2 teaspoons yeast
½ cup warm water
6 cups whole wheat bread flour
2 ½ teaspoons salt
2 ¼ cups lukewarm water
2 tablespoons honey or other sweetener
2 tablespoons of oil or butter

Cooking Instructions:

Disolve the yeast in the ½ cup warm water. Mix the flour and salt in a large bowl, stirring to make the flour fluffy; make a well in the mixture. Disovle the honey in the 2 ¼ cups water and add the oil if you choose to use it. Pour the liquids and the yeast mixture into the well in the flour.

Stirring from the center, first combine the ingredients to make a smooth batter; then fold in the remaining flour from the sides of the bowl, mixing them together into the well in the flour. Stirring from the center, first combine the ingredients to make a smooth batter; then fold in the remaining flour from the sides of the bowl, mixing them together into a soft dough.Since coarser flours take a while to absorb water, when using them allow a few minutes foe the complete absoption of the water before you evaluate the dough.Add water or flour if more are required. If you want really great bread-best flavor, best rise, best keeping quality – knead the dough for about 20 minutes, or 600 strokes without adding more flour.

The dough should remain soft, and should become elastic and smooth. Rest when-ever you want to , but aim for 600 strokes. If you have opted to use butter in this bread work it in after the gluten has really begun to develop,about halfway through kneading.The butter should not melt, but should be worked into the dough while still firm. The French way is to smear the butter in the tabletop and knead in bits of it at a time and if you are working by hand, this is easy and effective. As you continue to work the dough, toward the end of the kneading, it will become lustrous,utterly supple and elastic. It should actually be white, if you look closely, with brown bran flecks clearly visible against the pale gluten.

Form the dough into a smooth round ball and put it into a big clean bowl to rise. Protect the dough from drying out by covering it, and keep it in a warm draft free place to rise. At about 80 degrees this will take 1 ½ hours at 70 about 2 ½. Punch down and let rise a second time, the second rise will take about half as long as the first at the same temp. Punch down and form into two equal balls cover and allow to rest for 10 minutes.

Shape into loaves place in two grease 8x4 loaf pans, and let rise once more.That should take 30 to 45 minutes for the final proof time.Preheat the oven to 425,place in hot oven and bake for 10 minutes turn temp down to 325 and bake for 45 minutes to an hour, or until the bread test done.The loaves should leave the pans easily and be an even golden brown with no pinkish areas, and if you thump their bottoms with your fingertips, they should sound hollow.