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Bread machine honey oat bread is a soft, lightly sweet oatmeal sandwich loaf with the chew of old-fashioned oats running through a buttery honey crumb. It’s one of the easiest bread machine recipes you can make and comes together with about 5 minutes of active prep.
This honey oatmeal bread hits a sweet spot that plain sandwich bread can’t. The rolled oats give real bite and texture, the honey keeps the crumb moist for days, and the butter makes it rich enough for truly excellent French toast. It slices beautifully for sandwiches (deli meat, turkey, and crisp lettuce are our favorites), toasts like a dream, and holds up to a good swipe of peanut butter without falling apart.
This recipe is a close cousin to my Bread Machine Honey White Bread, but with old-fashioned rolled oats folded into the flour and a touch more honey. If you’ve been looking for a simple oatmeal bread or oat bread recipe for your machine, this is the one to bookmark. It’s a “dump it in and walk away” recipe, which is why it’s stayed in our rotation for years.
I’ve tested this recipe in my Zojirushi Home Bakery Supreme (my absolute favorite, which makes horizontal loaves with two paddles), in a budget Cuisinart bread machine, and in smaller vertical-loaf machines. It works in all of them. The recipe card has 2-pound and 1 1/2-pound amounts, with notes for 1-pound machines. See the Variations section below for healthy whole wheat, oat flour, dairy-free, and oven-baked versions, or browse my full collection of bread machine recipes.
Why you’ll love this family favorite recipe!
I adapted this recipe from the “Old Fashioned Oat Bread” recipe in The All New Ultimate Bread Machine Cookbook, which is one of my go-to bread machine references. The original was a solid starting point, but I bumped up the honey for a little more sweetness, swapped some of the water for milk for a softer crumb, and settled on butter (instead of oil) for the richer flavor that really comes through in toast.
My kids are picky about bread, and this is the one they never argue about. We go through a loaf a week during the school year for packed lunches, and more than that in the summer when it gets turned into French toast most weekend mornings. If you’ve been looking for the everyday sandwich bread that also happens to be hearty enough to feel wholesome, this is it.
Quick Look at the Recipe
- Makes: 1 loaf, about 10 slices
- Active prep: 5 minutes
- Total time: about 3 hours (basic white cycle)
- Loaf size: 2 lb (1 1/2 lb and 1 lb amounts in recipe notes)
- Machine setting: Basic White cycle, light crust (honey browns faster than plain white bread)
- Flour: 3 1/2 cups all-purpose or bread flour, plus 1/2 cup old-fashioned rolled oats
- Yeast: 2 1/2 tsp SAF instant yeast (also sold as bread machine yeast), added to the dry ingredients
Ingredients for Bread Machine Honey Oat Bread
A proper honey oatmeal bread needs old-fashioned rolled oats for real texture, honey for sweetness and moisture, and milk and butter for a tender, rich crumb. Everything in this ingredient list is standard pantry.
The recipe is written for a 2-pound loaf, the default on most modern bread machines, with 1 1/2-pound amounts in the recipe notes. To make a 1-pound loaf on a small machine, cut the 2-pound amounts in half.
Add the ingredients in two batches: liquid ingredients first into the bottom of the pan, then dry ingredients on top. This keeps the yeast dry until the cycle starts, which matters especially if you’re using the delay timer.
- Water: Part of the liquid base. Use lukewarm water, warm to the touch but not hot (over 110°F starts killing the yeast).
- Milk: Gives the bread its soft, tender crumb and helps it stay fresh longer. Whole milk produces the richest result, 2% works well, skim is fine but the crumb is slightly less tender. Evaporated milk can be substituted 1:1. For dairy-free, replace the milk with additional water (see Variations).
- Honey: The signature flavor. Adds subtle sweetness, feeds the yeast, and keeps the bread moist for days longer than plain sandwich bread. Any liquid honey works. Can substitute maple syrup for a slightly different flavor, or brown sugar dissolved in the water.
- Butter or canola oil: Adds tenderness and richness, and helps the crumb stay soft. Butter is what I use here because the richer flavor comes through nicely in oat breads; melted butter or softened butter both work. Any neutral oil (canola, grape seed, avocado oil, etc.) also works and gives a slightly lighter texture. Olive oil works but leaves a subtle flavor.
