Whole Wheat Bread

Source: Jon Dubovsky, modified Fleischmann's yeast recipe

Yield: two loaves

Rating: 3/5 - heavy, tasty, easy

Ingredients

• 8 cups whole wheat flour
• 2 packages normal or rapid yeast
• 2 ½ tsp. salt
• 1 ½ cups water
• 1 ½ cups milk
• ¼ cup olive oil
• ¼ cup honey
• 2 tsp. vanilla or 2 Tbsp. Kahlua coffee liquor

Directions

• In a large bowl, combine 3 cups flour, dry yeast, and salt.
• In a second bowl, heat water, milk, honey, and olive oil to 120 °F to 130 °F.
• Gradually add the warm liquid to the flour mixture; beat for one to two minutes.
• Add another cup of flour, beat for another minute.
• Mixing with a spoon or dough hooks, add additional spoonfuls (approximately quarter-cups) of flour until the mixture is a soft dough. (Up to an additional cup of flour may be needed over the total given above.)
• Knead on lightly floured surface until smooth and elastic (six to eight minutes).
• Grease the inside of a bowl; place the dough in the bowl and turn the dough over to completely grease all surfaces. Cover and let rise in a warm place until doubled in size (about an hour with normal yeast, ten to fifteen minutes with rapid yeast).
• Punch dough down.
• Place dough on lightly floured surface and divide in half.
• Roll out each half to a 7 by 12 inch rectangle.
• Starting at the short end of each roll, roll up tightly (as if making a jelly roll). Pinch the ends to seal.
• Grease two 4 by 8 inch loaf pans.
• Place rolls in pans, seams down. Cover and let rise in a warm place until doubled in size (about thirty to sixty minutes).
• Bake at 375 °F for 35 to 45 minutes. Let cool on wire racks for ten to fifteen minutes before removing from pans.