Cooking 101 - Whole Wheat Bread

This bread is SO good. It's 100% whole wheat so there's not a lot of guilt involved when you eat it. I've found that if I use white wheat flour (still 100% wheat), the bread doesn't have a bitter wheat taste, and it stays light and fluffy. AND it makes a killer sandwich!!!

WHOLE WHEAT BREAD

(makes 2 regular-sized loaves)

2 1/2 t. yeast (or two 1/4-oz. pkgs)

1 c. warm water

1 c. scalded milk

2/3 c. honey

2/3 c. melted butter

2 t. salt (or a little less)

2 eggs

4-8 c. white wheat flour

Optional:

a handful (about 1/2 c.) quick oats

a handful of ground flax (about 1/4 c.)

In a small bowl, dissolve yeast in warm water; set aside. In a large mixing bowl, mix milk, honey, melted butter, salt, egg, and yeast mixture while the mixer is running on low speed. Add the oats and flax if you're using it. Add flour gradually, 2 c. at a time. You may only need 6 c. of flour, you may need a little more, but you probably won't need more than 8 c. The dough should be a little sticky, pulling at the sides of the bowl a little bit. Knead the dough for about 10 minutes. Place in a well-greased bowl; cover and let rise until doubled in size - about 1 1/2 hours.

When dough is doubled in size, punch down dough. Knead a few times on a well floured surface. Cut dough in half; form into loaves and set them evenly into two regular-sized, buttered loaf pans. (The dough should sit about 2 inches below the top of the loaf pan)

Let the bread rise again for another 30-minutes to an hour. Bake it at 350 degrees for about 30 minutes or until the bread is golden brown and sounds hollow when you tap it with your fingernail. Let the bread rest and cool for at least 15-20 minutes before slicing into it.