Ingredients:
- 3 cups warm water
- 2 packages (.25 oz.) active dry yeast
- 1/3 cup honey
- 5 cups bread flour
- 3 tablespoons melted butter
- 1/3 cup honey
- 1 tablespoon salt
- 3 1/2 cups whole wheat flour
- 2 tablespoons melted butter
Directions
- In a large bowl, mix warm water and 1/3 cup honey. Add yeast and let develop.
- Next, add 5 cups white bread flour, and stir to combine. Let this combination set for 30 minutes, allowing the concoction to become big and bubbly.
- Next, mix in 3 tablespoons melted butter, 1/3 cup honey, and salt. Stir in 2 cups whole wheat flour until mixed.
- Flour with whole wheat flour a clean, flat surface and pour out the dough. Knead the dough, adding a bit of whole wheat flour as you go along until the mixture is a little less sticky and just pulling away from the counter. It should still be a little sticky to touch. (This can take around 2 to 4 more cups of whole wheat flour).
- Put dough in a greased bowl, turning once to coat the surface of the dough with the oil. Cover this with a moist but clean dishtowel and let rise in a warm place until doubled. This should take around one hour.
- When the dough has doubled in size, punch down, and cut into 3. Shape into loaves and place in greased 9 x 5 inch loaf pans.
- Allow your loaves to rise again until it has topped the pans by one inch.
- While waiting for your loaves to rise, preheat your bakery oven to 350F or 175C. Bake your loaves for 25 to 30 minutes. DO NOT overbake.
- Brush the tops of loaves with remaining 2 tablespoons of melted butter. This will prevent the crust from getting hard. Cool completely.