Perfect Whole Wheat Bread {Small Batch; Two Loaves}
Yield: 24slices (2 loaves)
Prep Time: 45 minutesmins
Cook Time: 30 minutesmins
Total Time: 1 hourhr15 minutesmins
Ingredients
5-6cups(710 to 852g)whole wheat flour, I prefer white whole wheat vs red whole wheat
1 ½tablespoonsinstant yeast
¼cupvital wheat gluten (see note)
2 ¾cupswarm water
1tablespoonlemon juice, bottled or fresh
⅓cupoil
⅓cup(113g)honey
1tablespoonsalt
Instructions
In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the dough hook, mix together 3 cups of the whole wheat flour, yeast, and gluten. Add the warm water and mix well. Cover the bowl and let the mixture rest for 10-12 minutes.
Add the lemon juice, oil, honey, and salt. Mix on low speed.
With the mixer running on low speed, continue adding flour 1/2 cup at a time until the dough pulls away from the sides of the bowl (don't overflour! A little stickiness is ok as long as the dough forms a ball and doesn't leave a lot of residue on your fingers).
Let the mixer knead the dough for 5-6 minutes until the dough is soft and smooth.
Turn the dough onto a lightly greased counter and divide in half. Shape each half into a taut loaf and place in a lightly greased loaf pan (8 1/2- X 4 1/2-inches).
Cover the loaf pans and let the loaves rise until they are 1-2 inches above the edge of the loaf pan.
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Make sure an oven rack is in the middle/center position. Bake the loaves for 28-32 minutes until golden and baked through (an instant-read thermometer should register 180-190 degrees in the center of the loaf).
Turn the bread onto a wire rack. Brush the tops with butter, if desired. Let cool completely.
Notes
Letting the Dough Rise: this bread recipe does not require the dough to rise before being shaped into loaves and letting the loaves rise in the bread pans. However, if you find your bread is a little dense after baking and cooling, letting the dough rise after kneading may help with that, as well as making sure the dough isn't overfloured.Vital Wheat Gluten: is often found in the baking aisle at the grocery store (near the flour). Many brands of vital wheat gluten have Vitamin C added; those are ok to use in this recipe. I usually buy my gluten from Amazon - the Bob's Red Mill brand or the Honeyville brand {aff. links}.