- White flour: All-purpose or bread flour both work. I usually use King Arthur All-Purpose because it’s what I keep in bulk. Bread flour gives a slightly fluffier, firmer-crumbed loaf; AP gives a softer, more tender crumb. See the flour notes below for more detail.
- Old-fashioned rolled oats: The whole point of this bread. Use old-fashioned oats (also called rolled oats), not quick oats or instant oatmeal. Old-fashioned oats keep their shape and give the bread real oat-y texture; instant oats dissolve into the crumb and you lose the bite. Do not use oat flour in place of the oats; see the Variations section below for a true oat flour bread recipe.
- Salt: Essential for flavor, and it regulates the yeast so the bread rises steadily instead of over-rising and collapsing. Do not skip or reduce.
- SAF instant yeast: The rising agent. SAF instant yeast is what I use in everything. Bread machine yeast is the same product as SAF instant and uses the same amount. For active dry yeast, see the notes below.
In terms of flour choice, all-purpose and bread flour both work. All-purpose gives a softer, more tender crumb that’s great for kids’ sandwiches and French toast. Bread flour (higher protein) gives a fluffier loaf with a firmer crumb that slices cleanly for sandwiches. If you use bread flour and the dough looks dry in the first minutes of kneading, add a tablespoon of water. For a heartier, more wholesome loaf, you can swap up to half the flour for whole wheat; see the Variations for exact amounts and a link to my Bread Machine Whole Wheat Bread for a full 100% whole wheat version.
For yeast, SAF instant yeast and bread machine yeast are the same type of yeast, placed in a well on top of the flour with the dry ingredients (they do not need to be dissolved). If you only have active dry yeast, use an extra 1/2 tsp and dissolve it in the water first; wait 10 minutes until foamy, then proceed with the rest of the recipe. Do not use the delay timer with active dry yeast because it will die sitting in water. Instant yeast and bread machine yeast are both fine for the delay timer when placed on top of the flour. If you run into rise issues, check the Bread Machine Troubleshooting Guide.
How to Make Bread Machine Honey Oat Bread
This is a true “set it and walk away” recipe. Once the ingredients are layered into the pan in the right order, the machine handles everything else.
Step 1. Add the liquid ingredients to the bread pan first. Water, milk, honey, then melted butter (or oil). Pour the honey in after the water and milk so it rinses off the measuring spoon cleanly instead of sticking.
Step 2. Add the flour on top of the liquid, covering it completely. Think of the flour as an island floating on top of the water. This keeps the yeast dry until the machine starts kneading.
Step 3. Sprinkle the oats over the flour, then make a small well for the salt and yeast. If some oats fall into the liquid, that’s fine. Keep the salt and yeast on opposite sides of the well; direct contact between salt and yeast can slow the yeast down.
Step 4. Select the Basic White cycle and light crust. The honey in this recipe browns faster than in plain white bread, so the light crust setting typically produces what you’d consider a medium crust. If your machine doesn’t have a crust-color option, don’t worry about it.
Step 5. Press start. The machine will knead, rise, and bake in one continuous cycle (about 3 hours, varies by machine).
Step 6. Remove the loaf when the bake cycle finishes. Turn it out onto a wire rack and let it cool completely before slicing, ideally at least an hour. Slicing warm bread tears the crumb and compresses it.
Recipe Tips
Use old-fashioned oats for real oat-y texture. Quick oats or instant oatmeal will work in a pinch, but they more or less dissolve into the crumb and you lose the distinctive oat bite. Old-fashioned oats (also labeled rolled oats) keep their shape through the full bake and give you visible oats in every slice. Steel-cut oats do not work; they stay too hard to chew through.
Use the light crust setting if your machine has one. The honey in this bread browns faster than in plain white bread, so the light setting typically produces a medium-browned crust. If you prefer a darker, crisper crust, use the medium setting.
Watch the first 2 to 3 minutes of kneading on your first loaf. The dough should form a single smooth ball that pulls cleanly away from the sides of the pan. If it looks dry and shaggy, add water a tablespoon at a time. If it looks wet and sticky, add flour a tablespoon at a time. The same technique applies to every bread machine recipe.
If the loaf rises too high and collapses, reduce the yeast on the next batch. A few readers have had this bread hit the top of their machine and collapse in the middle, usually with very active yeast. If this happens to you, try 2 tsp SAF instead of 2 1/2 tsp next time, or check the Bread Machine Troubleshooting Guide for more fixes.
