WHOLE WHEAT BREAD

Whole Wheat Bread image

I discovered this fantastic bread recipe by Jean Sutherland and I thought I would share with everyone. This is not a bread machine recipe! Zaar seems to have a lot of machine recipes but not many old-fashioned so I thought this would be a great addition. This bread is a little difficult to make but is perfect for sandwiches and tastes wonderful! Very much worth the work you have to invest. I replace all of the oil with 1/2 cup flax seed meal. It's a nice way to get that very nutritious grain into our diet easily. Plus it adds more flavor.

Provided by Cynna

Time 3h10m

Yield 2 loaves

Number Of Ingredients 11

Ingredients

4 1/2 teaspoons active dry yeast
3/4 cup warm water
1 cup whole wheat flour
1 1/2 cups warm water
4 1/2 cups whole wheat flour
1/2 cup vital wheat gluten
2 1/2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1/3 cup honey
1 tablespoon salt
1 large egg
1 tablespoon water

Steps:

Add 4 1/2 tsp yeast to 3/4 cup water.
Add 1 cup of whole wheat flour and mix vigorously.
Cover bowl with plastic and let sit for 45 minutes to proof.
When sponge is ready, uncover bowl and add the 1 1/2 cups of warm water and 2 cups of whole wheat flour . Stir in very well.
Now add the 1/2 cup vital wheat gluten, 2 1/2 tablespoons vegetable oil, 1/3 cup honey and 1 tablespoon salt. Mix these in well. Now start adding the remaining flour about 1/2 cup at a time. (I use my KitchenAid for this).
Knead dough in mixer for 10 minutes or 20-30 minutes by hand. Take a break half-way through if you're hand kneading and let dough rest for 10 minutes.
Place dough into large greased bowl (preferably not metal) and cover with plastic. Leave the dough to rise in a warm place for 1 to 1 1/2 hours until it doubles in size.
Punch dough down, divide dough, and reshape into loaves. Place into greased 9x5 bread pans, cover with plastic and allow to rise again.
Preheat oven to 350°F.
Make egg wash by whisking egg and water together in small bowl.
Brush egg wash over tops of loaves and then place in the oven to bake for 40 minutes.
To test for doneness, pull the loaf out of the pan and tap the bottom with a wooden handle. It should have a hollow sound.
Cool these for at least an hour before slicing. If you don't wait that long the structure of the bread will not support a knife and will mush down and stay permanently mushed when you're done mangling it. Try to be patient.

Nutrition Facts : Calories 1508.9, Fat 28.3, SaturatedFat 4.5, Cholesterol 93, Sodium 3545.4, Carbohydrate 287.9, Fiber 37.8, Sugar 47.8, Protein 50.5