This easy and delicious homemade HONEY OATMEAL BREAD is made, start to finish, in your bread maker. Made with quick oats and a touch of honey, this bread is soft and fluffy and one of my favourite bread machine recipes. It’s a great bread for dunking in soups or stews, and it’s simply delicious warm and slathered with butter.
I can’t believe it’s taken me this long to share this bread recipe with you.
It’s my favourite homemade bread ever. I first tried this recipe over 20 years ago when we got a bread machine for a wedding present. We absolutely loved it, and I’ve been making it ever since.
I use my bread machine for a few other recipes too, like these homemade dinner rolls, banana chocolate chip bread, and these cinnamon rolls, but good ol’ oatmeal bread is what I make in it often. I always serve it with homemade soup for a mid-week dinner or a weekend lunch.
One of the reasons we love this bread so much is because it’s really soft and fluffy.
The oatmeal gives it a nice texture too. When it’s piping hot and slathered with butter it’s absolutely irresistible. If you’re up for it, while your bread is baking, make a batch of homemade butter. It’s the best!
I know some bread machine recipes require you to make the dough in your bread maker and then transfer it to a loaf pan and bake it in the oven, but that’s not the case with this recipe. You make this oatmeal bread recipe start to finish your machine, so it’s super-easy to whip up a loaf whenever you want.
The bread machine takes a couple of hours to do its thing, but all you do is dump in the ingredients in, press start, and walk away.
Before you know it, the aroma of fresh bread baking starts wafting through your kitchen.
This recipe is for a 1½ loaf of bread (Basic Setting)
Bread Machine Honey Oatmeal Bread
Before we get started, let’s talk about what kind of bread machine and flour I use when I make bread.
My bread machine:
I’ve had two bread machines in my lifetime. Both were by Regal. Both were/are wonderful.
The only reason I replaced my first is because I lost the paddle to the bread pan and couldn’t get another (likely because my machine was 15 years old by then). I lucked out and found a Regal Kitchen Pro at a second-hand store, for about 10 bucks, and it’s still going strong. Here’s my affiliate link to Regal’s current model on Amazon. (As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.)
Should you use Bread Flour or All Purpose Flour for the Bread Machine?
Although bread experts recommend using bread flour when making homemade bread, I’ve always used All-Purpose flour, and the results are always wonderful. From what I understand, bread flour produces a heavier, denser loaf of bread than AP flour, so if that’s your preference, by all means, go with the bread flour.
Ok. Let’s make some bread!
Bread Machine Honey Oatmeal Bread Recipe:
Ingredients:
- 7-9 oz. Water
- 1 tsp Salt
- 1½ tbsp Honey
- 1 tbsp Softened Butter or Margarine
- ½ cup Quick Cook Oats (also known as instant oats)
- 2½ cups Bread Flour (I use All Purpose Flour)
- 1¾ tsp Active Dry Yeast
To make your honey oatmeal bread:
- Bring all of your ingredients to room temperature. Your water should be warm but not hot: approx 100-110 degrees)
- Always add your wet ingredients to the bread pan first, so in this case, the water, honey and butter.
- Measure your dry ingredients exactly, levelling off with a knife, and add all except the yeast.
- Add the yeast as the final addition, making sure to keep it away from the salt.
- Select the 1½ lb loaf setting on your machine and press start.
My machine takes 2 hours and 40 minutes to make a loaf of bread this time. Machines vary, so yours may be different. you may also be able to select “light loaf” or “dark loaf” which will vary the baking time a little.
Now, go about your day, and enjoy the heavenly scent of your kitchen while your bread is baking.
When your bread is done, remove the loaf from the pan, and place it on a baking rack to cool a little before slicing. This will allow it to set up so it’s not super-squishy when you cut into it. It also prevents you from scorching your fingertips trying to slice it. Ha!
Now, carve yourself a thick slice, and slather it with butter. Sink your teeth in, and enjoy.
