Whole Wheat Bread
makes 3 loaves

I made the following whole wheat bread today. In yesterday’s blog (11-18-06), I wrote that you can replace no more than half of the white flour with whole wheat flour. This recipe defies that rule. All of the flour is whole wheat flour, but the bread is very good and not too heavy. I think the 10 minute kneading time, and the fact that the flour is heated before adding it, have something to do with it.

I made the mistake of using blackstrap molasses instead of a milder molasses. I think I would have liked the bread better if I had used a milder sweetener.

This bread is easy to make. It comes from Simply Heavenly! The Monastery Vegetarian Cookbook, by Abbot George Burke, published by saint George press, geneva, Nebraska.

3 cups warm (105 to 110 degrees F.) water

3 tablespoons yeast

3 tablespoons Sucanat, genuine maple syrup, or Barbados molasses (a mild molasses)

3 teaspoons sea salt

3 tablespoons

8 cups whole wheat flour, warmed in 275 degree F. oven 3 to 5 minutes

Mix the water, yeast, and sweetener together. Add the salt, oil and flour. Knead for 10 minutes. Let rise in the bowl in a warm place (about 98 degrees F.), covered, until double in bulk. Cut into three parts with a sharp knife, place in loaf pans, and shape. Allow to rise until double in bulk. Bake in a preheated oven at 425 degrees F. for 15 minutes. Reduce heat to 350 degrees F. and bake about 30 minutes more. Remove from the pans and cool on a wire rack.

For raisin bread, add 1 ½ cups of raisins to the dough.

For a single loaf, use only 1/3 of the ingredients, except use 2 ½ cups of flour.