Whole Wheat Bread Loaf

2/20/2016

Saturday. I hardly ever make bread any more. It might have something to do with the fact that I will probably eat it all if I make it. Today, I decided to battle the will power and dive into baking. I started digging through my old bread recipes and came across this old reliable one. Made it dozens of times and it has never ever failed me. Very rewarding indeed. The house still smells wonderful! I love this bread straight out of the oven with butter. You can use it for toast, sandwiches, with soup or just about anything else you can think of.

I was inspired by the Food Bloggers of Canada who had a bread special last weekend. What a round up of beautiful breads from some talented bakers. You can check it out by clicking one of the hyper links above or by clicking here.

Note: If you are new to bread making you are probably wondering how warm the water has to be for the yeast to work. Basically, just luke warm. That means warm to the touch. Remember that if the water is too warm, you risk killing your yeast and that means dough that doesn't rise. I always find that you can test this by adding the yeast to the water, stirring and leaving it for a few minutes. It should foam up somewhat and look slightly frothy. If not, your yeast most likely will not work. This is the test I vow by and it never fails me. Another thing important in bread making is a warm place to leave the dough to rise. I always put my bowl next to a heater. It might seem somewhat extreme, but it works every single time. So, if you are struggling in getting your bread to rise, try the heater trick. Good luck!

Today I reminded myself of how wonderful the smell of fresh baking bread really is. What a way to start a Saturday.

Fresh bread at it's best! Bread really is best the day it is made, but will keep for about a day or so after. I would recommend freezing the other loaf from fresh. Then defrost it at room temperate and it will almost be like fresh baked bread.

Whole Wheat Bread Loaf

Makes two loaves

Ingredients

7 Cups/875 grams whole wheat flour
2 1/2 Cups/600 ml warm water
4 Teaspoons quick acting yeast
1/3 Cup/80 ml vegetable oil
1/4 Cup/60 ml honey
1 Tablespoon salt
Extra flour for kneading

Method

Add the yeast to the warm water, stir well and leave to rest for about 5 minutes.

In a large mixing bowl add about 1/2 of the flour. Make a well in the centre and pour in the yeast mixture. Start bringing the flour into the centre with a fork and stir until you have a batter like consistency. Cover and leave to rest for about 10 minutes. After this time has passed add the oil, honey and salt and stir to combine. Add in the remaining flour and work it in with a wooden spoon until you have a dough like consistency. Turn the dough out on a floured surface. At the moment, the dough will be quick sticky. You will have to use a little extra flour for your work surface and for kneading. Start kneading your dough, turning and kneading as you go. Add little bits of flour every time you notice the is sticking to the work surface. Continue this process until the dough is quite elastic and bounces back when touched. This will take up to 10 minutes. Once it has reached this consistency, form it into a ball and place it into a large bowl. Cover with a damp tea towel and put it in a warm place to rise. Leave the dough until it has about doubled in size. This will take anywhere between 30 - 60 minutes. It will depend on how warm your space is really.

While you dough is rising get ready two bread loaf pans. Grease the bread pans and line them with parchment paper. Grease the parchment paper as well. Set aside.

When your dough has risen, punch it down and turn it out into two equal parts. I like to then divide each piece into 3 small little oval loaves and put 3 in a pan. You can just as easily keep each one in one large loaf. Next, put your dough loaves into the prepared pans, cover and put them back in a warm place to rise. Again, you are looking for them to kind of double in size. Remember that the size you see when it has finished rising, will be the the actual size of your loaf when it has finished baking. The second rise will probably be 30-40 minutes.

Bake the bread in a preheated 350 degree F oven for about 30-35 minutes. It should be golden in colour and quite a touch crust to touch. Turn the bread out on a baking rack and remove parchment paper.

You can cut into this bread straight away, delicious!

Click the downloadable link below to print recipe!