Swirled Bread

7/30/2012

Homemade bread is my weakness. I love baking bread - especially in July when the humidity is at an all time high. This bread is a combination of white and wheat breads swirled together. It certainly ROSE beyond my expectations.

Swirled Bread
5-51/2 cups flour 1/3 cup shortening
5 teaspoons yeast 1 Tablespoon salt
3 cups milk 3 Tablespoons molasses
1/3 cup sugar 2 ½ cups whole wheat flour

Combine 3 ¼ cups flour and yeast and salt in mixing bowl. In saucepan, heat milk, shortening and sugar until warm and shortening is almost melted.

Add to flour mixture. Beat on high speed for 3 minutes. Remove 2 ½ cups batter. Add enough white flour to 1 batch of batter to make a soft dough. Knead 6-8 minutes. To remaining batter, add molasses and wheat flour. Knead 6-8 minutes. Shape each dough into a ball and place in separate greased bowls, cover and let rise for 1 hour.

Divide each dough in half. Roll out ½ of the white dough into a rectangle.

Roll wheat dough into a rectangle of the same size.

Place the wheat dough on top of the white dough.

Beginning from a short side, roll up dough to form a loaf.

Place in a greased loaf pan. Repeat with the remaining dough. Cover and let rise 45 minutes to 1 hour. Bake 30-35 minutes at 375.

So I set the bread outside on the screened in porch to rise while I headed to the pool for a mini swim break with my favorite daughter. When I came home an hour later, this is what my bread dough looked like...

Gotta love Atlanta humidity in July. I think this may be the biggest loaf of bread that I have ever made.

As gigantic as they were, these loaves baked up beautifully.