Honey and White Whole Wheat Bread

It's the darndest thing. I was watching an episode of Man vs. Food on the Travel Channel, and this cook was featured demonstrating how he makes meat pastries (or pasties, as the restaurant calls them) from scratch, rolling out the dough with a vintage commercial dough roller, and hand filling and shaping each pastry. My mouth was watering. And within a minute of watching that, I got the urge to make homemade dough. The guy on the episode wasn't using yeast, but I think my craving to make dough was so strong, and unspecific enough, that pretty much any type of dough would do.

I pulled out a bread book from my extensive collection, and selected the first thing I saw that I had all the ingredients for without needing to stop at a grocery store. This Honey and White Whole Wheat Bread was the winner.


The bread has a delicious, hearty, sweet taste, and is a bit dense from all the whole wheat. I think next time I'd use a cup of all-purpose flour to replace one of the cups of white whole wheat, just so it isn't quite such a heavy dough, as is typical of whole wheats. But I can't really complain, because I can't stop eating the loaf, and it makes delicious toast with a little butter spread on top. I made split pea soup from scratch last night and intend to have honey and white whole wheat bread and a cup of soup each night for dinner this week. We'll see how that goes. The loaf might not last that long...


Honey and White Whole Wheat Bread
Adapted from a recipe by Judith M. Fertig in Prairie Home Breads
Makes 1 loaf

1 1/2 teaspoons active dry yeast
1 cup plus 1 tablespoon warm water
1/2 cup honey
1/4 cup vegetable oil
1 teaspoon salt
3 cups white whole wheat flour, plus more if needed

1. In the bowl of a stand mixer, sprinkle the yeast over the warm water and stir to dissolve the yeast. Let sit for 5 minutes until foamy.

2. To the yeast mixture, add the honey, oil, salt, and flour, 1 cup at a time. Add more flour as necessary to form a soft dough that pulls away from the sides of the bowl.

3. Knead the dough for 3 to 4 minutes, until smooth and elastic. Then place in an oiled bowl, and turn over so both sides are coated with oil. Cover and let rise at room temperature until doubled, about 1 hour.

4. Grease a 9x5-inch loaf pan and set aside. Punch down the dough in the bowl and turn it out onto a floured work surface. Shape the dough into a loaf and place, seam side down in the prepared pan. Cover and let rise at room temperature until doubled, about 1 hour.

5. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Bake the bread for 30-35 minutes, until golden brown on top and sounds hollow when tapped on the bottom. Remove from pan and cool on a wire rack.


Step-by-Step in Pictures
Combine the yeast and warm water, allow to get foamy, then add in the honey, oil, salt, and flour...

Add enough flour to form a soft dough that pulls away from the sides of the bowl...

Knead the dough on a floured work surface for 3 to 4 minutes, then cover and let rise until doubled in size...
Shape into a loaf and place in prepared pan, then cover and allow to rise again until doubled in size...
Bake at 350 degrees F for 30 to 35 minutes, until golden brown...

Cool on a wire rack, then slice and serve!