Have you ever made bread with freshly ground wheat? If you have then you know that you need to soak the wheat flour before you use it to make bread or the bread will turn out tasting like the main ingredient is sawdust.
I have a large 2 paddle bread machine that I make bread in and the "soaker" rises all the way to the top of the pan. So if your bread machine is one of the smaller you will need to mix up your soaker in a larger container.
Edited to Add:You will need to add some oil or the bread will be dry. The whipped butter is mostly water and I put it in to get a butter taste without having to use a lot of butter. I also make one very large loaf that I cut in two and put in two separate bags, I don't have any regular loaf pans. Growing up my mom always used to cook our bread in a cast iron skillet but I prefer a sheet pan with parchment paper. I order bread bags from
http://www.pleasanthillgrain.com/bread_bags_plastic_poly.aspx if your interested.
Honey Whole Wheat Bread
Makes 2 loaves
1 heaping tablespoon sugar
2 tablespoons oil
3 tablespoons honey
3 ounces whipped tub butter melted
1/2 heaping cup powdered milk
1-teaspoon salt
1-1/2 cups very warm water
1 large egg
4 large egg yolks
3 tablespoons vital wheat gluten
3 cups all-purpose flour
1-tablespoon yeast
3 cups bread flour
Place all the ingredients (except for the last 3 cups of flour) in bread machine in the order listed. Turn machine on just to mix well then turn the machine off and allow mixture to sit in the bread machine for 4 hours.
Then add the last 3 cups of flour to the machine, select the dough cycle and turn the machine back on. When the dough cycle is finished remove the dough from the machine. Divide the dough into two loaves, shape and place in prepared bread pans to rise.
Allow dough to rise until the dough is 2 inches above the pan. Then bake in a preheated 375° oven for 20 to 25 minutes or until the internal temperature of the bread reaches 180°. Remove bread from the pans to a cooling rack and cool completely before slicing. Store at room temperature in plastic bags of some other airtight container.
