Whole Wheat Bread Recipe (with notes for freshly milled flour)

Ingredients:

2 1/2 teaspoons instant yeast, or 1 packet active dry yeast
1 1/3 cups lukewarm water (use less if using fresh milk)
1/4 cup vegetable oil
1/4 cup honey, molasses, or maple syrup (I use honey)
3 ¾ cup freshly milled flour (I use hard white wheat)
1/4 cup nonfat dried milk OR use fresh milk and reduce water by ¼ cup
1 1/4 teaspoons salt

Optional: 2 T ground flaxseed (add toward the end of the kneading process)

Directions:

Yield: 1 loaf, 16 slices.

Prep: Stir yeast into lukewarm water. Set aside. Mill flour or get flour out of freezer to bring to room temp. Spray bread pan with Pam (do this now – before your hands get messy!). Have ½ cup flour handy so you can add to your dough as needed when kneading.

Mixing: In a large bowl, combine all of the ingredients including yeast and water and stir till the dough starts to leave the sides of the bowl. Let it sit about 20-30 minutes. Transfer the dough to a lightly floured surface, oil your hands, and knead it for 6 to 8 minutes, or until it begins to become smooth and supple. (You may also knead this dough in an electric mixer or food processor, or in a bread machine programmed for "dough" or "manual.") Add flour if dough is too sticky. Dough will still be somewhat sticky when you are done (your hands will be a mess – that is normal). Transfer the dough to your greased pan and allow to rise until rounded in pan (about 1 inch above the top of the pan), about 60 minutes, depending on the warmth of your kitchen. Be careful not to let the dough fall if you need to move it or when putting it in the oven. A finger pressed into the dough should leave a mark that rebounds slowly.

Baking: Bake the bread in a preheated 350°F oven for 37 minutes, tenting it lightly with aluminum foil after 20 minutes. Test it for doneness by removing it from the pan and thumping it on the bottom (it should sound hollow), or measuring its interior temperature with an instant-read thermometer (it should register 190°F at the center of the loaf). Remove the bread from the oven, and cool it on a wire rack before slicing. Store the bread in a plastic bag at room temperature.

If you use 3 mini loaf pans instead of one standard loaf pan, baking time is 25 minutes.

Notes on using freshly milled flour:

The fresher the better – milled within 24 hours gives the freshest taste. If you aren't using the flour immediately, store in the freezer.

Fresh flour is not as settled as store bought flour so you need more if measuring by the cup – this recipe has been adjusted.

If you get a good rise with this recipe, it may be a little too much for a standard loaf pan. You can put a small amount in a mini loaf pan if you need to.

Recipe adapted by Leslie Beck from King Arthur Flour.