100% Whole Wheat Bread

This delicous recipe comes from my dear friend Lisa. The crust is soft and you can hardly tell that it's wheat! It is by far my favorite bread recipe now! The first time I made it, Trevor told me this was the best bread I've ever made. I just love that it's 100% whole wheat and filled with wholesome ingredients for my family.

2 1/2 C. warm water (105-115F degrees)
1 1/2 tblsp. yeast (or 1 tblsp and 1 1/2 tsp = the same)
1 tblsp. salt
1/3 C. olive oil (you can use any.... just what I use)
1/3 C. honey (I alternate oil and than honey so the honey won't stick to the cup)
6 cups White wheat flour (Not white flour! I use King Arthur's white wheat brand)

Mix all water and yeast in mixing bowl and let sit for 5-10 minutes, until yeast is mostly dissolved and foamy. Add remaining ingredients and knead for 5-7 minutes. The dough should pull away from the sides of the bowl. You can tell when the kneading process is done when your dough passes the "window pane" test. Stretch out a small piece of dough between your hands to create a small window. If the stretch looks shaggy and tears easily, it is not ready. If it is soft and stretchable and you can see light through it when stretched, it is now ready.





Lightly grease a large bowl with oil. Gently round your dough into a ball and place in oiled bowl. Rotate ball to cover with oil, then place it in the center. Cover with plastic wrap and set in a warm area to rise until it doubles in size, about 1 hour or so.


According to William Sonoma: "The dough is ready if it looks puffy and feels soft when gently poked with a finger. The indentation should remain, but not deflate the mass of dough. If the finger mark fills back in, the dough is not ready; re-cover and test again in 15 min."

Punch down the dough with the palm of hand to remove the gas and deflate the dough. Transfer dough to a lightly floured counter and shape into loaves using just hands (no rolling pin).

For the second rise, cover bread pans loosely with plastic wrap, (or a damp kitchen towel can be used) and place in a warm area to proof (second rise) until the dough has doubled in size again. It will end up being just at the top or slightly over the top of the pan (9x5x3 pan size).

Williams Sonoma: "When the dough is ready, it will be smooth and springy to the touch. To test, poke it with your finger. The indentation should remain, springing back only slightly. If it collapses on itself, it is overproofed. If it does not spring back, it is underproofed. If it is underproofed, cover and let rise for another 15 minutes to retest. If the dough is over proofed you can save it by punching it down, reshaping it and allowing it to proof again. Never try to bake overproofed dough, or you will end up with a flat, leaden loaf."

Second rise time will vary, mine took about 40 minutes. And the dough was as tall as the top of the pan!

Bake for 30 minutes at 350F degrees. This bread will rise only a little bit more in the oven for nice, and tall (for wheat bread) loaves! Remove from pan and using a stick of butter, smear the tops of the loaves. This is the secret to soft crusts!

Let cool completely before slicing. (Okay, sometimes I can't wait because I love the taste of fresh hot bread, but it IS better for the loaf to allow it to cool completely). Enjoy!

Yield: 2 loaves (9x5)