Easy Quick 100% Whole Wheat Bread

Easy Quick 100% Whole Wheat Bread

A couple of years ago I bought myself the Bread Bible and have been regularly making a great white sandwich loaf. The recipe makes two loaves and calls for NINE (!) tablespoons of butter so of course it is delicious. It is however, a time consuming recipe. It takes all day so I'd only make it on Sunday. It makes two loafs which usually lasted about a week, sometimes week and a half. Whatever became too hard to eat was made into French toast. But I know that I should be eating more whole grains. Whole wheat bread at the store is dry and full of high fructose corn syrup. Any half way decent whole wheat bread is pricey and goes bad rather quickly. I picked up some whole wheat flour with the intention of making another time consuming recipe from the Bread Bible. There was a simple recipe right on the King Arthur package so I thought I would try that one before taking all day with the more complicated recipe. I changed a few steps around using techniques from the bread bible, like putting in a small pan of ice at the bottom of the oven to keep the bread moist while it bakes. I didn't cover it with foil either like the package suggests. I used honey in my bread instead of molasses or maple syrup, two other suggestions on the package. Honey gives it a subtle sweet flavor without changing the color of the bread. I also use my Kitchen Aid stand up mixer instead of a bread machine or hand kneading. Below is the simple recipe I use to create the bread.

Classic 100% Whole Wheat Bread

1 packet active dry yeast dissolved in 2 tsp lukewarm water
1 1/3 cup lukewarm water
1/4 cup canola oil
¼ cup honey
3 ½ cups King Arthur Traditional Whole Wheat Flour
¼ cup nonfat dry milk
1 ¼ tsp salt

Mixing: dissolve active dry yeast packet in lukewarm water. In Kitchen Aid bowl, add all dry ingredients. Add canola oil and then honey. Use the same measuring cup as the oil so that the honey will slide out easily. Add the yeast dissolved in water. The yeast always sticks to the bottom of the cup I dissolve it in so I save the measured 1 1/3 cups of water until after I add the yeast. I pour the water in to the cup to get out the remaining bit that sticks to the bottom.

Using whisk attachment stir on 2 until dough is combined and starts to leave the side of the bowl. With dough hook knead on 4 until dough completely leaves side of bowl, about 6-8 minutes.

Transfer to a large greased bowl. I like to use Pam Baking Spray. Cover with plastic and allow dough to rise until puffy and about twice its bulk, about 60 minutes.

Shaping: Transfer dough to a large greased cutting board. Pound out the dough slightly with your fist and fold into an eight inch loaf. Start with the left and right sides then the top and bottom, kind of like an envelope. Place the loaf into a lightly greased 8 ½ x 4 ½ inch loaf pan. Cover it loosely with greased plastic wrap. It's a lot of greasing but the dough is very sticky.

Baking: In a preheated oven place the bread in the middle rack of the oven and a pan with a cup of ice on the floor of the oven. Bake for 20 minutes. Turn bread around and bake for 20 more minutes. The bread's internal temperature will be 190 degrees Fahrenheit when done. I never check the temperature of my bread. I just look for a golden brown crust and use a good thermometer to make sure my oven temperature is spot on.

Let the bread rest on cooling rack in the pan for about 5 minutes, then turn the pan over to let the bread out and rest on cooling rack for at least an hour before cutting into it.

This recipe makes one loaf. I sometimes sprinkle the top of the loaf, just before baking, with old fashioned oats. I use a wooden bread slicer and a long serrated knife to cut the bread. I always cut it as I need it and keep the rest in a sealed plastic bag in a dark dry part of the kitchen to ensure freshness. I usually make a loaf about once a week.

Katherine Montalto
katherinechef@hotmail.com
http://www.chef-katherine-m.com

Katherine Montalto is a graduate of the Illinois Institute of Art Culinary program. She has a vast knowledge of food, including cheeses from all over the world. She has worked as event planner, a private chef and caterer. Katherine also made candy for a small candy company and helped create a few recipes. She got her start cooking in her grandmother's Italian kitchen. Katherine enjoys working in her ever expanding kitchen garden and keeping a journal of all its progress. She has written recipes and culinary articles for numerous online publications.

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