Want a soft, lightly sweet loaf without babysitting dough all afternoon? This French Honey Bread Bread Machine Mix keeps the dry ingredients ready to stash in the freezer, then you just add water, honey, and olive oil when you want fresh bread.
It’s a simple pantry mix with a clean, everyday flavor that works with dinner, toast, sandwiches, or a swipe of butter while the loaf is still warm. No drama, no mystery, and no need to pretend bread flour is optional when it very much is not.
Ingredients
You can make this mix as either a 1 1/2-pound loaf or a 2-pound loaf. Keep the dry ingredients together in a labeled freezer bag, then add the wet ingredients on baking day.
1 1/2-pound loaf
- 1 teaspoon sugar
- 3 cups bread flour
- 2 teaspoons yeast
- 3/4 teaspoon salt
- 1 1/8 cups water
- 1 tablespoon honey
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
2-pound loaf
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 1/2 teaspoons sugar
- 3 1/2 cups bread flour
- 2 1/2 teaspoons yeast
- 1 1/4 cups water
- 1 1/2 tablespoons honey
- 1 1/2 tablespoons olive oil
If you need more ideas for stocking your freezer with ready-to-go bread mixes, take a look at Homemade Bread Machine Mixes.
Instructions
Measure the dry ingredients for your chosen loaf size into a zip-top freezer bag or vacuum-seal bag. Seal and store the mix in the freezer until you’re ready to bake.
- For the loaf size you want, measure the dry ingredients into a zip-top bag or vacuum-seal bag.
- Label the bag with the loaf size and the wet ingredients needed.
- Store the sealed mix in the freezer.
- When you’re ready to bake, add the dry mix and the wet ingredients to your bread machine in the order recommended by your machine’s manufacturer.
- Select the Regular or Basic cycle with a light or medium crust setting.
- Let the loaf cool enough to slice cleanly before serving.
If your machine tends to leave a little flour in the corners, stop it during the first few minutes and scrape down the sides once. Tiny fix, better loaf.
Need a similar option with a richer flavor profile? Bread Machine Buttermilk Honey Bread Mix is another easy freezer-friendly choice.
Tips for the best loaf
- Use bread flour, not all-purpose flour, if you want the loaf structure this mix was built for.
- Measure flour consistently. Too much flour makes the loaf dense and dry.
- Keep salt and yeast separate in the storage bag if you like, especially if you’re assembling several mixes at once and want a little insurance against uneven distribution.
- Use the correct loaf size setting. A 2-pound formula crowded into a smaller machine pan is asking for a mess.
- Check the dough early. During the first kneading cycle, the dough should come together into a smooth, slightly tacky ball.
Because this mix is stored dry and frozen, it holds quality better when the bag is airtight and as much air as possible is removed. That matters more than fancy packaging, honestly.
Variations
This bread has a mild flavor, so it plays well with small changes.
- Swap the olive oil for a neutral vegetable oil if that’s what you keep on hand.
- Use a darker honey for a slightly deeper flavor.
- Add herbs only after the base loaf works well in your machine. Rosemary or thyme can push it in a savory direction.
- For another lightly sweet loaf idea, try Honey Nut Oatmeal Bread Machine Mix.
Keep the first batch plain before you start freelancing with extras. Bread machines have opinions, and they express them in brick form.
Storage
Dry mix: Store the sealed dry mix in the freezer for up to 6 months for best quality. That’s a practical quality estimate based on the flour and yeast being the shortest-lived ingredients in the mix, plus airtight frozen storage.
Baked bread: Once baked and fully cooled, keep the loaf tightly wrapped at room temperature for about 2 to 3 days for best texture, or freeze it for up to 3 months. If you refrigerate bread, it tends to stale faster, which is one of those annoying kitchen truths no one asked for.
For the freezer mix itself, airtight storage matters because dry goods keep best in a cool, dry place and low temperatures help preserve quality. For general dry-goods handling and storage, the USDA Food Safety and Inspection Service dry goods guidance is a solid reference.
Make-ahead notes
This recipe is built for make-ahead convenience. Assemble several bags at once, label each with loaf size and wet ingredients, then freeze them flat so they stack neatly.
If you’re making a few different freezer mixes, write the machine cycle right on the bag too: Regular or Basic, light or medium crust. Future you will appreciate not having to play detective at dinnertime.
Serving suggestions
- Serve warm with butter and a drizzle of extra honey.
- Use it for everyday sandwiches with turkey, ham, or chicken salad.
- Toast slices for breakfast with jam or peanut butter.
- Pair it with soup, stew, or roast chicken for an easy dinner side.
- Turn day-old slices into French toast or simple bread pudding.
