How to make your own whole wheat bread (with pic)

I got asked a few times how I make my bread, so I thought I'd share in case anyone else was interested and wanted to give it a whirl. This is a whole wheat loaf, so it's quite dense. It's great for sandwiches.

This bread is cheap, easy, and delicious.

Makes 1 loaf.

Ingredients:

2 tsp dry active yeast
2 cups warm (think baby bathwater temp) water (DO NOT USE HOT WATER)
1/4 cup (about half a 1/3 of a cup) of extra light olive oil
1/4 cup honey
1 tsp salt
1 large egg, lightly whisked
5-6 cups whole wheat flour

Directions:

In a large metal or glass bowl, pour warm water and gently mix in yeast until dissolved. Let sit at room temperature for 10 minutes until a brown smelly soup forms (can't think of a better way of saying it!).

With a metal whisk, gently whisk yeast mixture adding in olive oil, honey, salt, and egg until well mixed. Put away whisk and grab a metal spoon. Add flour 1/4 cup at a time, mixing so there are no clumps. After 3 cups, you might need to start mixing by hand. Just gently knead in the flour until a sticky dough forms. If the dough is gooey, add 1/8 cup flour at a time until you can form a sticky loose dough ball.

Spread some flour on your countertop or prep board and put some on your hands. Toss dough ball onto floured surface and knead with the palms of your hands until the dough is elastic and smooth. If you can pull the dough apart and see strings of fibers, then you're done. This will take approximately 8-12 minutes. Don't be afraid to knead a minute longer than you think you need to just in case.

Lightly grease a large metal or glass bowl. Plop dough in there and spray the top with nonstick spray. Cover with plastic wrap and let sit for 90 minutes. The dough will rise quite a bit. Helpful hint: I do this in a cool oven with the oven light on. This helps keep temperature even and ensure a good rise.

After rising, reflour your preparation surface and hands, preheat oven to 375, and grease your loaf pan. Plop dough on this surface and slap it a few times to get the bubbles out. Roll into a cylinder the length of your loaf pan and gently place your dough cylinder in the loaf pan, seam side down. Cover with plastic wrap and let rise another 10-15 minutes on stovetop (above your warm oven). Once the dough has risen a bit, remove cover and bake for 30 minutes or until loaf sounds hollow when you tap it (should sound like someone tapping on the door).

Let loaf sit in pan for 20 minutes to cool. Remove from loaf pan and let cool on a cooling rack. Wait to slice until loaf is completely cooled and enjoy!



Nutritional Information per Loaf:

Calories: 3,095
Carbs: 553g
Fat: 74g
Protein: 101g
Sugar: 74g
Sat. Fat: 10g

Each loaf makes about 24 thin-medium slices or 16 thick slices.

ETA: The loaf will last 4-5 days before becoming stale, but only if you store it correctly. Make sure you keep it in a plastic bread bag (save one from a storebought loaf if you have it) or wrapped in plastic cling wrap.