Whole Wheat bread

This bread is easy to make and it will make your whole house smell like a bakery.  I strongly suggest making your own bread, it saves money and is healthier to you because there isn't a large amount of sugar, or corn syrup.  This bread only takes a long time to make because of the waiting period while it is rising.  I like to make it on my day off because I can lounge around the house while it is rising and it takes little effort.  One loaf lasts me about a week and I freeze the other loaf, So I make bread twice a month.  I am only feeding two mouths though so for a family you may go through bread a lot faster.  I put this recipe together by looking at many recipes and picking what I liked and changing what I didn't like.  For example I used soy milk instead of water or regular milk, and I use honey instead of sugar.  The amount of bread flour is tentative because each time I make the bread, the amount varies.

Whole Wheat bread

2 1/2 cups soy milk (you can use regular milk if you like)
1/2 cup honey
1 1/2 tbsp yeast
3 cups whole wheat flour
2 1/2-3 1/2 cups bread flour
1/2 cup wheat bran
3 tbsp oat bran
1 1/2 tsp salt

First you need to warm up your soy milk so the honey will dissolve.  Put it in a sauce pan with the heat on low.  Don't bring it to a boil, just warm it up and stir until the honey is completely dissolved.

The soy milk mixture is going to wake up your yeast so make sure it is just the right temperature, about 100 degrees F.  If you don't have a thermometer just touch the milk with your fingertip to make sure it is warm but not so hot your burning yourself.  Pour the soy milk into a small  bowl and sprinkle the yeast over it.  Let that sit for about 5-10 minutes.  You can see that the yeast makes a brain like texture on the top and it will foam a bit.

In a large mixing bowl add the whole wheat flour, 2 1/2 cups bread flour, wheat bran, oat bran, and salt.  Mix together and make a well in the center.  When the yeast mixture is done sitting, pour it into the well.  Fit your mixer with a dough hook and turn it on low, mixing until everything has come together.  Slowly begin adding the rest of the bread flour until the dough is no longer sticky and has pulled off the edge of the bowl and climbed up your dough hook.  You can do this step without a mixer, just using your hands but it will take a bit longer and you will have to knead it longer in the end.

Place your dough on a floured surface.  I left mine a little sticky so that I could knead the rest of the bread flour in by hand.  Sprinkle a bit of flour on the top of the dough and put some on your hands.  Knead for about five minutes.  If the dough becomes sticky just add a bit more flour.

In the end your dough should be smooth and have an elastic texture to it.  Shape it into a ball and place in a lightly greased bowl (using olive oil).  Turn your dough around in the bowl so that your dough is covered lightly with olive oil.  Cover with plastic wrap and place in a draft free warm area for about an hour.

Deflate the dough and cut into two pieces.  Shape them into two loaves and put them in lightly greased bread pans.  Cover this and let it rise for about an hour.  After your bread has doubled in size, heat the oven to 350 degrees F.  Put your bread in on the lower middle rack (so the top doesn't burn) and cook for about 30 minutes, or until golden brown.  To make your bread pretty you can cut slits in the top and give it an egg wash over the top.  Egg wash is just a beaten egg which is then brushed over the top of breads and pastries to give it a golden shine.

Let it cool for a bit then dig in!  I ate this with some jam I canned last year.  It is a cinnamon grape jam I made with grapes from a neighbors garden.