Honey Wheat Bread

Hearty and comforting wheat bread gets sweetened up with honey instead of sugar.

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Servings: slices

Prep Time 20

Cook Time 40

Rise Times 2

Total Time 3

Ingredients

1 to 1 1/8 cups warm water (110 degrees) 227 to 255 grams; see note 1
2 1/2 teaspoons instant yeast 1 packet active dry yeast dissolved in 2 tablespoons of the water in the recipe
1/4 cup flavorless oil 50 grams; I use avocado
1/4 cup honey 85 grams; light colored honey is best
1/4 cup nonfat dry milk 28 grams
3 1/2 cups whole wheat flour 397 grams
1 1/4 teaspoons sea salt 8 grams

Instructions

Add the yeast to the water and allow the mixture to sit for 5 minutes until foamy. Alternately, you can add the yeast directly to the dry ingredients but you'll need to ensure that all other ingredients are warmed properly first.
Add the yeast mixture to a large bowl and add the oil, honey, dry milk, flour and salt. Stir to combine.
The dough will be stiff, but turn it out onto a lightly oiled counter (no flour here; it will make the dough too heavy later) and knead the dough until smooth and elastic; about 7 minutes give or take.
Return the dough to the bowl, cover and rise 1-2 hours or until doubled. Wheat flour often takes longer to rise.
Lightly grease a loaf pan and line with parchment paper; set aside.
Once doubled, shape the dough into a rectangle as long as your loaf pan; about 9 inches long and 8 inches wide. Just use your fingers to press it out. Roll the dough up from the long end into a sausage shape and pinch the seam to seal.
Place the dough in the loaf pan seam side down and let the loaf rise in a warm place until just slightly above the rim of the pan; this loaf won't rise very high.
Preheat the oven to 350 and bake 35 to 45 minutes; tenting with foil after 20 minutes, once the loaf is brown. You can check the temperature of your bread to ensure it's baked. 190 degrees is the goal.
Once baked, transfer the loaf to a cooling rack and let cool before slicing.

Notes

Note 1: Occasionally whole wheat flour can be a little rancid and taste bitter. If you find your wheat bread is bitter when you make it, or if you'd like to prevent that, replace 1/4 cup of the water in the recipe with an equal amount of orange juice.

Nutrition

Course Yeast Breads

Cuisine American

Keyword homemade wheat bread loaf, honey wheat bread, single wheat bread loaf, wheat bread

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