My Whole Wheat Bread Recipe and Tips (by popular "demand"!)

I got this recipe from a little booklet called A Short Course with King Arthur Flour in Baking with Yeast. It was published in 1985 and revised in 1989, and I probably got it around then, in college where I do remember first baking this. I don't remember where or how I got it, but maybe mail-order through the King Arthur Flour company. Its not available online anywhere, but you can go to http://www.kingarthurflour.com/ for more info. and their cookbook, plus good online recipes. The great thing about the booklet I have is it gives all sorts of tips and instructions on proofing the yeast, kneading and how long to do it, how to know if the bread is done, etc. I will try to give some of these tips (in italics) in the recipe. So here goes...

King Arthur's Stone-Ground Whole Wheat Bread (50% whole wheat, 50% unbleached flours)

From the introduction: "Whole wheat bread will not rise as high as white bread. As gluten strands are developing through kneading, the tiny pieces of bran tend to shred them a bit causing some of the carbon dioxide bubbles created by the yeast to escape, creating the denser texture associated with whole grain breads. To soften the bran and thus to minimize its shredding, we use the sponge method for this recipe. We are going to use a combination of whole wheat and unbleached white flours here which will give you the benefits of both. If you want to use whole wheat completely, do so." (Using half unbleached flour definitely makes it lighter, so I usually do.)

2 cups water (I boil about 1/2 cup water to add to 1 and 1/2 c. cold water and take its temperature w/ a liquid thermometer. It should be 100 to 110 degrees F. to proof the yeast; too hot will kill the yeast, too cold will not activate it--I don't use hot tap water b/c of possible lead in pipes)

1/2 cups dry milk (optional--I never add)

1/2 cup brown sugar, honey or molasses (less if desired--I use honey)

1 Tablespoon salt (less if desired)

1 Tablespoon or packet active dry yeast

1/2 stick butter or 1/4 cup vegetable oil (I'm using grapeseed oil these days)

3 cups stone-ground whole wheat flour (King Arthur or Bob's Red Mill bread flours are good)

3-4 cups unbleached flour

To 2 cups hot (~110 deg.) water, add and let dissolve in 3 successive stages, 1 T. of your sweetener, the yeast and the salt. (First I add the honey and whisk till dissolved, then I add the yeast and whisk it in. I set a timer for 3 minutes and let the yeast sit, checking to see if it's bubbling a bit and I add the salt if/when it is.) When all three are dissolved, add the balance of the sweetener, the vegetable oil or softened butter and the 3 cups of stone-ground whole wheat flour. Mix this together with a large spoon and let it sit for at least 2 hours, or all day if that's more convenient (I cover the bowl with a damp dishtowel while it sits. All day "sponging" will make it a bit more sour tasting, just to let you know).

This sponge will bubble away, softening the bran, and developing flavor while you go about something else. About 1 and 1/2 to 2 hours before you want to serve your bread, add most of the remaining flour, 3 cups if you have used brown sugar, 3 and 1/2 cups if you have used honey or molasses. Sprinkle the rest on your kneading board. You will have to use a little elbow grease to incorporate the flour into the sponge, but work it in as thoroughly as you can before you turn it out onto the floured board. Knead the dough until it is springy and no longer sticky, adding only enough more flour to keep it from sticking to you or the board (this is very important--don't add that entire 1/2 to 1 cup of extra flour in right away. Keep a pile of it off to the side and only sweep it under the bread as needed to keep from sticking. Getting the right amount of flour in here is the trickiest part of bread making. Too much flour is killer. A bit wetter than you think is probably better...)

More on kneading before we go on: I usually knead the dough for 2-3 minutes, folding it in half then pressing it with the heel of my hands, then giving it a half turn, folding it in half again, pressing down, and so on. After the first 2-3 minutes of this, I form the dough into a ball and let it rest a few minutes while I clean the mixing bowl and butter the bread pans. After that few minutes of rest (for the dough and me!) I knead another 2-3 minutes or so until the dough is smooth. George says you can't over-knead by hand, but I think you can if you're adding too much flour in as you go. 6-10 minutes of hand kneading, with a rest in the middle, should be enough. As a side note though: I may have slightly "under-kneaded" yesterday as by the time I got to it I'd had dinner and 1 and 1/2 glasses of wine. It was a bit hard to stand in place kneading, so the crust is a bit lumpier than usual. ;-)

After kneading, cut the dough in half (I do this with an actual knife) and form two loaves (just make a oval-ish, ball-ish shape and put the seam side down in the pan). Place in well-greased pans and let rise until almost doubled (about 45 min. for me).

Bake in a pre-heated 350 deg. oven for 35 minutes. (Pop the loaves out of the pans and thump the bottom. If it sounds hollow, it's done. If you can't tell if it

sounds hollow--I'm not good at this--just assume it's done if the crust is browned nicely and it looks done. Try not to cut into it until it cools. It often seems "not done" and overly wet when it's piping hot but that doesn't mean it's not.)

In high school I had sort of a "nazi" home ec. teacher. She taught us to follow the instructions exactly. This is why I measure carefully, use a thermometer for exact temperature, and often set an actual timer while I knead or let the dough rest, etc. It just about kills me to watch my husband bake, throwing in a little of this, a bit of that because baking is a science, you know! He does have more failures than me, as well as some fabulous successes.

I can't guarantee your bread will turn out just by following this recipe, though. There is an art to it, too, and it takes some practice. The hardest part is incorporating just the right amount of flour so it just "feels right". You'll get the hang of it before long. I have had some miserable bread failures, but following this recipe has always been really easy. I hope it works for you!