully they'll be loaf-ish. I also was hoping for more of a hard crust. Maybe I would like them better if I made the dough and allowed it to "age" in the fridge for a day before I shape and bake? Not sure.
    Allowing the dough to proof slowly in the fridge will contribute to the final flavor. This dough should be very soft, but using flour or an oil spray on your hands and surfaces will help manage it for you. ~Amy
  • star rating 03/17/2012
  • suemp from KAF Community
  • This bread tastes great! I baked it exactly according to the instructions the first time and the dough is VERY soft, so I understand why some reviewers had a hard time, but I have baked some breads that have sticky dough before so I wasn't worried. But it is definitely difficult to form loaf shapes, no question about that, its better to bake it in small bun shapes or in mini loaf pans. The 2nd time I made this I cut the honey down to 1/3 cup and that seemed to make a big difference in the "wetness" of the dough. The dough was still soft and sticky though, just not as "loose" as the first time. I think I will do it like that from now on.
  • star rating 09/25/2011
  • Rhonda from Rohnert Park
  • This bredad is fantastic! I mixed in my bread maker & didn't have any of the issues mentioned. I didn't change anything in the recipe & it came out moist, fluffy & tall! I didn't have caramel color but to purchase online from KAF! Excellent bread!
  • star rating 06/06/2011
  • bstarr7 from KAF Community
  • Ok, I am rating this recipe again. Finally got around to trying it again and this time added more flour, LOTS more flour. Even so, the dough was very soft and sticky, but more manageable, although more work. I did not divide it. I put it in one 9 x 5 loaf pan and got one nice big loaf. It tastes great again, but I think it might be a bit dense because I had to add so much extra flour. I think next time I may cut the amount of liquid just a bit, maybe by a quarter cup, and see how that works. The bread is so good it is worth the trial and error! If you decide to try this bread just read all the reviews first and get a heads up so you won't be surprised and be tempted to panic.
    Thanks for sharing your tips for working with this wet dough as well as your loaf success. I see other reviewers cut back the liquid by 1/4 cup or add more flour to make the dough more manageable. The end result is worth the journey! Happy Baking! Irene @ KAF
  • star rating 02/23/2011
  • bstarr7 from KAF Community
  • I really liked this bread once I got it made. But the recipe did not really prepare me. I had to go to the reviews to find that I shouldn't necessarily expect this bread dough (mine was more like a sticky batter) to act like the more typical bread doughs I have been working with. There was no way I could have shaped that mess into 8 small loaves. I poured (yes poured) it into 2 8x4 loaf pans and it really came out just fine but I did not get the rise I would have liked. I think I may have kneaded too much on my Kitchen Aid trying to get the stuff to come together, which it never did. Anyway, all that being said, I will try the bread again because the great taste and texture make it totally worth it. I'll just be better prepared next time and will know better what to expect.
    Although this dough is soft, it shouldn't have been pourable. It sounds as though you may have just needed a bit more flour to allow this to come together properly. I'm glad you were happy with the end results and hope you will try it again. Should you have further questions, please call us on the baker's hotline (802-649-3717).
  • star rating 12/25/2010
  • aryakia from KAF Community
  • Delicious! It rises tall. Nice shape and color too. I'll definitely make it again.
  • star rating 12/13/2010
  • harju456 from KAF Community
  • This bread was really easy to make, and tasted FANTASTIC! It was indeed a very wet sticky dough, but it baked perfectly. I put it in 2 small loaf pans instead of diving into 8 small loaves, and it worked very well. As a few others, I omitted the coffee, since I have a toddler who will be eating it. I'm sure this will be a favorite in our family! Thanks KAF, for another wonderful bread recipe!
  • star rating 10/21/2010
  • Jack from Orange County
  • I weighed all my ingredients and I too ended up with batter, not bread dough. I had to add about a cup or two of flour before it started pulling away from the sides of the bowl. Maybe the weight measurements are off?
    Hello Jack - Not all doughs are going to be pulling away from the sides of the bowl. This dough is quite sticky and loose and downright unruly but yields great results. Adding more flour will help to stiffen the dough but also may dry it out. Try producing this dough without adding a substantial amount of additional flour and see how it comes out. Elisabeth
  • star rating 10/10/2010
  • meridethcohrs from KAF Community
  • I give this recipe 5 stars because the end result has been amazing, but the prep was a bit problematic for me. I tend to use my breadmaker for mixing bread dough (nice and hands off)...but when I came down to check the dough halfway through the cycle, it was soup...literally. I took the 'dough' out of the bread maker and proceeded to add more than a cup of additional flour to get it into decent shape. After an hour of rising time, I was able to shape this into nice mini-loaves, and they cooked up wonderfully. I think they were a bit on the dense side due to the incredible amount of extra flour, but still delicious. I have used these rolls now as a dinner side, sandwich bread for an egg salad sandwich, and toast with sunny side up eggs this morning. In all situations, the bread was a wonderful addition with great and unique flavor. So...the end result was great...I'm just not sure what the disconnect was in the prep. Thanks for a great recipe...I'll continue to try it out to avoid the 'soup' problem next time.
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