Perfect Wheat Bread

Ingredients

1 1/2 cup warm water

1 1/2 tablespoon dry active yeast

1 1/2 teaspoon salt

1 1/2 tablespoon oil

1 1/2 tablespoon honey

3 1/2 cups all purpose flour

1 cup whole wheat flour


Directions

Step 1:  Mix warm water and yeast in a bowl and let sit for about 5 minutes, until it begins to bubble.  Then add in salt, oil, and honey.

Step 2:  Add in flour one cup at a time until no longer sticky

Step 3:  Knead in a mixer for about 5 minutes, or by hand about 100 times.  Kneading helps develop the gluten in the dough, which makes the finished loaf softer and less dense.  The dough should be smooth and elastic.  Test this by pinching a bit of dough and pulling.  If it pulls at least an inch without breaking, it is ready.

Step 4:  Grease a glass or metal bowl and place dough in the bowl, turning to coat lightly with oil.  Let raise in a warm place for 1 hour.  When finished, preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Roll the dough into a log, place in bread pan, and let raise another 30 minutes.

Step 5:  Bake in preheated oven for 40 minutes or until done.  Let cool completely before slicing and storing.

I like to wrap mine in a clean towel before putting it in a plastic bag, that way it stays nice and fresh without any condensation.  Bread should keep at room temperature for about a week.  Don’t refrigerate or it will turn into a rock.

SK