Tammy's Recipes

A slightly sweet, healthy half-whole-wheat bread (also includes instructions for making this a 100% whole wheat loaf!)

1 cup warm water (110-115 degrees F)
1 tablespoon milk
2 tablespoons oil
2 tablespoons honey
2 tablespoons brown sugar
1 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 cups whole wheat flour
2 teaspoons instant active dry yeast

1. *Combine first 6 ingredients in a large mixing bowl; stir.

2. Add flours and yeast, and knead until dough is smooth and elastic, about 10-15 minutes. Place dough in a greased bowl, turning once to grease top. Cover with a clean towel and let rise until doubled, about 40 minutes.

3. Punch dough down; knead for a few minutes until smooth and then form into a loaf. Place in greased loaf pan and cover. Let rise in a warm place until almost doubled in size, about 30 minutes.

4. Bake at 350 degrees for 30-35 minutes. If loaf starts browning too soon, lightly lay a piece of foil on top of the loaf to prevent too much darkening.

5. Remove bread from oven and allow to rest in pan for a few minutes. Remove to a wire rack and cover with a cloth. Slice and enjoy while still warm! Leftover bread can be stored in an airtight bag or frozen until needed.

*If you have a bread maker, you can use the dough setting to knead it for you. Just put ingredients in according to order listed.

This recipe also makes very delicious 100% whole wheat bread. The bread in this picture was made with Prairie Gold hard white wheat.

If you would like your whole wheat bread to have a softer and better texture, you can add these dough conditioning ingredients to this recipe:

• 3 tablespoons vital wheat gluten (replace 3 tablespoons of the flour called for in the recipe with this)

• 1/2 teaspoon soy lecithin (we use granules of lecithin, and add it to the water at the beginning)

• a pinch of citric acid (use sparingly!!)

• a sprinkling of ginger

You could also purchase pre-mixed dough conditioners, which contain some of these ingredients but are more costly. We found our citric acid, soy lecithin, and wheat gluten at a bulk foods store. A little goes a long way!

This is my standard wheat bread recipe because it turns out consistently good! This recipe was given to me by our friend Judy F. As with most any homemade yeast bread, this bread is best fresh, and will get drier after a day or so. It has a slightly sweet flavor and is an excellent dinner bread. My rating: 10/10.