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Basic Whole Wheat Bread

Laurel's Kitchen Bread Book
This recipe is perfect if you're new to making homemade bread. or if you just want a nice sandwich or toast bread. It's fluffy and perfect with supper or as a sandiwchi.
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Servings 12 people

Ingredients
  

  • 2 tsp active dry yeast
  • 1/2 cup warm water
  • 900 grams hard white wheat flour
  • 14 grams real pink salt
  • 2 1/4 cups lukewarm water
  • 2 tbsp olive oil
  • 2 tbsp raw honey

Instructions
 

  • Dissolve the yeast in the warm water. Stir until nice and bubbly.
  • Mix the flour and salt in your bowl. Make a well in the center.
  • Add the honey and olive oil to the lukewarm water. Stir together.
  • Pour the yeast in the well of the flour and then add the honey/oil mixture. Using your Danish whisk, stir together until everything is combined. 
  • Now, it’s time to knead the dough. If doing it by hand, it’s about 600 strokes. In a standup mixer, it will take about 10 minutes. Cover with a damp towel and let rise for 1-2 hours. It should double in size.
  • With a wet finger, poke a hole into the dough. If the hole doesn’t fill in, you are ready for the next step. If the hole does close up, just let your dough rise a little longer.
  • Gently punch down the dough and pull it from the sides, forming a ball. Cover with the same towel and let rise again, usually 30 minutes.
  • Grab a 8x4 loaf pan and butter it up. Sprinkle flour on a clean surface and place your dough on it. Form into a loaf and place in pan. Cover again with the same towel and let rise until you see an arch over the pan. You can easily make two loaf pans if you’d prefer smaller loaves.
  • Bake for 10 minutes at 425. Then, baker for 45-60 minutes at 325. Enjoy! 

Notes

Tips:
  1. If you add the olive oil first, the honey will not stick to the measuring spoon. The oil makes it slide right off. 
  2. You can definitely use all-purpose flour. I just prefer the nutritious ingredients in freshly-milled flour.
  3. If you choose to use other flours as in Einkorn or Khorasan, you'll need to adjust the water to flour ratios. I've learned to play around with flours until I get the right consistency.