Charlotte’s Easy Whole Wheat Sandwich Bread
Servings: 2 loaves
Ingredients
- 3 cups warm water, 105°F to 110°F
- ¼ cup brown sugar or maple syrup or honey
- 1 tablespoon salt
- 2 tablespoons butter, softened or olive oil
- 1 ½ tablespoons active dry yeast
- 4 ¼ cups whole wheat flour
- 3 cups unbleached bread flour or unbleached all-purpose
Instructions
- Combine the warm water, brown sugar, salt, softened butter and yeast in a large bowl. Stir in the whole wheat flour until combined well. Add the bread flour, ½ cup at a time, mixing well after each addition.
- Form the dough into a ball and turn out onto a floured surface. Add more flour, 1 to 2 tablespoons at a time, if the dough is too sticky to work with. Knead for about 7 minutes, until smooth and elastic. Place in a greased bowl, turn the dough over to lightly grease all sides, and cover with a plate. Let rest for 1 to 1 ½ hours in a warm spot, until doubled in size.
- While the dough proofs, butter two 8-inch by 4-inch metal loaf pans. If vegan, use oil to grease the pans.
- Punch down the dough. Turn out onto a floured surface and cut the dough into two halves. Flatten the first half into a rectangle, approximately 8 inches by 6 inches. Beginning at a 6-inch side, roll up the dough and push in the sides gently, until you have formed an even log. Repeat with the second half of the dough. Place the formed loaves in the pans, seams down, and tuck the ends under the loaves.
- Cover the loaves with the dishtowel. Let rest in a warm spot for about an hour until they puff up above the edge of the pan.
- About 15 minutes before the bread is ready to bake, preheat the oven to 425°F. Bake the loaves for 25 to 30 minutes or until browned on top and the bottom of the loaves sound hollow when you tap them. Remove the loaves from the pans and cool completely on a wire rack before slicing.
- Store bread in a clean cloth produce bag.
Notes
If you’re unsure how old your yeast is, proof it. Stir the sugar and yeast into the warm water. The yeast should foam up in about 5 minutes. If it doesn’t foam up, your bread won’t rise and you’ll need new, fresher yeast.
When I bake two loaves of bread—which I almost always do—I freeze one whole loaf in a cloth produce bag. I find that sliced bread stored in cloth develops freezer burn around the edges so resist the urge to slice the bread before you freeze it.