Wednesday, November 28, 2012

Honey Whole Wheat Bread


Honey- Whole Wheat Bread


Yield: 2 loaves
Prep Time: 30 min + rising time
Cook Time: 25 min

Ingredients:

2 cups Gold Medal® whole wheat flour
4 to 5 cups Gold Medal® bread flour
2 Tablespoons granulated white sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
2 packets active dry yeast (.25-ounce envelopes)
1/4 cup honey
1 2/3 cups water
2/3 cup milk
1/4 cup (1/2 stick) unsalted butter
additional flour, as needed

Directions:

1. In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the the whole wheat flour, 4 cups bread flour, sugar, salt and yeast.
2. In a medium bowl, combine honey, milk, water and butter, and heat to between 105 and 110 degrees in the microwave.
3. Stir the 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 the dough. Add more bread flour by the Tablespoon, as needed, until the dough comes together and clears the bowl. Mix for 5 minutes with the dough hook and remove to a lightly floured counter surface.
5. Knead by hand until no longer sticky, adding flour as necessary. Form the dough into a large round and place in a large, greased bowl.
6. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap or a clean dish towel, let rise in a warm place for 30 minutes (or until about doubled in size). Remove the dough from the bowl and divide it in half. Roll each half into a 10 x 12 rectangle and roll each up like a cigar. Pinch the seams. Roll on the counter-top to make a uniform log and place each roll in an oiled 9x5-inch bread pan 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.
7. Return the pan to a warm place, cover lightly with a clean dishtowel 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, or until the center of the bread tests 190 to 200 degrees. Remove the bread from the pans and let them cool on a rack.

Tips:

*If you don't have a stand mixer, you can mix and then knead the bread by hand. It'll be a bit of a workout, but it's worth it.
*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!)
*Want a buttery component to it? Brush butter onto the top of the loaf as soon as it comes out of the oven. Let it soak into the loaf, then remove the loaf from the pan to cool.
*If you do not plan to consume both loaves right away, they freeze beautifully. Wrap loaf with foil as soon as it comes out of the oven- just foil, nothing else- the wrapping-while-hot trick retains the moisture so when thawed it's very fresh tasting.
*Over-kneading and adding too much flour may result in a drier, denser loaf. Be careful.
Source: RecipeGirl.com (adapted from "PeteFL" via Cooking.com Forum)

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