Whole Wheat Bread

I have been making our sandwich bread for quite awhile now, and this recipe is our favorite. 

Makes 2 loaves

2 C whole wheat flour

2 C bread flour (if you are using freshly ground flour you can grind it extra fine for this)

2 T honey

2 packages of yeast

2 1/2 tsp salt

Dump all these things in a mixer. Mix on low and add:

2 C warm water (115 degrees)

4 T melted butter

At this point I like to add in about 1/2 C cooked oatmeal (at Rachel J.'s suggestion). It really helps make the bread moist.

Then, as the mixer mixes, add 1-2 C bread flour until the dough cleans from the bowl. You can let the machine kneed the dough for about 8 minutes, or kneed by hand for 10 minutes. I have found that when I kneed by hand it turns out better, lighter. 

Turn it out into a greased bowl, cover with a dish towel and let rise about and hour, or until doubled. Next, punch down, divide, form into two loaves and place in two greased 9x5 loaf pans. Cover and let rise until the dough rises above the top of the pan. Bake at 450 for 10 minutes, then reduce the temperature to 350 for 30 minutes. Remove bread from pans and let cool on a rack. Don't be too anxious to cut into it, let it cool a bit or else it will colapse as you slice. Have a warm piece with butter and honey. The rest I usually slice and put in a ziplock and freeze until needed.