Soft Whole Wheat Bread

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There is nothing quite like walking into the house and catching the smell of fresh baked bread. This is one of my mom's bread recipes that I had not made in a long time. A friend gave me some Hovis bread pans from a bakery they used to own and I thought I would try them out. I still use my mom and my grandma's bread pans, but these attached smaller loaf sized pans worked like a charm.

Ingredients:

• 2 1/2 cups very warm water
• 1 tablespoon lemon juice
• 3 tablespoons liquid honey
• 2 tablespoons oil
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 tablespoon instant yeast
• 2 cups whole wheat flour
• 3 cups white flour (plus 2 1/2 - 4 more cups to make a soft and smooth dough, but not sticky)

Method:

1. Put very warm water in a bowl or large measuring cup. Add lemon juice, honey, oil and salt. Stir well to combine.
2. In a large mixing bowl stir together both flours, and instant yeast.
3. Pour water mixture into flour and stir.
4. Knead dough at least 10 minutes, adding in the extra flour until you have a nice soft smooth dough. (see note below)
5. Cover dough with a clean tea towel and allow it to rise until double in bulk. About 45 minutes-1 hour.
6. Punch down the dough and form into loafs. Place in well greased bread pans. Let rise for 30-40minutes.
7. Bake at 350º for 30-40 minutes. Yields 3 regular sized loaves.

Note: When kneading dough for bread you will need to add more flour to make a soft smooth dough.  I also like to have another teaspoon or two of oil to work into the dough as needed. This dough is very easy to work with. The secret is to knead it well...punch away at that dough until you see lots of tiny bubbles....then you can let it rise, and you can take a rest.