Whole-Wheat Bread

Cooking is my one claim to domesticity. Ever since I began staying home with my son, I’ve been a fan of baking bread while he naps. It’s a few minutes of effort with a big payoff—fresh, warm bread for dinner. Here’s one of my recent favorites, which mixes entirely in one bowl and produces moist, hearty loaves. It’s a slightly hacked version of a recipe from the King Arthur Flour site: a few tweaks based on taste and an overall doubling to make two loaves. (Once it cools, bag and freeze one loaf for when you don’t have time to bake fresh.)

Combine in a large bowl:

• • 3 cups water
  • 6 tablespoons olive oil
  • 8 tablespoons honey, molasses or a combination of the two
  • 7 cups whole wheat flour, or:
    • 5 cups whole wheat flour
    • 1 cup rye flour
    • 1 cup white flour
  • 1/2 cup sunflower seeds, chopped (use a mini food processor, if you have one, for this and the walnuts)
  • 1/2 cup walnuts, chopped
  • 2 TBS poppy seeds (optional)
  • 3 teaspoons salt
  • 3 teaspoons instant yeast

Mix with a rubber spatula or wooden spoon until dry ingredients are moistened and form a rough dough. Let sit for 20 minutes so flour fully absorbs liquid.

Knead on a floured board for 5-10 minutes, until it forms a smooth and elastic ball. Place in an oiled bowl and cover tightly with plastic wrap. Let rise until doubled, about an hour.

Turn dough onto floured board, press slightly to flatten, and divide in half. Shape each half into a loaf and place into oiled 8 1/2 x 4 1/2″ loaf pans. Cover with oiled plastic wrap and let rise for another hour.

Preheat oven to 350°. Bake bread for 45-50 minutes, or until internal temperature reaches 200°. (Use a meat thermometer or other cooking thermometer.) Remove from pans and cool on rack for about 15 minutes before slicing.