My first homemade bread

Man, I really wish I had a breadmaker, that or a dough hook. I feel like I would be a lot more confident in my breakmaking. I just never know how long to knead the dough. It turned out a lot better than I had imagined it turning out. It was really tasty. It was a lot more dense than I was expecting it to be but it was great really. Please try it and let me know how it turns out for you. It was a great simple recipe to try out breadmaking.

Simple Honey Wheat Bread

From King Arthur Flour’s Classic 100% Whole Wheat Bread

Makes one loaf

Ingredients

- 2 1/4 tsp active dry yeast
- 1 1/4 cups lukewarm water
- 1/4 cup lukewarm milk
- 1/4 cup vegetable oil
- 1/4 cup honey, molasses, or maple syrup*
- 3 1/2 cups whole wheat flour
- 1 tsp salt

Directions

In a large bowl, combine all of the ingredients and stir until the dough starts to leave the sides of the bowl. Transfer the dough to a lightly greased surface, oil your hands, and knead it for 6 to 8 minutes, or until it begins to become smooth and supple. Transfer the dough to a lightly greased bowl, cover, and allow it to rise until puffy but not necessarily doubled in bulk. This will take about 60 minutes, depending on the warmth of your kitchen.

Transfer the dough to a lightly oiled work surface, and shape it to fit your pan. The KAF recipe calls for an 8 1/2 x 4 1/2-inch loaf pan but I only have 9 x 5-inch pans and they work for me. Cover the pan loosely with lightly greased plastic wrap, and allow the dough to rise for about 30 to 60 minutes, or until it’s crowned about 1 inch above the edge of the pan.

Bake the bread in a preheated 350F oven for about 40 minutes, tenting it lightly with aluminum foil after 20 minutes. Remove the bread from the oven and let it cool on a rack before slicing. Store the bread in a plastic bag at room temperature if you manage to restrain yourself from eating it all in one sitting.