Home-made Wheat Bread

A couple of months ago my friend, Katie, gave me a bag of wheat flour that she herself ground. I stuck it in the freezer and finally got around to using the flour this weekend to make some bread. I've used store bought wheat flour before and was anxious to see if there was a difference between it and the fresh flour. There certainly was! I found the bread texture was a little lighter using the fresh flour and it had a more nutty/wheat taste versus the store bought. This particular recipe made bread that was dense and sturdy enough to be used as sandwich bread.

Wholesome Wheat Bread (Taste of Home The First 10 Years)

2 pkgs active dry yeast

2 1/4 cups warm water (110 to 115 degrees)

3 Tbls sugar

1/3 cup butter or margarine, softened

1/3 cup honey

1/2 cup instant nonfat dry milk powder

1 Tbls salt

4 1/2 cups whole wheat flour

2 3/4 to 3 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

In a large mixing bowl, dissolve yeast in water. Add sugar, honey, milk powder, salt and whole wheat flour; beat until smooth. Add enough all-purpose flour to form a soft dough. Turn onto a floured board; knead until smooth and elastic, about 10 minutes. Place in a greased bowl, turning once to grease top. Cover and let rise in a warm place until doubled, about 1 hour. Punch down. Shape dough into two traditional loaves. Place in a greased 9x5x3 loaf pans. (I used a regular loaf pan and four mini loaf pans.) Cover and let rise until doubled, about 30 minutes. Bake at 375 degrees for 25-30 minutes. Remove from pans to cool on wire racks. Makes 2 loaves (32 slices).