Whole Wheat Egg Bread

Nothing smells as good as homemade whole wheat bread baking in the oven. When I was little my mom would make whole wheat bread. As soon as it came out of the oven we would slice it up, cover it with butter and raspberry freezer jam, and chow down. We could do in a whole loaf, just my mom, sister, and I.

Over the years I have tried several recipes, and this one is my favorite. It's not the "healthiest" in terms of sugar and oil, but it lasts the longest, stays the freshest, and the texture and flavor are amazing even after it's been frozen. Egg bread also has the added benefit of higher protein content. Give it a try; you won't be disappointed.

4 c warm water
4 T yeast
1/2 c sugar or 1/4 c honey
1/2 c oil
4 eggs
2 T salt
12 c whole wheat flour


Preheat the oven to 325 (this helps warm your kitchen up.) Lightly grease four bread pans. Make sure your flour is warm; if it didn't get hot in your grinder, put it in the microwave for a few seconds.

Pour water into a large bowl and add yeast. Sprinkle sugar over yeast and let it sit until bubbly, one to three minutes.  Add oil, eggs, salt, and 6 cups of warm flour. Mix five minutes or until the gluten activates and it is elastic. Add remaining 6 cups of flour. Knead 10 minutes in a Bosch (lucky) or 15 minutes by hand. It might seem sticky, but give it 5 or 6 minutes for the rest of the gluten to activate.

My favorite way to knead is done with the dough in the bowl. Scoop the dough from the side of the bowl, make a fist, and punch the middle down. Rotate the bowl and repeat for 15 minutes.  When you finish the dough should be in a big ball, and should spring back if you push a small hole into it with your finger. Let rise until double (I may or may not skip this step 98% of the time...)

Dump the dough onto a floured bread cloth. With a big knife or scraper, cut the dough into four equal parts. Roll each portion into a loaf and place them in the greased pans. Cover with a tea towel and let rise 1 1/2-3 hours, or until the part above the rim is as tall as the pan.  Bake at 325 for 25-30 minutes.

 

Tip the loaves out of the pan and cool on wire racks. Break open a loaf and enjoy it hot! There's nothing like fresh bread, hot out of the oven. When completely cool, bag and freeze. This recipe works well halved, but since it freezes amazingly you might as well make the full batch for the work.

Note: There is nothing worse than slicing open your loaf only to discover that the center is doughy! Some tips for avoiding this tragedy: after you pull your pan out of the oven, tip the loaf out and see if the side is browned. Pale sides mean the center is doughy. If you have maxed out your 30 minutes, turn off the oven but let the loaves sit inside the oven for another 3-5 minutes. Err on the side of a well browned crust.