This Is What I Do When I Can’t Write,

bake bread with my son.

Jasper

Whole-Wheat Bread

1/2 cup milk

1/2 cup brown sugar

1/2 cup butter

4 teaspoons salt

1 3/4 cups lukewarm water

2 teaspoons sugar

2 packages active dry yeast

3 cups whole-wheat flour

3 cups white flour

Heat the milk, brown sugar, butter and salt together in a saucepan.  Stir constantly and remove from heat when butter melts completely.  Cool until lukewarm.  Mix the water and sugar.  Sprinkle the yeast on top. Stir once and then let stand 7-10 minutes.

Mix in the warm milk.  Stir together the whole-wheat and white flours.  Make a well in the center of the flour and pour in the yeast mixture.  Work the flour into the yeast, a little at a time.  Beat well, turn out on a lightly floured board.  Knead until smooth and elastic–at least 5 minutes.

A little help from Mark

Place in a greased bowl, cover with a dish towel and let rise until doubled in bulk, over an hour.  Turn out on a board and knead again for 1-2 minutes. Divide in half, and shape into loaves.  Place in greased bread pans, 9x5x3 inches.  Cover and let rise again until center of dough is slightly higher than the edge of the pan, about 45 minutes.  Bake at 375 for 40-50 minutes.  The top should be brown and the bread should sound hollow when tapped lightly with the fingers.  Remove from pans immediately and cool on wire racks.