A really good whole wheat sandwich bread.

Last month I was visiting family in Kentucky and made a trip to Midway to visit Weisenberger MIll and pick up some bread flour.  Their flours are excellent, if you're in the area and like baking you should make the trip.  You can also order off their website but the shipping makes that a little expensive.  I asked for 10 pounds of their bread flour and 5 pounds of a blend flour I had seen on the website.  The blend is a mix of whole wheat and bread flours, and since I'm trying to eat a little healthier I wanted to try it out.  My first attempt over the weekend actually turned out really good, so I thought I'd post the recipe and procedure...

This is the formula.

500 grams (100%)  whole wheat blend flour
300 grams (60%)    cool water (I use filtered water)
10 grams   (2%)      honey (also purchased at the mill)
5 grams     (1%)      Instant Dry Yeast (IDY)
20 grams   (4%)      softened butter
10 grams   (2%)      salt
10 grams                 Melted butter for top (optional)

First I mixed the water with the honey, yeast and 200 grams of the flour.  The pats of softened butter were placed on top of that, followed by the rest of the flour and the salt.  The flour was leveled off and the bowl set aside for about 20 minutes.  The resting allows the yeast to start working and allows gluten to start forming in the flour/water mix at the bottom of the bowl.  I then kneaded the dough on the Kitchenaid until it was smooth.  The dough was wet, but easy to handle.  It was rounded, placed back in the bowl and covered with plastic wrap for the first ferment.  Rising was going pretty quick, so I punched the dough down a few times before shaping and putting in a large (9" x 5") loaf pan to rise (covered with plastic wrap).  When the rise was done, I made a slash on the top with a Baker's Blade and poured 10 grams of melted butter in the slash and over the top.  The loaf was baked in a 375 degree oven for about 20 minutes.  The temperature of the loaf when it was done was around 200 degrees.  I depanned the bread immediately as it came out of the oven and allowed it to cool completely on a wire rack.  Once cool, the loaf was put in a plastic bag.

This bread was sturdy enough to stand up to whatever you want to put on it, had a great flavor and made excellent toast.  Try it out!