I'm on the hunt for a go-to wheat bread recipe. I've been testing out a new one each week and most of them have been okay, while only one has been flat out disgusting. By the way, few things are worse than spending 3 hours working on bread and it turning out nearly inedible.I came across this one last week in a Williams sonoma cookbook. When I saw it made the kitchenaid do all the work I was sold. It came together easy and tastes great. Finally!
I'm keeping this one around, however I'm still working on the perfect 100% whole wheat bread. If you have one you love please let me know!
White wheat bread
makes 2 loaves
1 1/2 Tbsp active dry yeast
pinch of brown sugar
1 cup (250ml) warm water (105-115 degrees)
1 1/2 cups (375ml) tepid milk (90 degrees)
1/4 cup (75g) pure maple syrup, honey or light molasses
1/4 cup (60ml) canola oil
1 Tbsp salt
3 cups (470g) whole wheat flour
3 1/2 - 4 cups bread flour, or more if needed
In a bowl, sprinkle the yeast andbrown sugar over the water and stir to dissolve. Let stand until foamy, about 10 minutes.
In a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, combine milk, maple syrup, oil, salt and 2 cups of the whole wheat flour. Beat on medium-low speed until creamy, about 1 minute. Beat in the yeast mixture and the remaining whole wheat flour and beat for 1 minute. Beat in the bread flour, 1/2 cup at a time, until the dough pulls away from the sides of the bowl. Switch to the dough hook. Knead on low speed, adding bread flour 1 tbsp at a time if the dough sticks, until smooth but slightly sticky when pressed, about 5 minutes.
Transfer the dough to an oiled deep bowl and turn the dough once to coat it. Cover loosely with plastic wrap and let rise at room temperature until doubled in bulk, 1-1 1/2 hours.
Lightly grease two loaf pans. Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured board and divide it in half. Flatten into a rectangle that measures about 14"x9" with your hands, and roll like you would when making cinnamon rolls. And place into loaf pans. Cover loosely with plastic wrap and let rise until about 1 inch above the rim of each pan, about 1 hour.
Preheat the oven to 350 F. Bake until the loaves are golden brown and pull away from the sides of the pan, 35-40 minutes. Turn out onto racks and let cool completely.