How to store homemade bread:
To keep your bread soft and fresh, store it at room temperature (not in the fridge). I wrap the leftover loaf or slices in a clean, tea towel, and wrap that all in a plastic grocery bag.
And just an FYI: this homemade oatmeal bread makes fantastic french toast, grilled cheese and homemade croutons. Not that you’ll likely have any leftovers. 😉
Homemade Honey Oatmeal Bread (Bread Machine Recipe)
Ingredients
- 7-9 oz water
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 & 1/2 tbsp honey
- 1 tbsp butter or margarine
- 1/2 cup quick cook oats
- 2 & 1/2 cups flour
- 1 & 3/4 tsp active dry yeast
Instructions
- Add liquids to bread machine pan
- Add dry ingredients except yeast
- Add yeast, making sure to keep separate from the salt
- Select the 1.5 lb loaf setting (basic settings) on your bread machine, and press start.
- Remove bread from pan when done, and cool slightly on a cooling rack before slicing.
Nutrition
If you enjoyed this recipe, you may also like:
20-Minute Homemade Pizza Dough
Homemade Cinnamon Rolls (Bread Machine)
Jackie is a mom, wife, home daycare provider, and the creative spirit behind Happy Hooligans. She specializes in kids’ crafts and activities, easy recipes, and parenting. She began blogging in 2011, and today, Happy Hooligans inspires more than 2 million parents, caregivers and Early Years Professionals all over the globe.
Katie Evans
This looks like a really good recipe! I can’t wait to try it out. When I was in high school I used to put all the ingredients int he bread machine the night before, set it on a timer and wake up to fresh hot bread!! I’m going to try it again with your recipe. My family will be thrilled!
Britany Just
Curious why the printable version of your recipe has a different amount of yeast than the one at the top of the post?
happyhooligans
I’m sorry about that, Britany. There were a couple of typos in the recipe card that went unnoticed before I published the post. The measurements in the card have been corrected now!
karen
hi i was wondering if you can make this without a bread machine. i no longer have a bread machine. and can i make this gluten free. i also found out i have celiacs. i had really loved this recipe even though my body hated it and i became really sick and everyone else loved this bread too. they could eat it all they wanted to since they did not have celiacs and so they did not get sick .
thank you
Parul
HI – can I sue rye bead flour instead of all purpose or normal bread flour?
Jackie Currie
I’m not sure, Parul. I’ve never used rye bread flour in my bread machine. I would do some googling to see if you can and if you should alter the measurements when substituting rye bread flour for regular flour.
Kate Brett
Is the water measurement fluid ounces? US or imperial?
My loaf came out with a bit of a lumpy top, slightly dipped in the middle. I suspect it needs a little more water.
Jackie Currie
Yes, the water is measured in US fluid ounces. My loaf sometimes comes out exactly as you described. The weather can affect things when you’re making bread – room temperature/humidity levels etc. I generally open the bread machine after the ingredients have been mixing for a few minutes to see if the dough looks to be forming a nice doughy ball. If it looks lumpy/sticky, I add a tsp or so of water and check again after a few more minutes of mixing. Another indicator that you need more water is if you can here the bucket knocking around inside the bread machine while the ingredients are mixing.
Kate Thiel
I have now made two very delicious, albeit short loaves of bread in this recipe. I inherited a super old bread machine from my mom (20 years old at least!), and I don’t have the option to select the size of loaf (my basic setting runs for 3:40).. I tried adding 9 oz of water (vs. 7, like I did initially) and it rose a measly half an inch more. I’d love to know where I’m going wrong. As easy as this is to throw together, I’d like it to fill more than 2/3rds of the pan at a time!
Thanks!!
Emily
This bread recipe is only for a smaller loaf, you aren’t doing anything wrong, it won’t fill the entire bread machine pan…that’s just the size of loaf it makes. You could possible 1.5x the recipe to make a large loaf and see if it turns out but as is, this recipe is for a smaller loaf.
