I recently brought a few loaves of homemade wheat bread to a friend of mine who lives on the other side of town. That night he made a point to tell me how addictive it was. I think he was telling the truth, because it was completely gone within a week. That’s not too shabby, if you ask me. I’m not sure why I haven’t gotten around to blogging it until now, but here it is for your homemaking bliss! The best part is that it is (nearly) whole wheat and 100% guilt free.
Even better, it freezes well, I’m planning to make a bunch of loaves of bread in one weekend and we will be all set when school starts in a few weeks. It doesn’t seem to matter whether it is pre-sliced before freezing or not. I’ve tried it both ways and they’re both great. If you do freeze it, be sure to let the loaves cool completely before slicing. Wrap up in a regular bread bag, and then put into a freezer bag. They should last up to 4 months in the freezer.
I love this recipe because it doesn’t fall apart when sliced, and it handles well for toast or sandwiches. It is heavenly when sliced while still warm from the oven and slathered with soft butter and raw honey.
Whole Wheat Bread
Whole wheat bread perfect for sandwiches or on the side of a hearty stew. It holds together with minimal crumbs and doesn't taste too heavy. If freezing, cool completely before packaging. Will last in the freezer for up to 4 months.
Ingredients
- 1 cup warm water
- 2 1/4 teaspoon active, dry yeast
- 2 tablespoons sugar
- 1/4 cup powdered nonfat milk
- 2 1/4 cups whole wheat flour
- 1/2 cup all purpose flour or bread flour
- 2 tablespoons softened butter
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 egg, room temperature
- additional flour for kneading
Instructions
- Liberally butter one 2lb bread loaf pan.
- Combine warm water (around 105°F) with granulated sugar and yeast. Allow to get frothy for 5 minutes while assembling other ingredients.
- In a large mixing bowl, add yeast mixture, 2 cups of whole wheat flour, the all purpose flour, powdered milk, butter, and egg. Mix this for two minutes. Gradually add another 1/4 cup of whole wheat flour to encourage dough to pull off of the sides of the bowl.
- Turn out dough and knead by hand for approximately 50 more turns.
- Cover and allow dough to rest for 10 minutes.
- Turn out dough. Shape dough into your loaf pan, cover it, and allow it to rise in the bread pan for 35 minutes.
- While dough rises, preheat oven to 375°F.
- Bake bread for 30 minutes or until inside reaches approximately 200°. If bread is at risk of browning too quickly, add a foil tent halfway through baking.
- Turn out immediately onto a cooling rack. Cool completely before slicing.