Optional finishing touch: oats on top. For a bakery-style look, catch the machine right before the baking cycle (after the final rise), brush the top of the dough lightly with melted butter, and sprinkle on a tablespoon of old-fashioned oats. The oats stick better if you press them gently into the butter. Skip this if you don’t want to watch the clock.
Cool completely before slicing. A full hour on a wire rack makes a real difference in how the slices hold together. If you try to slice warm bread for sandwiches, the crumb will tear and the slices will be gummy.
Variations
This recipe is the baseline for several easy variations. Each is a simple tweak from the base recipe:
- Classic oatmeal bread machine recipe: This is the recipe as written. “Oatmeal bread,” “oat bread,” and “honey oat bread” are all used interchangeably for this style of loaf. No changes needed if you’re looking for any of those.
- Healthy whole wheat oat bread: For a heartier, more wholesome loaf, swap 1 1/2 cups of the white flour for whole wheat flour (use King Arthur Whole Wheat Flour). Keep the other 2 cups as white flour. Do not go over half whole wheat in this recipe, or the loaf will be dense. Add 1 to 2 tablespoons of extra water if the dough looks dry. For a 100% whole wheat version of a honey oat loaf, see my Bread Machine Honey Wheat Oat Bread.
- Oat flour bread machine recipe: If you want an oat flour bread (not rolled oats in the bread), replace 1/2 cup of the white flour with oat flour and keep the 1/2 cup of rolled oats. Oat flour has no gluten, so replacing more than 1/2 cup results in a loaf that won’t rise properly. The gluten from the remaining 3 cups of wheat flour is what holds the structure together.
- Dairy-free honey oat bread: Replace the milk with an equal amount of water, and use canola or other neutral oil in place of butter. The loaf will be slightly less tender but still moist and flavorful. Multiple readers have made it this way successfully.
- Sweeter oatmeal bread: Increase the honey to 1/3 cup and reduce the yeast by 1/2 teaspoon so the loaf doesn’t over-rise and collapse from the extra sugar. Excellent for breakfast toast with butter.
- Oven-baked honey oat bread: Use the dough cycle on the bread machine to knead and rise, then transfer to a greased loaf pan for a second rise (about 45 minutes) and bake at 350°F for 30 to 35 minutes, until the internal temperature reaches 190°F. You get a more traditional horizontal loaf shape this way, which some readers prefer for sandwiches.
- Other honey bread recipes: If you love this one, try my Bread Machine Honey White Bread for a lighter version without oats, or my Honey Wheat Bread for a classic oven-baked honey wheat loaf.
Easy, so easy. Baked in my bread machine. Delicious. Not too sweet, can taste the oats (I like that). Beautiful slicing bread. This will be my go-to bread. Thank you!
FAQs
You can, but the texture will be noticeably different. Quick oats (also called instant oats) are pre-cooked and thinner, so they tend to dissolve into the crumb and you lose the distinctive oat bite that makes this bread special. If quick oats are all you have, the bread will still taste good, just with a softer, more uniform crumb. Steel-cut oats do not work because they stay too hard to chew through.
Yes, up to half whole wheat. Swap 1 1/2 cups of the white flour for whole wheat flour, keep the other 2 cups as white flour, and add 1 to 2 tablespoons of extra water if the dough looks dry during kneading. Going over half whole wheat makes the loaf dense because whole wheat flour has less gluten to trap the rising gas. For a full 100% whole wheat version, see my Bread Machine Whole Wheat Bread recipe.
Not entirely. Oat flour has no gluten, so a 100% oat flour loaf will not rise and hold its structure in a bread machine. You can replace up to 1/2 cup of the wheat flour with oat flour while keeping the rest as white or bread flour. The gluten from the remaining wheat flour holds the loaf together.
Yes. Replace the milk with an equal amount of water and use canola or other neutral oil in place of butter. The loaf will be slightly less tender than the dairy version but still soft and moist. Multiple readers have made it this way and been happy with the result.
About 4 to 5 days at room temperature in a bread bag or wrapped in a clean dish towel. Honey is naturally hydrophilic, which keeps this loaf moist longer than plain sandwich bread. Do not refrigerate; refrigeration actually speeds up staling in bread. For longer storage, slice the whole loaf and freeze in a zip-top bag; frozen slices toast straight from the freezer.
