Basic All Whole Wheat Bread

Basic Whole Wheat Bread

I love the instant gratification of quick breads.
However, I also love the flavor of a yeast bread. I am rather impatient so I have been working on devising an all whole wheat bread, that can bypass the 14-15 hour wait that is required to create a proper ‘sponge’ (so that your bread will rise, rather than become a huge cracker). I have made Irish soda bread before, and it has the instant rise, but lacks the flavor, so I came up with the plan to combine the two recipes. Voila, fresh, all whole wheat bread in about 2 hours.

Step 1:
Combine in bowl:
1 1/3 c. warm water
1 ½ T. dry yeast
1 T. Honey
Cover with plastic wrap, let proof for 10 min. in a warm spot.

Step 2:
Combine in large mixing bowl:
4 c. whole wheat flour
1 T. baking powder
1 T. salt

Step 3:
Combine proofed yeast mixture into the flour mixture,
Add:
1 2/3 c. water
¼ c. extra virgin olive oil
Cover, let rise for 30 minutes.

Step 4:
Transfer dough (it looks more like batter at this point), evenly into 2 oiled 4 by 5 by 9 inch loaf pans (a really fool proof way to get the loaves out of the pan neatly is to line them with parchment paper)

Step 5:
Bake in a 350 degree oven for 50-60 min. or until a toothpick inserted into the middle comes out clean.Cool (an hour?) before removing from pans