I LOVE bread. My husband challenged me to make a whole wheat bread that was as good as the one he gets at Great Harvest… challenge accepted. He ate 3 pieces with dinner. This is wonderful with just better and honey but would be great as sandwich bread. This is a no fuss, easy recipe. Adapted from a recipe in the “BreadmanTalking” blog from Jerusalem, Israel.
Ingredients:
- 1 1/2 cups whole wheat flour
- 1 1/2 cups AP or bread flour (plus more for mixing in while kneading, about half a cup)
- 1/4 cup sugar
- 1 Tbs. dry yeast (I used fast rising and it cut down the rising time)
- 3/4 Tsp. salt
- 1/3 cup vegetable oil
- 1 egg, beaten
- 1/3 cups warm water
Directions:
1. Mix the dry ingredients (the flours. sugar, salt and yeast) together in a large bowl or in the bowl of an electric mixer until evenly distributed.
2. Add the egg, oil and most of the water and mix to form a rough dough. Add water or flour to form a smooth, slightly sticky dough. Knead the dough in a mixer vigorously for about 10 minutes (or 15 minutes by hand), until the dough is very smooth and only slightly tacky. I mixed 10 minutes and then another 5 by hand adding extra flour as needed.
3. Place the kneaded dough into a lightly oiled bowl, turn to coat, then cover with plastic wrap to rise until doubled. This will take about 1 1/2 to 2 hours. (I put the dough in the warming drawer on the proof setting). Time will be less if using Rapid Rise yeast.
4. Take the dough from the bowl, and, trying desperately not to degas the dough too much, form the dough into a boule. This is best done by stretching the dough from the top away from you towards the bottom. After each stretch, turn the dough by about 45 degrees. When the dough is ‘stretched, place it, folds on the bottom, onto a baking tray. Cover the boule with a damp kitchen towel to rest for about 45 minutes. (though dough stuck a bit to the tea towel so I would use a bit of olive oil)
5. Start heating the oven 400 F about 30 minutes before baking. Just before baking, slash the bread twice or three times with a serrated knife, spray with a little water and place in the oven.
Something From the Ovens 