My New Favorite Honey Whole Wheat Bread

I was in search of a whole wheat bread recipe that was easier because I felt like if I could find an easier one, I would want to make it more :). I searched several of my favorite blogs and found this one. I made a few little changes and came up with a new recipe.

I decided to utilize my bread machine, not to make the actual loaf of bread (because my machine makes them round…), but to do the dough "part."

So, I put these ingredients in my machine, in order:

• 1 cup warm water
• ½ teaspoon soy lecithin (part of the dough enhancer)
• 1 tablespoon milk
• 2 tablespoons oil (I used coconut oil, melted)
• 2 tablespoons raw honey
• 2 tablespoons sucanat
• 1 teaspoon sea salt
• 3 cups hard white wheat flour
• 3 tablespoons vital wheat gluten
• Sprinkle citric acid and ginger
• 1 tablespoon active dry yeast

Once the dough cycle has been completed in the bread machine, I punched it down (a little), and shaped it into a loaf. I placed it in a greased loaf pan, put a towel over it, and placed it in my oven (with the door slightly open) on about 170 degrees (just warm enough to let it rise again). Once it has risen to be just above the top of the pan (after maybe 20 minutes), I turned up the temperature to 350, closed the door, and set my timer for 30 minutes. Once out, I took it out of the pan and placed a towel over it to keep the crust soft.

It came out beautiful and yummy.
 
If you don't have a bread machine, you can follow these steps:

1. Combine first 7 ingredients in a large mixing bowl.
   
2. Add flour, citric acid, ginger, and yeast and knead until dough is smooth and elastic (about 10-15 minutes).
   
3. Place dough in a greased bowl. Cover with a clean towel and let rise until doubled, about 40 minutes (in a warm place).
   
4. Punch dough down; knead for a few minutes until smooth then form into a loaf.
   
5. Place in greased loaf pan and cover. Let rise in warm place until almost doubled in size, about 30 minutes.
   
6. Bake at 350 degrees for 30-35 minutes.