The food out here

Honey wheat bread, perfect for any spread

By HUNTER HILL
Posted 9/21/22

When it comes to food in our household, my wife is the better chef, and I am the better baker. We share in both duties, but we bow to each other’s strengths.

As my regular readers will …

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The food out here

Honey wheat bread, perfect for any spread

Posted

When it comes to food in our household, my wife is the better chef, and I am the better baker. We share in both duties, but we bow to each other’s strengths.

As my regular readers will know, she helps me most months with whatever recipe I write about, whether by testing it or suggesting it. This month, I thought I’d take it easy on her and make an old standby that she and I have come to love for our sandwiches and toast.

Honey-wheat bread is a pretty common style at the store for its sweet alternative to regular wheat and whole-grain bread options. While I appreciate those other types myself, nothing beats a good homemade sweet and healthy loaf.

The recipe I use typically has a structure that is dense enough to hold up to peanut butter and other thicker spreads, so it’s great for sandwiches. However, the fear I always have in the back of my mind when trying a new wheat recipe is how heavy the bread will be, since wheat flour is naturally heavier than AP (all-purpose) or even higher-protein bread flour.

This recipe, however, has not disappointed me with its density; it remains light, so you don’t have to stop after a couple of slices.

If you really like the honey aspect, I would suggest slicing the loaf and toasting it just enough to have a light center and crusty edges.

Then, while the bread is still warm, slather it with your favorite bee butter. We get ours from Endless Mountain Apiary, halfway between Montrose, PA, and us. They always have a wide selection of honey from wildflower to clover, and all in bee-tween.

That bee-ing said, there are plenty of local hive-keepers much closer, whether you reside in New York or PA. We stock some local honey at our farmstand on the Beach Lake Highway, and it’s also available at a number of shops and cafes in Narrowsburg, NY and Honesdale, PA.

If you’re on a budget, don’t feel bad about going to Walmart to get your fix. It has a great bargain brand that typically retails for half the local apiary prices. Just keep in mind that the honey comes from a different geographical area, with its own pollen combination, so it doesn’t provide the same immunological advantages of true local honey.

If you didn’t know, local honey can help with allergies because it could work as a healthy introduction to local pollen, and reduce the effects of it when you’re exposed.

The way out here, we like our sweet things. If not fruits and berries, then the delicious nectar of the busy buzzing workers that make our bread so delicious.

Honey wheat bread

Adapted from Genny Monchamp’s recipe for round whole wheat loaves, published in “The Taste of Home Cookbook,” by Reader’s Digest.

Purchase the book on Amazon at www.amazon.com/taste-home-cookbooks/.

  • 4 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
  • 1 1/2 cups whole wheat flour
  • 2 packages (1/4 oz each) active dry yeast
  • 3/4 cup warm water
  • 1 cup warm milk
  • 3 eggs
  • 3/4 cup butter or shortening
  • 1/2 cup honey
  • 2 teaspoons salt

In a bowl, combine the flours with a whisk and set aside.

In another bowl, dissolve the yeast in warm water. Add milk, honey, eggs, butter or shortening, and salt.

Beat in half of the flour mixture until smooth. Stir in enough flour mixture to form a soft dough.

Turn onto a lightly floured surface. Knead until smooth and elastic, about 6-8 minutes. Bread dough made with whole-wheat flour is often more moist than bread made with only all-purpose flour, so keep that in mind, and don’t add too much flour while you knead.

Place in greased bowl, turning once to grease top. Cover and let rise in a warm place until doubled, 1 hour or more.

Grease two 8 inch-by-4-inch bread pans, or choose a size to fit.

Punch dough down. Turn onto slightly floured surface. Divide in half.

Shape each portion into a loaf. Place in greased pans. Cover and let rise until doubled, about 35 minutes.

With a sharp knife or razor blade, slash the top of each loaf. Bake at 375 degrees Fahrenheit for 30-35 minutes or until golden brown.

Remove from pans to wire racks; brush with melted butter. Cool completely.

honey wheat bread

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