Honey Whole Wheat Bread
When the aroma of baking bread fills your house, and when you bite into that first warm slice, you’ll be glad you took the time to make it.
½ cup milk
4 tablespoons unsalted butter
½ cup honey
2 tablespoons molasses
1 tablespoon salt
1 envelope active dry yeast
2¾ cup lukewarm water, divided
6½ to 7 cups whole wheat flour (stone ground is best)
Equipment: 2 loaf pans
Natural gas stovetop and oven
Makes 2 loaves
Scald the milk in a saucepan over medium heat. Add the butter, honey, molasses, and salt and stir until the butter has melted. Pour the mixture into a large mixing bowl and let it cool to lukewarm.
In the cup in which the honey was measured proof the yeast in ½ cup lukewarm water for 10 minutes. Add the yeast mixture to the bowl, stir in the remaining water, and add half the flour. Beat the dough with the dough hook attachment of your mixer for 10 minutes. Gradually add the remaining flour and continuing beating until the dough pulls away from the sides of the bowl.
Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface and knead it for 10 to 15 minutes or until it is resilient and no longer sticks to the surface. Try not to tear the dough while kneading.
Put the dough in a large buttered bowl, brush the top with melted butter, cover with a damp cloth, and let it rise in a warm place for about an hour and a half until it is double in bulk. Punch the dough to flatten it in the bowl and let it rise again, covered, until it has doubled in bulk again, which should take about an hour.
Punch down the dough and on a lightly floured surface knead it until all the air is pressed out. Divide the dough in half and let it rest, covered, for 10 minutes. Shape each piece of dough into a loaf and put it in a buttered loaf pan. Brush the loaves with melted butter and let them rise, covered, in a warm place for about an hour until they are double in bulk.
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and bake for 50 minutes or until a toothpick (you’ll need an extra long one) inserted in the middle of each loaf comes out clean.
Remove the loaves from the pans and let cool at least 30 minutes before stealing a slice!
NOTE: You can vary the proportions of honey and molasses depending on your taste.