homemade wheat bread

I love wheat bread...especially when it's fresh and warm from the oven!
I love the slightly sweet earthy flavor!

I have tried a few wheat bread recipes in my day and have found this one to be my favorite so far!
The molasses and honey in this recipe bring a wonderful flavor to the bread.

Here's the ingredients and a tutorial! At the end of the post I will have the recipe that you can copy and paste so you can print it.

1 packet quick rising yeast
2 cups warm water
1/4 cup soft butter
1/8 cup molasses
1/4 cup honey
1 tsp. salt
3 cups whole wheat flour
2 cups white flour

Measure 2 cups warm water into a liquid measuring cup. Add the packet of yeast into the water and stir. Set aside.

Soften the butter in the microwave. Five seconds should do the trick.



In the bowl of a Kitchen Aid mixer, put the melted butter, molasses, honey and salt. With paddle attachment, begin to mix.



Stir the yeasty warm water again and then add to the molasses, honey mixture. Continue to mix slowly with paddle attachment.

With mixer on low, add the whole wheat flour...then add the white flour.

Mix until just combined. Dough will look very wet and sticky. Don't worry! It will be fine!



Turn off mixer, scrape dough off paddle attachment...



and switch to the dough hook.



Turn mixer on medium-high and knead dough with hook for 10 minutes.



Watch your mixer, it may "walk" off the counter while it is kneading the dough.

Here's what the dough will look like for the first 5 or 6 minutes...it still looks wet and sticky, but it starting to come together.

The dough will eventually start to look better and better. You can see the dough is firming up in this photo below.

After 10 minutes of kneading with the dough hook, turn dough out onto lightly floured counter. As you can see, the dough may be a tad sticky...just sprinkle dough with flour and begin to work it in by kneading.

Hand knead for 30 seconds to tighten dough....and that's it!!

Place dough ball into large greased bowl.

Cover with clean towel and put in a warm spot.

Allow to rise until double.

When dough has doubled, punch dough down with your fist.

Let dough rest few minutes.

Divide dough in half.

Press dough into 2 squares the length of your bread pans approximately an
8x8 square.

Tightly roll each square of dough into a log.

Pinch ends of dough and tuck under ends.

Place dough into greased bread pans.

Find a warm spot to let dough rise. I usually put my dough on a chair in the sun by my sliding glass door.

Cover pans with clean towel.

When dough doubles in size, gently brush dough with milk with a pastry brush. The milk will give the bread a beautiful shine when baked.
BE VERY CAREFUL OR YOU WILL DEFLATE BREAD. Just be delicate and you will be fine.
The first time I did this I did deflate my bread a little, but since I've learned my lesson, I've done it with success plenty of times.

Bake bread at 375 degrees for 35 to 40 minutes.

Let bread cool for few minutes, and release bread from pans.
Continue to cool bread on rack.

Enjoy!

Homemade Wheat Bread: makes 2 loaves

1 packet quick rising yeast
2 cups warm water
1/4 cup soft butter
1/8 cup molasses
1/4 cup honey
1 tsp. salt
3 cups whole wheat flour
2 cups white flour

Measure 2 cups warm water into a liquid measuring cup. Add the packet of yeast into the water and stir. Set aside. Soften the butter in the microwave. Five seconds should do the trick. In the bowl of a Kitchen Aid mixer, put the melted butter, molasses, honey and salt. With paddle attachment, begin to mix. Stir the yeasty warm water again and then add to the molasses, honey mixture. Continue to mix slowly with paddle attachment. With mixer on low, add the whole wheat flour...then add the white flour. Mix until just combined. Dough will look very wet and sticky. Don't worry! It will be fine! Turn off mixer, scrape dough off paddle attachment and switch to the dough hook. Turn mixer on medium-high and knead dough with hook for 10 minutes. Watch your mixer, it may "walk" off the counter while it is kneading the dough. After 5 or 6 minutes...dough will still looks wet and sticky, but it will start to come together. The dough will eventually start to look better and better. After 10 minutes of kneading with the dough hook, turn dough out onto lightly floured counter. The dough may be a tad sticky...just sprinkle dough with flour and begin to work it in by kneading. Hand knead for 30 seconds to tighten dough....and that's it!! Place dough ball into large greased bowl. Cover with clean towel and put in a warm spot. Allow to rise until double. When dough has doubled, punch dough down with your fist. Let dough rest few minutes. Divide dough in half. Press dough into 2 squares the length of your bread pans approximately an 8x8 square. Tightly roll each square of dough into a log. Pinch ends of dough and tuck under ends. Place dough into greased bread pans. Find a warm spot to let dough rise. Cover pans with clean towel. When dough doubles in size, gently brush dough with milk with a pastry brush. The milk will give the bread a beautiful shine when baked. BE VERY CAREFUL OR YOU WILL DEFLATE BREAD. Just be delicate and you will be fine. Bake bread at 375 degrees for 35 to 40 minutes. Let bread cool for few minutes, and release bread from pans. Continue to cool bread on rack.