Freshly Baked Wheat Bread

Yum...doesn't get much better than that! I absolutely love fresh, homemade bread. I have been on the search for the perfect wheat bread recipe that is compatible with a Kitchen Aid instead of a Bosch. All those Bosch recipes are delicious but make WAY too much for my mixer to handle and it's tiring and messy to try to split the dough in half to take turns kneading! I found this recipe on the cooking website Recipe Girl and it's made specifically for a Kitchen Aid - bonus! Although it is not whole wheat, it is soooo good...it's the perfect recipe I have been looking for!! Give it a try- you won't be disappointed.

Fresh Wheat Bread

submitted by Brittany

2 cups whole wheat flour, sifted
4 to 5 cups bread flour, sifted
2 Tbs granulated sugar
1½ tsp salt
1 Tbs yeast (a rounded Tablespoon)
2 ounces honey (1/4 cup)
1 2/3 cups water
2/3 cup milk
½ stick butter (1/4 cup)

1. In a large mixer bowl, whisk together flours, sugar, salt and yeast.
2. In a medium bowl, combine honey, milk, water and butter, and heat to 105 degrees in the microwave. (About 60 seconds - I used a candy thermometer. It worked great.)
3. Stir liquids to melt the butter and add, all at once, to the dry ingredients in the mixer bowl.
4. With the dough hook installed on your stand mixer, mix dough. Add more flour by the Tablespoon, as needed, until the dough comes together and clears the bowl. Mix for 8-10 minutes with the dough hook until no longer sticky, adding flour as necessary.
5. Cover bowl with plastic wrap, let rise in a warm place for 30 minutes.

6. Remove from bowl and divide dough in half. Make each half into a 10 x 12 rectangle and roll each up from short end. Pinch the seams. Roll on the countertop to make a uniform log and place in an oiled breadpan seam-side up. Shake the roll to oil the bottom, turn the pan over, catch the dough and reinsert it into the pan, seam-side-down. (or just spray your plastic wrap with oil before covering so it doesn't stick. I don't like to use a towel to cover because it can dry out the dough.)
7. Return to warm place and let rise an additional 30 minutes or until at least 1 inch above the pan top. Bake in a preheated 400°F. oven for 25 minutes. Remove from pans and cool on rack.

Yield: 2 loaves

Cooking Tips
*To create a nice, warm place for your loaves to rise, turn on oven for 60 seconds and then turn it off. Turn the oven light on too. The temperature should be just about right for your loaves to rise nicely. (don't forget to turn off the oven!)
*If you do not plan to eat both loaves right away, they freeze beautifully. Wrap loaf with foil as soon as it comes out of the oven- just foil, nothing else. Freeze immediately. Once frozen, I like to wrap in plastic wrap as well. The wrapping and freezing-while-hot trick retains the moisture so when thawed it's very fresh tasting.