Karen Koschke
just got an old bread machine yesterday and hubby made this Honey Oatmeal bread. He has never made bread before and it was wonderful and the toast this morning……heavenly. Sharing with my family for sure.
Jackie Currie
Oh yay! I’m so glad you found this recipe! We love it toasted too! SO GOOD! My favourite is a toasted tomato sandwich using this bread. DIVINE!
Jean
This recipe turned out amazing! So yummy! I only had orange blossom honey on hand and it worked really well. Other than that I followed the recipe exactly and it turned out perfect. I used 9 oz water and selected medium toasted level as well.
Jaclyn
Love this recipe, bread came out soft and nice however the top sunk. Was it because of too much water as the dough was very sticky. What should I do the next time? Decrease the water?
Jackie Currie
You can either add less water or you can simply add flour one tbsp at a time during the first mixing stage until it firms up a bit.
Nancy
Hello
Not sure why you use active dry yeast instead of bread machine (instant ) yeast. ? Thanks
Jackie Currie
You can use either, Nancy. Both work well.
Janet E Senatore
What if I only have regular oatmeal, not instant? What changes would I need to make?
Jackie Currie
I found this article, Janet: https://www.thespruceeats.com/differences-between-rolled-steel-cut-instant-oats-3054045
Emily
A scale to weigh ingredients could be handy. 2.5 cups of all purpose flour weighs 363 grams and 2.5 cups of bread flour weighs 393 grams…the bread is going to have a drastically different texture and taste depending on which flour is used. Have you ever used bread flour?
Jenn
Outstanding &easy. Found & tried this today, loving the Taste and texture upgrade from the basic sandwich bread, without being overly grainy. Just need a 2lb version now!(?) This is becoming a go-to for my house :0)
Jackie Currie
I will have to update the post with the 2 pound measurements!
Donna.
Have you ever updated the recipe to make a 2 lb loaf??
Debby
Made this bread today! It is absolutely delicious. Soft and fluffy inside and a wonderfully crunchy crust!
Thanks for the recipe.
Mehjabin Kapasi
Can I double the recipe for my bread machine? I have a family of 4 and 2 are teenagers! I need something more 🙂
Jackie Currie
No, I think if you double it, it will overflow in your bread machine.
Kendra
This recipe was so easy, and turned out perfect the firt time. My family and I ate the entire loaf within an hour.
Charlane
Excellent! I was worried when it wasn’t rising up as much as other recipes I have followed, but it is soft with a crispy crust. A nice light sweetness from the honey as well. And no oats to be seen!
Kate
4.5 stars! Very tasty and soft with a crisp crust. I used all purpose flour and regular yeast (proofed in warm water and honey first) I also used regular oats and not a flake in sight.
I’ve been having trouble with my loaves sinking a bit and think my old machine might be failing.
Otherwise, this is my new go to.
Thanks!
Claire
I have been using this recipe for about 2 years and my kids and I love it. Because I’m Canadian, I replace the honey with maple syrup. And to add a bit of finesse, I add a couple of dashes of cinnamon. If I was selling my house, I would bake this, because it makes my house smell so good. We put aged cheddar cheese on this bread for lunch. So yummy!
Jackie Currie
Nice tweaks, Claire! I’m Canadian too, so I’ll definitely give your version a try.
Debbie
My loaf also sank,I uses 8 oz. Of warm water,since the recipe called for 7-9 oz.. I also used AP flour.what happened that it sank?
Jackie Currie
Was your yeast fresh, Debbie? Old or expired yeast would affect the rising. I make this bread a couple of times a month, and have been for years. I always use 8 oz of water and AP flour, but I’ve never had my loaf sink.
Debbie
Expiration date July,2023
Kristen
Can you subs whole wheat flour for the all purpose?
Jess
Silly question. Is the butter melted prior to going in machine?
Jackie Currie
No need to melt it, Jess. Room temperature is fine.