Whole Wheat Sandwich Bread

Ingredients

·         3 cup white wheat flour

·         4-5 cups whole wheat flour

·         3 teaspoons salt

·         1/3 cup honey

·         2 tablespoons dry active yeast

·         2 3/4 cups warm water

·         1/4 cup olive oil

Instructions

Disclaimer: I used my Kitchenaid with the dough hook for this bread making process, so I’m not sure how it compares to a more traditional “mix and knead” method.

1.   Mix the warm water and honey together in the mixing bowl. Once the honey is dissolved in the water, add the yeast and stir until mixed. Allow the mixture to sit for 5+ minutes. (The yeast should begin to bloom. You’ll see it and smell it—yuck! But, if you don’t, the yeast is dead, and you need to start over with new.)

2.  Stir in the olive oil and salt. Allow these ingredients to mix until thoroughly combined.

3.  With the dough hook in place, begin adding the flour alternating between white wheat and whole wheat. (I added a half a cup at a time.) Continue gradually adding the flour until the dough comes together and pulls away from the sides of the mixing bowl. (You may not need all 5 cups of whole wheat. I used just over 4 cups.)

4.  Once the dough has reached the right consistency, tacky to the touch but not sticking to the sides, continue kneading the dough in the mixer with the dough hook. (Alternatively, you could knead by hand here with just as much success, I think.)

5.  Leave the dough in the bowl, cover the bowl, and let the dough rise for at least 40 minutes. (The dough should rise considerably but may not necessarily “double” in size.)

6.  Grease two loaf pans with nonstick spray (I used olive oil) and dust with flour.

7.  Mix the dough with the dough hook just enough to knock it down close to the original size.

8.  Drop the dough onto a floured surface, and begin working the dough by hand. Create a nice ball, coating it with plenty of flour to keep it from sticking.

9.  Divide the ball in half and work the halves into round ball shapes. Shape the loaves by pushing the dough under itself and over.

10.   Place the loaves in the bread pans, cover them, and let them rise until doubled (around 40 minutes). Preheat the oven to 350 degrees while your dough rises. (*Note: I used glass loaf pans, which tend to hold a little more heat. I set my oven to 325 degrees to compensate for the glass pans. You may have to adjust your settings to accommodate differences in pans and/or oven heating.)

11.  Bake both loaves for 30 minutes or until golden brown and bread sounds hollow when you flick the top of it. (I also modified my baking time to adjust for my glass pans. I only had to bake my loaves for 20 minutes.) Remove the loaves from the pans and cool on a wire rack.

12.   Enjoy! :)

(Recipe adapted from Old World Garden Farms 100% Whole Wheat Bread Recipe and A Tasty Mess Simple Whole Wheat Sandwich Bread)