Soft & Delicious Whole Wheat Bread from Scratch

Directions

• Put warm water in large bowl. Add yeast and allow to proof (leave it alone for 5-8 minutes).
• Stir in honey and melted butter. Then stir in salt, vital wheat gluten, and 2 cups of the flour.
• Add another cup of flour and stir until incorporated. Then transfer dough onto floured surface.
• Gradually add about another cup of flour while kneading. Just sprinkle in a bit at a time, as you reveal sticky spots in the dough. Knead for a total of 10 minutes.
• Form dough into the shape of a ball. Grease a bowl with a bit of olive oil, and place dough ball in. Cover with a damp towel. Place somewhere warm to proof, such as an oven that was on a little while ago and is still slightly warm. Leave alone for 45 minutes.
• Dough should have about doubled in size. Remove from bowl and punch down (squish a bit with your hands). Now form the dough into a log shape, and try to pull and tuck the seams underneath the loaf so the top and sides are nice and smooth.
• Grease a metal or glass loaf pan with a bit of olive oil and set in the dough. Cover with damp towel, and leave in warm place to rise for another 45 minutes.
• Preheat oven to 350 degrees (making sure to remove dough first if you were using the oven in the previous steps). Bake the dough, uncovered, for 40-45 minutes. What you want to end up with is a medium-brown color, and a slight hollow sound when you tap on the loaf with your finger.
• Remove from oven. Once pan is cool enough to handle, remove bread from the pan and set on cooling rack or cutting board. Wait until cooled almost to room temperature before slicing.
• Store leftover bread in plastic wrap, an old bread bag, or double-wrap and put in the freezer.