Honey Whole Wheat Bread Recipe

There are a huge amount of variations to recipes when it comes to making bread and I suspect just like you, I wanted something not too complicated to make.

• Two packets of quick rise yeast

• One and half teaspoons of salt

• Quarter of a cup of vegetable oil

• Seven cups of whole wheat flour (you could just use 3 whole wheat and 4 all purpose)

• Half a cup of runny honey

• One large egg

• Optional ~ Poppy seeds, Pumpkin seeds, Crushed almonds or Mixed nuts

• One large mixing bowl

• Cup measure

• Whisk

• Baking sheet

• Cooling rack

• Cling film or plastic bag

• Clean tea towel

• Aluminum foil

• Pastry brush

• Sharp knife

• Optional ~ a food thermometer

In your large bowl add together 3 cups of whole wheat flour, yeast and salt.

Add one and two thirds cups of very hot water (120 – 130 degrees) this recipe uses hot tap water but you can boil in advance and let it cool to the correct temperature if you prefer then stir all these ingredients together

Beat together your honey, oil and egg and add this to your mix along with one cup of all purpose flour.

Add more of your flour slowly until your honey whole wheat bread mixture doesn’t feel sticky; it’s not good to add too much as the bread will be too dry.

Now for the fun part where if there is any frustration inside you, you can literally punch and knead this dough for at least 10 minutes to let it all out!

Push it out on a lightly floured surface, fold it and push and punch it out again, keep going as this makes for a great workout at the same time.

The secret for making good bread, even honey whole wheat bread is all about the kneading. It should feel smooth and a little like elastic when you pull it.

Cut the dough mixture into two equal halves and cover with a plastic bag or cling film and leave it to rest for ten minutes, this just helps you when you come to shaping your dough into round loaves.

Take your two halves of dough and shape them by patting them into loaf shapes, round ones look lovely.

Place these on a cookie or flat baking tray, cover with a clean tea towel or more plastic and place in a nice warm place, an airing cupboard is good, this is where I put mine or on the top of your oven (not inside) which is pre-heating.

After about 30 minutes or so you will want to have a peek and are looking for the dough to have doubled in size, wait a while longer until it has.

Using a sharp knife cut a X shape on top of each loaf and place in the oven just above the middle shelf.

Once the bread is golden brown (approx 20 minutes) place some aluminum foil over the loaves and cook for a further 10 minutes. Half an hour in total is quite sufficient to cook this lovely bread.

To check this bread is cooked through use a food thermometer and poke it through the middle which needs to show the center has reached 190 degrees.

If you don’t have one of these try inserting a skewer or sharp knife, if it comes out "clean" then it’s cooked.

Take out of the oven and using a pastry brush either using honey or melted butter just spread a little over the top to make it shine and sprinkle some of your optional extras on top too.

Place your loaves on a cooling rack but wait till they are still slightly warm before cutting. It is not good to eat hot bread straight from the oven however tempting that aroma is.

This bread freezes well, I know this having made a few batches myself, not that they last too long, they get eaten very quickly.

Try spreading a little honey-butter on its own or crunchy peanut butter but if you are trying to lose a little weight just a spoonful of honey is delicious.