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This Honey Whole Wheat Bread Wreath looks gorgeous on a holiday table, but this easy bread recipe is delicious all year round.

My family went nuts for this Whole Wheat Bread Recipe when I baked it up again a few weeks ago. With a smear of cool butter, slices of this tender, slightly sweet loaf taste amazing!
 Honey Whole Wheat Wreath on a white serving plate

 Honey Wheat Bread

When the holidays roll around, there’s nothing better than spending time in the kitchen baking delicious sweets and bread. The aroma of freshly baked yeast bread is intoxicating. This slightly sweet and hearty honey whole wheat bread is sliced before proofing and baking so that it transforms into a beautiful wreath. Perfect for the holidays!

Whole Wheat Wreath cut and shaped for baking

Is Whole Wheat Bread Good for You?

Compared to bread made with all refined white flour, whole wheat bread has more health benefits. Whole grains have more fiber and nutrients like vitamins and minerals. But it is still not diet food, so eat in moderation.

How Many Calories in Whole Wheat Bread?

This will vary with the recipe, the percentage of whole wheat flour, if honey or other sweeteners are added, etc. If you make 3 wreaths with this recipe and slice each wreath into 8 pieces, each of those has approximately 215 calories. Now that’s before adding butter, jam, or any other toppings.

How to Make a Bread Wreath

I had just printed off a recipe for honey whole wheat rolls when some baking goodies arrived. Little did I know that the whole wheat pastry flour needed for the bread would be part of a holiday gift delivery from Hodgson Mill. I had also seen a wreath technique on artisanbreadinfive.com that I was antsy to attempt. This whole wheat bread recipe was destiny!

  • Mix the dough, let it rise, punched it down, then Remove a one-pound piece of dough.
  • Form the dough into a ball, flattened it, then make a large hole in the middle. Like with bagels, the opening needs to be a few inches across. Note that the springy dough wants to bounce back into the middle.
  • Use kitchen shears (or a sharp knife) to Slice nearly through the ring at intervals, then pull and Twist the points to make a wreath.
  • Let it Rise again, then pop it in the oven to Bake.

2 slices of Whole Wheat Honey Bread Wreath on a small white plate

 

This Honey Wheat Bread is so simple to make, plus it makes such a lovely presentation.

Next time, I might make more frequent slashes, but I was quite satisfied with the results. And I finally made a wheat bread with the perfect amount of sweetness. Plus, that bit of oatmeal offered an indescribable something; whether it was flavor, texture, or both. It was just plain good.

Check out these delicious Whole Wheat Dinner Rolls, too. And if you’re yeast phobic, try this Whole Wheat Molasses Quick Bread.

2 slices of Whole Wheat Honey Bread Wreath on a small white plate
The Recipe:

Honey Whole Wheat Wreath

Prep Time 45 minutes
Cook Time 30 minutes
Total Time 1 hour 15 minutes
Yield 24

A beautiful, delicious whole wheat bread shaped like a wreath.

Ingredients

  • 1 ¼ cup quick oats
  • 1 cup boiling water
  • 1 package dry active yeast (2 ¼ teaspoons)
  • ¼ cup warm water (110º)
  • 1 ½ cups buttermilk
  • 6 tablespoons honey
  • 2 tablespoons brown sugar
  • 3 tablespoons olive or canola oil (plus more for greasing bowl)
  • 1 tablespoon salt
  • 4 ½ cups all-purpose flour (plus more for dusting dough ring)
  • 2 cups whole wheat pastry flour

Instructions

  1. Place oats into boiling water and let sit for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally.
  2. In another bowl, dissolve yeast in warm water and let sit for 5 minutes.
  3. Add buttermilk, honey, brown sugar, and oil to oats and mix (the mixture will be lumpy).
  4. Add the oat mixture to the bowl of a large stand mixer. Add yeast and mix on low with the paddle attachment till lumps of oats break apart.
  5. Change out the paddle attachment for a dough hook and add salt, 3 cups of the all-purpose flour, and all the pastry flour.
  6. Knead on low speed for 10 minutes, repositioning dough as needed, till dough is smooth. Up to ½ cup more AP flour may be added as needed. Dough may also be kneaded by hand.
  7. Place dough in a greased bowl, cover with greased plastic wrap, and allow to rise till doubled in size, about one hour.
  8. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
  9. Punch down the dough and remove 1 pound of the dough to make a wreath. (The remaining dough can be baked into loaves or more wreaths).
  10. Form dough into a ball, then make a ring by punching through the middle of the dough with your fingers and stretching to form a hole in the center about 3x the width of the ring.  
  11. Place the ring on the prepared baking sheet. Lightly dust the ring with flour. With kitchen scissors, cut nearly through the ring at a sharp angle forming points. Reposition points away from the center of the ring.
  12. Cover loosely with greased plastic wrap and let sit till doubled in size, about ½ hour.
  13. Preheat oven to 400º.  Bake the wreath for 25-30 minutes or until the bread reaches an internal temperature of 200º.
  14. Remove to a wire rack to cool.

Notes

Each batch will make 3 loaves.

Recipe adapted from Cooking Light.

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Nutrition Information:

Yield:

24

Serving Size:

1 slice
Amount Per Serving: Calories: 215Total Fat: 2gSaturated Fat: 1gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 1gCholesterol: 2mgSodium: 325mgCarbohydrates: 42gFiber: 3gSugar: 7gProtein: 7g

Thatskinnychickcanbake.com occasionally offers nutritional information for recipes contained on this site. This information is provided as a courtesy and is an estimate only. This information comes from online calculators. Although thatskinnychickcanbake.com attempts to provide accurate nutritional information, these figures are only estimates. Varying factors such as product types or brands purchased can change the nutritional information in any given recipe. Also, many recipes on thatskinnychickcanbake.com recommend toppings, which may or may not be listed as optional and nutritional information for these added toppings is not listed. Other factors may change the nutritional information such as when the salt amount is listed “to taste,” it is not calculated into the recipe as the amount will vary. Also, different online calculators can provide different results. To obtain the most accurate representation of the nutritional information in any given recipe, you should calculate the nutritional information with the actual ingredients used in your recipe. You are solely responsible for ensuring that any nutritional information obtained is accurate.

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© Liz Berg
Cuisine: American / Category: Bread