Whole Wheat & Honey Bread
Full of nutty whole wheat flour with a touch of sweetness from the honey, this bread is great for toast or sandwiches. It also makes a delightful French Toast. This recipe makes two 1 pound loaves.
Equipment
- two 9"x 4"x 3" loaf pans
Ingredients
- 5 cups King Arthur Bread Flour (600g)
- 1 1/2 cups King Arthur Whole Wheat Flour (160g)
- 1 pkg active dry yeast (7g or 2 1/4 tsp)
- 1/2 cup warm water (99 – 100° F – 37.7 C)
- 1 1/3 cup whole milk (99-100° F – 37.7° C)
- 1 tbsp sugar (12.5g)
- 2. 1/2 tsp salt (15g)
- 2 tbsp honey (40g)
- 2 tbsp vegetable oil (30g)
Instructions
- Lightly butter your two loaf pans or you may also line each with parchment paper. During the final rise of your loaves, preheat your oven to 375°
- Scoop out about 1/2 cup of Bread Flour from the 5 cups and place in your mixing bowl. Add the sugar and yeast. Stir to combine, pour in the warm water. Stir for form a smooth mixture and place in a warm spot. I often place it under the lights in the hood over my stove. Leave the mixture there for 10 to 15 minutes, or until it starts to bubble up.
- Now add all of the remaining ingredients. Fit the dough hook to your mixer and mix the dough for 3 to 5 minutes. At this point the dough should be smooth, a bit sticky and just slightly pulling away from the sides of your mixing bowl.
- Use a plastic dough scraper to scrape the dough on to a floured work surface. Sprinkle a bit of flour over the top of the dough and start to gently knead. If the dough is very sticky and you find that it is sticking to your hands, dampen you hands with a bit of water and you will find that it limits the sticking. You may re-wet your hands as many times as needed during this final kneading process. Keep kneading the bread dough until the dough forms a smooth ball. Depending on many things – room temperature, moisture in the air, moisture in the dough – this can take up to 5 minutes.
- Rub a bit of oil or butter on the surface of a bowl which is large enough to hold the dough as it expands to twice its size. Place the bread dough in the bowl and cover loosely with a sheet of plastic or a tea towel and place in a warm spot.
- NOTE: Some ovens have a "proofing" setting. I know mine does, but I find that it is too warm and that the dough over-expands on the first rising and tends to loose volume at the end.
- Again, depending on many factors the first doubling or rising will take between 30 minutes to one hour. Once it has doubled scrape out onto a floured work surface. Use a large knife or metal scraper to cut the dough into two equal pieces.
- Shape each half into a loaf shape and place in your buttered loaf pan. Cover each pan with a tea towel, place in a warm spot and allow to rise until doubled in size.
- After the loaves have risen, very gently brush the top of each with your egg wash and place on the center rack of your preheated oven. Bake for about 45 minutes and then check. If your loaf is thoroughly baked it should have a hallow sound when tapped. You can also use an instant thermometer. Insert the tip into the center of the loaf and it should read between 190° and 200°.
- Remove the loaves from the pans and place on a cooling rack.
- Once the loaves have cooled completely wrap in plastic wrap. If you wish to freeze the loaves, place in a zip lock freezer bad after you have wrapped in plastic. Freeze up to one month.