HONEY WHEAT BREAD

A couple of days ago I shared with you that we went to Rockome Gardens.  At the end of our day we stopped in at  Rockome Garden Foods.  I was amazed at the goodies to be found, but liking to cook from scratch, I headed for the basic staples.  I picked up whole wheat stone ground flour, stone ground corn meal, dry home-style noodles and blackberry jam.  My mind was already formulating the plan - fresh, warm, comforting wheat bread and jam  for the next morning's breakfast, and a recreation of the day's yummy lunch, chicken and noodles with corn bread for dinner.  Chicken and noodles actually got postponed. However, I do have a simple recipe for honey wheat bread to share.

HONEY WHEAT BREAD

1  cup of whole wheat flour

2 Tablespoons of honey

1 teaspoon of salt

2 1/2 tablespoons of yeast

1 cup of warm water 110 - 120 degrees

1 1/2 to 2 additional cups of whole wheat flour

Combine first five ingredients in a large bowl.  Mix for three minutes to activate yeast and get rid of all lumps of flour.  Mixture will be thin like cake batter.  Begin working in additional flour 1/2 cup at a time until mixture becomes a stiff dough and hard to work.  At that point, turn the dough out onto a floured surface to begin kneading in remaining flour.  (If you are new to kneading or bread making and would like more details, click here.)  Dough should be kneaded for about five minutes.  The finished dough should be smooth and not sticky.  Place dough back into bowl and cover with a warm wet dishtowel.  Allow dough to rise for one hour.

After rising, punch down dough and turn out onto a floured surface.  Press dough into a rectangle using your hands, then roll dough out into a large rectangle about 1/4 inch thick. Starting at a narrow end, roll dough towards other end forming a cylinder.  Place dough inside a greased and floured bread pan.  Cover dough and allow to rise an additional 1/2 hour.  Meanwhile preheat oven to 400.  After rising, bake for 25 to 30 minutes.

Enjoy.