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Bread Machine Honey Oat Bread
Equipment
Ingredients
Liquid Ingredients (add first)
- 1/2 cup water
- 1 cup milk, or more water
- 1/4 cup honey
- 3 Tbsp. butter, or neutral oil
Dry Ingredients (on top of wet)
- 3 1/2 cups White Flour, Bread or All Purpose
- 1/2 cup old-fashioned rolled oats, not instant oats
- 1 1/2 tsp salt
- 2 1/2 tsp SAF Instant Yeast, or 3 tsp. Active Dry Yeast
Instructions
- Add the liquid ingredients to the bread pan in this order: water, milk, honey, melted butter or oil. Pour the honey over the water and milk so it rinses cleanly off the spoon.
- Add the flour on top of the liquid, covering it completely so the yeast stays dry.
- Sprinkle the oats over the flour.
- Make a small well in the center of the flour. Place the salt on one side and the yeast on the other so they aren’t in direct contact.
- Put the pan in the bread machine. Select the Basic White cycle and the light crust setting (honey browns faster, so light typically gives a medium-brown crust).
- Press start. Watch the first 2 to 3 minutes of kneading. The dough should form a single smooth ball. Add 1 tablespoon of water if dry, 1 tablespoon of flour if wet.
- Let the machine complete the full cycle (about 3 hours).
- Remove the loaf from the pan onto a wire rack. Let cool completely for at least 1 hour before slicing.
Notes
- 3/8 cup (90 ml) water (or ¼ cup plus 2 tablespoons)
- 3/4 cup (180 ml) milk (or more water)
- 3 Tbsp. (63 g) honey
- 2 Tbsp. (28 g) butter (or canola oil)
- 2 5/8 cup (315 g) flour (or 2 ¾ plus 2 Tbsp)
- 3/8 cup (34 g) old-fashioned rolled oats (or ¼ cup plus 2 tablespoons)
- 1 1/4 tsp (7 g) salt
- 2 tsp (6 g) SAF Instant Yeast (or 2 1/2 tsp. Bread Machine Yeast)
- SAF instant yeast or bread machine yeast: 2 1/2 tsp (these are the same product; interchangeable 1:1). Placed in a well on top of the flour.
- Active dry yeast: 3 tsp, dissolved in the water first (wait 10 minutes until foamy, then proceed). Not compatible with the delay timer.
- Dense loaf: old yeast, water too hot, or salt touching yeast. Start with fresh yeast, use lukewarm water (under 110°F), keep salt and yeast on opposite sides of the flour well.
- Collapsed top: too much yeast or too much liquid. Try 2 tsp SAF on the next batch, or hold back 1 tablespoon of water.
- Dark crust: honey browns fast. Use the light crust setting.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
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This is by far our favorite bread machine recipe. We’ve already made it 4 times in under 2 weeks. Made it for my in laws too and they have been asking for more.
Wonderful!
I read comments and usually don’t believe them. This in fact IS really good! I did light setting and it was great
Ha! See, occasionally you can trust the comments =). So glad you liked it!
I read comments and usually don’t believe them. This in fact IS really good!
So glad to hear it!
Easy, so easy. Baked in my bread machine. Delicious. Not too sweet, can taste the oats (i like that) Beautiful slicing bread. This will be my go to bread. Thank you!
I’m so glad you like it!
Never had too much success with our bread maker, always used bread mixes (as my manual suggests). After my partners failed loaf yesterday I was determined to make a loaf that looks and tastes good. Well the recipe was so easy, ingredients simple and within 3 hours of bringing our shopping home I had the best loaf of bread I’ve ever made. It has a great crust, it’s holding its shape, the colour is amazing, the crumb is perfect and fluffy, and most importantly it tastes like heaven.The only down side, my partner had just finished their lunch and was too full to enjoy a slice (they are devastated) Not only will I make this recipe again, I will most definitely be making other recipes by/suggested by this author/creator. 10/10 5☆
I’m so glad you like it!
Can I make this recipe with gluten free flours?
Yes, you can make it with a 1:1 gluten free flour replacement mix.
So yummy
Absolutely love this recipe! My kids beg me to make it! I do 200g of wheat flour and the rest bread flour turns out amazing every time!
Lovely! So glad you like it!
I love this recipe! It turned out great!