I was tipped off to this recipe a year ago by my friend Melissa.

She found it on Progressive Pioneer.

Once I made it, I was hooked!

I

LOVE

IT!

I have been making it twice a month this past year for Rick’s Peanut Butter and Jelly sandwiches in his lunch.

(Bless his heart, he never complains but he has been eating the SAME lunch since medical school. I feel so guilty sometimes!)

THE TOOLS:

The Ingredients  for 2 loaves:

Combine in a Kitchen Aid:

3 1/2 cups warm water*

1 1/2 teaspoon yeast

1/4 cup honey

* 3 1/2 cups of cold water, in a glass pirex measuring cup, nuked in the microwave for 70 seconds, will get your water about 105-110 degrees, which is where you want it for the yeast.

Gently stir and then let the yeast proof for a few minutes.

Then gently stir in:

3 1/2 cups whole wheat flour*(of 7 total cups)

2 teaspoons salt

2 heaping tablespoons lecithin granules or olive oil

(*I really think King Arthur’s Flour is superior to others. I have tried others for this recipe, and the KA always turns out better!)

Mix it all up and let it sit for one minute.

Now add in the additional:

3 1/2 cups of whole wheat flour

 Mix it on high  for 7 min.

(I mix it on speed 7 or so)

One time, during these 7 minutes of intense beating of the dough, I left the kitchen.

When I came back,  bread dough had been flung all over my kitchen, as I forgot to LOCK the head of my Kitchen Aid.

The dough made it’s way up the beater and eventually starting flying off the beater.

I was laughing so hard.

The Kitchen Aid was about a foot away from where it was when I left the kitchen.

Lesson learned here: Lock it and don’t leave the kitchen!

This is what mine looks like after I beat it to death:

Very stretchy from the gluten.

Then let sit for 15 minutes.

Prepare 2-4″x8″ pans with butter and then coat with flour (if you’re doing the “dump” approach) while the dough rests

Amy @ Progressive Pioneer instructs:

“Dump the dough on a floured surface and divide in it half (I use one of those big pastry scrapers).

It will be quite sticky and stretchy (see the first photo), so work quickly and with plenty of flour.

Shape it loosely into loaves, put it in two pans and let it rise until it’s sticking over the top of the pan.

I line my pans with parchment paper and reuse it over and over. “

HOWEVER,

I sometimes just dump half of it straight into coated/greased pans and skip the “shape into loaves” part.

BUT

Both methods work!

Cover and let rise for an hour or so

60 minutes later (our apartment is 77 degrees)

At this point, I start preheating my oven.

10 minutes later, the bread is ready to go into the oven

Bake the bread at 350 for 35 minutes

It is really tasty, wonderful whole wheat bread with basic ingredients.

I will sometimes substitute HALF of my whole wheat flour for this:

Her recipe in her words:

To make two loaves, mix 3.5 cups warm water, 1.5 tsp. yeast, and 1/4 c. honey in your mixer bowl and let the yeast proof.  Next mix up and add half of your 7 cups of whole wheat flour (3.5 cups), 2 tsp salt and 2 heaping tablespoons lecithin granules or olive oil (I use olive oil because I have a bunch, but I think the lecithin makes it even spongier).  Mix it all up and let it sit for one minute.  You can just use a wooden spoon here.

Now add the second half of the flour (another 3.5 cups). I do this part in the Kitchenaid.  Mix it on high  for 7 min.  Then let sit for 15 minutes. Dump the dough onto a floured surface and divide in it half (I use one of those big pastry scrapers).  It will be quite sticky and stretchy (see the first photo), so work quickly and with plenty of flour.  Shape it loosely into loaves, put it in two pans and let it rise until it’s sticking over the top of the pan.  I line my pans with parchment paper and reuse it over and over.  Bake the bread at 350 for 35min.

Thank you AMY for this recipe!!