Best Whole Wheat Bread

Things my mother's mother taught my mother and my mother taught me!

Who does not love homemade bread? What an incredibly wholesome and economic act of loving service! Making bread is actually not as hard as many people think. After making it a few times, it can be mixed and kneaded in just about 15 or 20 minutes.

I had a favorite recipe that I used frequently. It was a different from the great recipe my mother has always used. She asked me why I switched recipes, and I told her that I thought it tasted just as good. She challenged me to a cook-off! That was a fun day, each of us making our own batch of yummy brown bread. Mine was delicious! Everyone loved it. But when Mom served her bread, mine paled in comparison. Her bread won hands down, without a single vote to the contrary! I humbly present the vastly superior recipe of my mother's brown bread. Enjoy!

Ingredients:
5 cups warm water
1/2 cup honey
3 Tbl yeast (I prefer normal yeast instead of fast acting yeast)
2 Tbl salt
9 to 12 cups of light whole wheat flour*

Optional:
1/3 cup of vegetable oil
2 Tbl dough enhancer (a powder that is nutritious and makes texture even better)
3 Tbl powdered lecithin (so healthy you won't believe it)
1/4 cup vital wheat gluten flour (more healthy stuff)
3 T flax seed and/or milletseed

Very Detailed Directions:
Combine warm water, honey, and yeast in mixing bowl. Let sit for about 5 minutes while you gather the rest of your ingredients. Yeast should foam and bubble at the top of the water. If it doesn't get at least a thin layer of foamy yeast, your yeast is not fresh enough.
Add other ingredients, saving flour for last. You can use a kitchen aid, or any other mixer, or the old fashion way with a bowl and spoon, but who wants to be that old fashioned? Use a mixer if you can! Add flour one cup at a time, letting the flour mix into dough before adding the next cup. The amount of flour needed is different depending on altitude and weather. Crazy, isn't it?
When the bread dough has enough flour in it that it pulls away from the side of the bowl (about 6-7 cups?) it is ready to knead. It will be sticky, but firm enough to hold it's shape. Spread a thin layer of flour on a clean countetop (I use about half a cup). Put the dough on the flour, adding more flour to the top. Kneed the dough until you have added all of the flour that it needs. The dough should be smooth and firm, but not hard. This is probably the hardest part of making bread. If you don't use enough flour, the bread will fall in the oven. If you use too much flour, the bread will be heavy and coarse and not nearly as good. I usually only use about 9 cups.
Cover the dough with a cloth and let it sit until at least double in size. Usually I leave it for half an hour to an hour. Then kneed the bread again. If it is sticky, use some butter or oil on your hands. Divide the dough into 4 or 5 sections. Kneed each one into the shape of a loaf. Place in a buttered or oiled bread pan. Put into the oven to rise for about 30 minutes. Your bread should be double in size. Once bread is double in size, turn oven on to 350 degrees. Cook for 25-30 minutes. Don't open the oven door until bread is done or close-to-done or bread will fall. When bread is done, it will be golden brown on the top, not just in the center of the loaf, but all over, and it will sound a bit hollow when you tap the top of the loaf. Remove from pan and let cool on a cooling rack or on a towel. Rub butter over the top of the loaf for incredible results. Cover hot bread with a cloth until ready to serve. Once bread is completely cooled, store in plastic bag. Bread can also be frozen, but should be double bagged.