Thursday, May 14, 2009

it's Recipe thuRsday: Honey Whole Wheat Bread

May 14, 2009

This recipe is from Allrecipes.com and is very easy and very delicious! I double it for my family since we go through a lot of bread and I only want to spend time on it once a week.

There's nothing better than the smell of homemade bread!
Ingredients:
3 cups warm water (110 degrees F/45
degrees C)
2 (.25 ounce) packages active dry yeast
1/3 cup honey
5 cups bread flour
3 tablespoons butter, melted (I use 3 Tbsp. oil)
1/3 cup honey
1 tablespoon salt
3 1/2 cups whole wheat flour
2 tablespoons butter, melted
Directions:
1. In a large bowl, mix warm water, yeast, and 1/3 cup honey. Add 5 cups white bread flour, and stir to combine. Let set for 30 minutes, or until big and bubbly.
2. Mix in 3 tablespoons melted butter (or oil), 1/3 cup honey, and salt. Stir in 2 cups whole wheat flour. Flour a flat surface and knead with whole wheat flour until not real sticky - just pulling away from the counter, but still sticky to touch. This may take an additional 2 to 4 cups of whole wheat flour. Place in a greased bowl, turning once to coat the surface of the dough. Cover with a dishtowel. Let rise in a warm place until doubled.
3. Punch down, and divide into 3 loaves. Place in greased 9 x 5 inch loaf pans, and allow to rise until dough has topped the pans by one inch.
4. Bake at 350 degrees F (175 degrees C) for 25 to 30 minutes; do not overbake. Lightly brush the tops of loaves with 2 tablespoons melted butter or margarine when done to prevent crust from getting hard. Cool completely.

You will have to play around with baking times to find your perfect number! My big dark pans need 28 minutes and my medium size bright silver pans need 35 minutes. And since I bake 6 loaves at a time, I move them around the oven half way through for a more even baking.

8 comments:

TheAtticGirl said...

Hi Michelle! I was awarded the One Lovely blog award and thought I'd pass it along to you. Stop by my blog when you get a chance to pick up your button.

lambfamblog said...

Michelle can I substitute all purpose for the bread flour?

Made by Michelle said...

Sarah, Yes you can substitute with all purpose flour. I always use unbleached flour for more nutrition and it works great!

lambfamblog said...

Okay Michelle!!! I made the bread and I LOVE IT!!!!! Just wondering how best to store the 2 loaves we haven't started yet? What do you do? Also, they each had the 1 inch rise above the pan but once I put them into the oven they fell in spots. Is this normal? Is there a secret to fixing it? Thanks Sarah

Made by Michelle said...

Yippie, Sarah! So glad the recipe worked well for you! It has a really nice texture, doesn't it? I just store my bread on the counter in plastic produce bags from the grocery store. If the bread is going to sit out more than 4 days (when I make a double batch), though, I'll put it in the freezer (in the produce bag) and take it out the night before I'm going to need it. I've never stored it in the freezer more than a few days, so I can't tell you how long it will be before it gets freezer burn.

Also, if it falls a little, mine does it too sometimes. I'm still new at bread baking, so I'll ask the experts! It could be that you might need to add a little gluten or something. It might also be rising for a little too long. I'll see what I can find out!

Allie Z said...

So I tried out the recipe and it worked great!

I used 2 loaves worth for 2 sets of cinnamon rolls (school treats in difference classes). Wow! They were a hit! Funny how whole grain can be tasty. Who woulda thought? :)

For the filling I creamed 1 stick room temp butter, 1 C packed brown sugar, and 2 T cinnamon. I rolled out the dough into a large rectangle, schmeared the filling, rolled and cut with dental floss. I baked them a little less than the bread (maybe 20 minutes?).

~Allie

Made by Michelle said...

What an awesome idea to turn it into cinnamon rolls! MMM! I will have to try that!

I also made bread yesterday by lowering the temperature to 340 degrees and baking an extra 7 minutes, I think it was. The bread was perfect! Sometimes it's a little doughy in the middle and drives me batty. :)

lambfamblog said...

Thanks for your input on the falling bread situation. I did add 2 tsp flour gluten so I'm thinking that I let it rise too long in the pans or possible the bowl. We'll see what happens next week when I make it again- yum yum thanks again for Recipe Thursdays!