Whole Wheat Bread

I've been trying to make an effort lately to avoid buying store bought bread. I've been sticking to a relatively easy crusty, white bread recipe. The other day though, I thought I'd mix it up and try a wheat bread, which is what I normally eat anyway. It turned out much better than I expected.



Whole Wheat Bread Recipe
Adapted from Cooking Bread.com

Ingredients

1/2 tablespoon honey
1/4 cup warm water
2 packages of fleishman's dry yeast
7 cups of 100% whole wheat flour
1 tablespoons salt
2 1/2 cups hot water
1/4 cup honey
1/3 cup oil

Dissolve the honey in warm water. Sprinkle the yeast on top. Set aside. In a large bowl, combine 3 1/2 cups of the flour with the salt, water, honey, and oil. Mix with a wooden spoon until thoroughly mixed. Add the yeast mixture. Add the remaining 2.5 to 3 cups of flour, 1 cup at a time, Lay on a floured surface when adding flour if you don't have a mixer. Do this until the dough is smooth. Knead for 10 minutes or mixer on low speed. Lightly oil hands and counter top and mold dough into 2 loaves. Put into 2 large bread pans that have been greased with a solid shortening. Cover and let rise in a warm place until the dough has increased by one-half in bulk. I Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. When dough has increased by one-half, bake for 40 to 45 minutes or until loaves test done. Remove the breads from pans when they're done and cool on wire rack.