Whole Wheat Bread

There is so much to love about homemade bread--the smell and feel of the dough, the combining of simple ingredients that rise up into beautiful loaves, the aroma of freshly baked bread wafting through the house, and of course a slice of warm bread with some butter on it.

About five years ago I decided to start making my own sandwich bread.  My children consume more peanut butter and jelly sandwiches than anyone else I know.  I have one son who even likes them for breakfast.  I wanted to make these PBJs as healthy as possible, so I decided to tackle 100% whole wheat sandwich bread.  I turned out many a wheat brick loaf and tried so many recipes before finally finding one we all loved.  I use freshly ground flour and a Bosch mixer, both of which are specifically called for in this recipe.  I imagine the bread would still be good if kneaded by hand and with store-bought flour, but I can't vouch for the results since I've never tried it.

I make six loaves at once and they last us for about two weeks.  (Before I owned six bread pans I halved the recipe.)  As much as I enjoy making bread, it's nice to only have to do it every other week.  After the bread cools I slice it all, put it in freezer bags and pull out about half a loaf each day to thaw.  It tastes delicious even after having been frozen.

Whole Wheat Sandwich Bread
Ingredients:
6 cups warm water
2 tablespoons salt, scant
2/3 cup vegetable or canola oil
2/3 cup honey
2 tablespoons yeast (I use instant yeast)
10-11 cups wheat berries before grinding or 14-16 cups whole wheat flour*
(I use hard white wheat berries)

Directions:
Add water and 4-5 cups flour to Bosch mixer.  Mix with dough hook.  Mix in salt, oil, honey and yeast.  Add remaining flour until it pulls clean from sides of bowl as it mixes.  After enough flour has been added, put lid on and mix for 10 minutes on speed 1 or 2.

Grease the countertop and 6 medium sized bread pans.  After kneading, turn dough onto greased countertop and divide dough into six equal portions.  Shape into loaves and place in bread pans.  Cover with greased plastic wrap and allow to rise for 30 minutes.  While bread is rising preheat the oven.

Bake at 350 for 25-30 minutes or until golden brown.  If you have an instant read thermometer and want to check for doneness, it should be about 200-210 degrees F.  When done, turn the loaves onto a wire rack to cool.

*I have never made this with store-bought flour, but I imagine you would not use the entire 14-16 cups since it will have settled in the bag.  I imagine one cup of freshly ground flour is going to be lighter and airier than flour from the store that has had some time to settle.  Rely more on the look of the dough rather than measurements here.  When it pulls clean from the sides of the bowl and feels dry and pliable enough to shape into loaves, it has enough flour.

Source: posted on a listserve by Karen F.