Honey Graham Bread

Posted by Donna:

This recipe comes from an old Southern Living magazine. I tried it for the first time this week and really liked it.

2 envelopes active dry yeast
1/2 cup warm water
2 tsp. sugar
3 cups sifted whole wheat flour
1-1/2 cups milk ( I used 2% milk.)
1/2 cup honey
2 tsp. salt
1/4 cup butter or margarine, softened
2-1/2 to 3 cups bread flour (sifted)

Combine yeast, water and sugar in a 2-cup glass measuring cup; let stand 5 minutes.

Beat yeast mixture, 1-1/2 cups whole wheat flour, and next 4 ingredients at medium speed with an electric mixer until well blended. Stir in the remaining 1-1/2 cups wheat flour. Add the bread flour, 1 cup at a time, beating after each addition. Let stand 15 minutes.

Turn dough out onto a floured surface, and knead 8 minutes. Place in a well-greased bowl, turning to grease the top.

Cover and let rise in a warm place (85 degrees) for 1 hour until the dough has doubled in bulk. It took my dough exactly an hour to do this. Punch the dough down, and divide it into 2 equal portions. Shape each portion into a loaf; place the loaves into 2 greased 9 x 5 inch loaf pans.

Cover and let rise in a warm place for 30 to 45 minutes---until doubled in bulk again.

Bake at 375 degrees for 20 minutes; cover loosely with foil and bake 15 more minutes. Remove from pans and cool on wire racks.

This bread turned out so well. It has just the right amount of sweetness. I ended up cutting one loaf into thirds and sharing it with three people from our congregation. I baked this two days ago, and it's still very moist. I was surprised that it wasn't heavy, as some breads can be. I do think kneading it for 8 minutes made a difference.

My next post will be the Apricot Butter that I made to go along with the bread.