From scratch: Honey Whole Wheat Bread

I ate two slices of this loaf before I remembered to take a picture of it. Boy was it yummy! And the white stuff on the top is melted butter.

I really love making this bread because it doesn't take a whole lot of work. It does however take a lot of time. I would say from start to finish it takes at least two and a half hours. But like I said, it doesn't take much work, just a lot of waiting. But it IS really yummy and great for sandwiches or toast. When I got the recipe from a dear friend, her recipe made four loaves, but I have a Kitchen Aid and it doesn't hold enough to make a four loaf recipe. So this recipe will make two loaves.

Honey Whole Wheat Bread

Step 1:

2 3/4 cups of warm water

1/3 cup of honey (or sugar)

2 1/2 cups of flour*

1 Tbs of dry yeast

Mix together and let sit in the bowl for about 30 minutes or until it has risen and is bubbly.

Step 2:

To the mixture above add

1/3 cup oil

1 Tbs salt

Mix well.

Step 3:

To the mixture above add

about 4 cups of flour* (add more or less until the dough has cleaned off the sides of the bowl)

Knead it or let the mixer knead it for about 10 minutes. 

Step 4:

Oil hands. Remove dough from mixer and half it. Mold dough into loaves. Place loaves in oiled bread pans. Cover loaves with a damp cloth. Let them rise 1/3 in bulk for approx 35-40 minutes.

Step 5:

Bake at 350 degrees for 40-45 minutes. Remove from pans immediately. Put on rack and butter the tops of bread and then let cool. 

(We rarely let it cool before we cut into it because fresh out of the oven bread tastes too delish!)

*I use white whole wheat which makes it a bit less denser than whole wheat. Sometimes I will do half white whole wheat and half bread flour just to make it a bit less denser. But use what ever you prefer.