Table Time Tuesday: Honey Wheat Bread

It's taken me years to find a wheat bread recipe that I love. I initially found this one on AllRecipes. It was a bread machine recipe, and since I don't have a bread machine I altered the order of the mixing and added rise time to the recipe. I also added some special ingredients to help the dough to produce a fabulous bread texture. This bread is amazing! Especially if you want some wonderful sweet bread as a side to your dinner. (If you don't want it very sweet, just scale down how much honey you add.)

HONEY WHOLE WHEAT BREAD

What you need:

1 1/8 cups water (120-130°)
3 cups whole wheat flour
1 1/2 tsp. salt
1/3 cup honey
1 Tbsp. dry milk powder
1 1/2 Tbsp. shortening
1 1/2 tsp. active dry yeast
4 tsp. wheat gluten (optional, but definitely recommended)
1 tbsp. dough enhancer (optional, but definitely recommended)

How you do it:

(If using a bread machine, add ingredients in order listed [adding wheat gluten and dough enhancer with the flour], turn on wheat cycle and let the machine do its job!)

In a large bowl mix all dry ingredients. In mixer, pour water, add shortening and honey. Turn mixer to speed 1 and mix together. Mix all dry ingredients together, then add to wet ingredients one cup at a time. Knead for 8 minutes (add additional time if mulitiplying recipe to make more than one loaf). Place in greased bowl, turn to coat; cover and let rise until double (about 1 1/2 to 2 hours). Punch down and shape. Place in greased loaf pan; cover, and let rise until double (about 1 1/2 to 2 hours). Bake at 350° for 25 to 30 minutes.

Step-by-Step Hints:

You're probably wondering what these ingredients are. They are gold for wheat bread. The dough enhancer gives your bread/dough a nice smooth texture. The vital wheat gluten adds nutrition and helps the dough to rise. Gluten holds the gas in the dough which makes it rise. Wheat bread does not rise as well as white bread because white bread flour has a higher amount of protein with a strong gluten so it rises to double in about an hour. Since I typically grind my own wheat, I need to add the wheat gluten to help the bread rise a little bit better than without it. And, finally, the dry milk powder aids in making the bread softer.

Here's a little trick I've learned for my wheat bread: grind the wheat right before making the bread. The wheat flour will be warm after having been ground, which helps the yeast. This is the grinder my mom got for me for a birthday once. Love you, Mom!

Here's what my dough looks like after it's risen and it's ready to shape. Be patient! It takes a long time to rise, make sure to give your dough the time it needs.
Here's another tip: don't add too much flour, just enough to make the dough clean off the sides of the bowl. Then, start the kneading. Once you've started kneading, don't add any more flour.