💸 Budget101® Price Breakdown: French Honey Bread Bread Machine Mix
🛒 Walmart Grocery List
- Granulated Sugar, 4 lb
- Bread Flour, 5 lb
- Active Dry Yeast, 0.75 oz 3 count
- Iodized Salt, 26 oz
- Honey, 12 oz
- Extra Virgin Olive Oil, 17 fl oz
- Iodized Salt, 26 oz
- Granulated Sugar, 4 lb
- Bread Flour, 5 lb
- Active Dry Yeast, 0.75 oz 3 count
- Honey, 12 oz
- Extra Virgin Olive Oil, 17 fl oz
Not sure exactly what this batch costs you per serving? Here’s how to break down the real cost of any recipe so you know before you shop.
Frequently Asked Questions about French Honey Bread Bread Machine Mix
You can, but expect a softer loaf with a little less rise and chew. Bread flour has more protein, so it builds stronger gluten and gives this machine loaf better structure, which is exactly what you want when the pan is doing all the heavy lifting.
Active dry yeast matches the mix as written, so that’s the easiest choice. If you use bread machine or instant yeast instead, use the same amount by volume and watch the dough during the first cycle because some machines move a little faster with it.
Honey belongs with the wet ingredients because it adds moisture as well as sweetness. Putting it in the freezer bag with the flour would create clumps, throw off the dry measurement, and make the mix far less convenient, which defeats the whole point.
Look for a smooth ball that feels slightly tacky, not dry and crumbly or loose like batter. If it’s too dry, add water 1 teaspoon at a time. If it’s too wet, sprinkle in bread flour 1 teaspoon at a time until it pulls together cleanly.
Yes, but you’ll need to mix, knead, rise, shape, and bake it like a standard yeast dough. If you want the basic method spelled out, the easiest route is to follow a hand-shaped loaf process rather than trying to guess your way through it on a busy night.
Absolutely, and it’s one of the smartest ways to prep these mixes. Just measure each loaf into its own labeled bag instead of combining everything into one jumbo bag, because the bread machine still needs one correctly sized batch at a time.
Dense bread usually comes from too much flour, old yeast, or dough that was too dry to rise well. Start by checking your yeast date, measure flour carefully, and peek in during mixing so you can correct the dough before the machine bakes a perfectly respectable brick.
Light or medium works best here because the honey encourages browning. A dark crust setting can push the outside too far before the loaf reaches its best texture inside, especially in hotter-running machines.
Use it anywhere you’d want a soft, mildly sweet sandwich loaf. It’s especially good with soups, roast chicken, ham, turkey sandwiches, breakfast toast, or warm slices with butter and a little extra honey if you’re feeling civilized.
Give it at least 30 minutes if you want cleaner slices. Cutting too soon lets steam escape fast, which can make the crumb gummy and compress the loaf, and nobody needs bread that looks sat on.
📌 Love this French Honey Bread Bread Machine Mix? Pin it!
Did you make this recipe? Tell us how your loaf turned out and what you served with it in the comments below.
🖨️ Print-Friendly French Honey Bread Bread Machine Mix
French Honey Bread Bread Machine Mix
Ingredients
- 1 1/2- pound loaf
- 1 teaspoon sugar
- 3 cups bread flour
- 2 teaspoons yeast
- ¾ teaspoon salt
- 1 ⅛ cups water
- 1 tablespoon honey
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 2- pound loaf
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 ½ teaspoons sugar
- 3 ½ cups bread flour
- 2 ½ teaspoons yeast
- 1 ¼ cups water
- 1 ½ tablespoons honey
- 1 ½ tablespoons olive oil
Equipment
Instructions
- Measure the dry ingredients for your chosen loaf size into a zip-top freezer bag or vacuum-seal bag.
- Label the bag with the loaf size and the wet ingredients needed.
- Store the sealed mix in the freezer.
- To bake, add the dry mix and the wet ingredients to your bread machine in the order recommended by your machine manufacturer.
- Select the Regular or Basic cycle with a light or medium crust setting.
- Let the bread cool before slicing and serving.
Recipe Size Alteration
💡 If you altered the ingredients above by doubling or tripling the recipe, you may also need to change the pan/dish size and adjust the cook time.
Notes
Cook time is listed as 0 minutes because the recipe is assembled as a mix and baked later in the bread machine.
Estimated cost uses current researched retail pricing and will vary by store, brand, and date.
For best quality, store the dry mix in the freezer up to 6 months in an airtight bag.
Baked bread is best used within 2 to 3 days at room temperature or frozen up to 3 months.
how long do you bake it? what size pan? would love the final version of this recipe!!
It’s a Bread Machine Recipe- you bake it in the pan that comes in your bread machine.
If you have a 1 1/2 pound machine you follow the directions for the 1 1/2 pound loaf. if you have a 2 Pound machine, you follow the directions for a 2 pound loaf.
You bake it according to the directions on the machine, like the recipe says. If you want a light loaf, use the Light loaf setting, if you want a Dark loaf, you use the Dark loaf setting.
is there a recipe for those of us who don’t have a bread machine?
Yes, you can use all of the bread machine recipes without a machine.
Here:
Budget101.com – – How to prepare a bread machine mix- without a bread machine