Whole Wheat Bread

This is my go-to bread recipe since I first discovered it back in October. I thought I had already posted this recipe, but apparently, I had not! So here it is, in all it's glory. Making bread isn't quite a difficult task so much as a patience-testing one. It's worth all the waiting though - homemade bread is always worth the wait.

Whole Wheat Bread

This recipe makes two 8-inch loaves.

1 package of active dry yeast
1/4 cup of warm water (not hot water!)

Combine the yeast and the water, stir the yeast up to make sure it dissolves, then set the mixture aside while you get your other ingredients ready.

1 1/2 cup hot water
1/3 cup brown sugar
2 teaspoons salt
3 tablespoons butter

Combine all of these ingredients in a large bowl and let the mixture cool to lukewarm.
Once the mixture has cooled, mix in:

2 cups whole wheat flour
1 cup bread flour

Once the flours are incorporated, add the yeast mixture and continue to add more bread flour until the dough becomes stiff but pliable.
Knead the dough on a lightly floured surface until it's smooth and elastic, about 10 minutes or so.
Form the dough into a ball and place it into a lightly greased bowl, cover the bowl with a kitchen towel and let it rest in a warm room for about an hour and a half, or until it has doubled in volume.
Then, take the proofed dough out of the bowl and punch it down, cut it in half, then ball up each half and cover with the kitchen towel again to rest for 10 minutes.
Shape each ball of dough into a loaf and place in greased loaf pans, then let them rise for about an hour and a half, until they've doubled in size again.
Bake the loaves at 375 degrees for about 40 minutes, or until the loaves sound hollow when they're tapped. Take the baked loaves out of the pans and let them cool down completely on a rack.
Enjoy with cheese, jam, peanut butter, nutella... whatever you fancy!