Hearty Whole Wheat Bread

Total Time: 2 hrs 30 mins Preparation Time: 30 mins Cook Time: 2 hrs

Ingredients

• 2 cups warm water
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup canola oil, plus a little extra for coating the bowl
• 1/2 cup honey
• 2 eggs
• 3 cups bread flour
• 2 cups whole wheat flour
• 1 cup wheat germ
• 2 tablespoons instant yeast (rapid rise, or active yeast, proofed in a little water)

Recipe

• 1 in a large bowl, dissolve the salt in the water.
• 2 add the honey and canola oil, mix well to completely dissolve.
• 3 add the eggs and mix well.
• 4 add 1-2 cups of the bread flour, mix until good and sloppy.
• 5 add the yeast, and mix well.
• 6 add the remainder of the bread flour, mixing well.
• 7 add in the wheat germ and then the whole wheat flour, a cup at a time, until difficult to mix with a spoon.
• 8 turn dough out onto a floured surface (use any remaining whole wheat flour for your surface) and continue to mix and knead until all the flour is incorporated.
• 9 knead for 10-15 minutes, until dough is uniformly smooth, and bounces back at you when you press it. the firmness resembles a nerf ball, and the surface at this point should be tacky (like a post-it note) but not sticky enough to adhere to your hands.
• 10 pour a little bit of oil in your empty bowl, and coat all sides. put the dough in the bowl and turn to coat with the oil.
• 11 cover the bowl (with a large plate, or with plastic wrap) and set it in a warm spot to rise until doubled in size, for approximately 60-90 minutes. if you used instant yeast the rising time will be shorter than for active dry yeast.
• 12 punch down dough and remove from bowl to floured surface.
• 13 knead briefly to incorporate oil.
• 14 form into two loaves, or into 24 dinner rolls or bread sticks.
• 15 put bread back in your warm spot, covered with plastic wrap, to rise again, another 45-60 minutes.
• 16 preheat oven to 375°f.
• 17 bake loaves for 30 minutes, rolls or bread sticks for 10-12 minutes, until golden on the crust.
• 18 cool on racks.
• 19 freezes well.