Whole Wheat Sandwich Bread

I'm an introvert by nature.  A fact that won't surprise anyone who knows me.  😅 It's taken me a long time for me to accept the fact that being an introvert is a part of what makes me - me.  It's not necessarily a personality flaw but I've still had to learn to how to deal with it.  I've learned over the years that after I spend time socializing and interacting with people, I need to recharge by spending time alone.  

I've also learned that by contrast, extroverts (like my husband) glean energy from other people.  We've been married for nearly 29 years and we're still trying to understand the intricacies of each other's personality traits.  He's learned to accept my need for solitude but I still don't think he'll ever understand it.  

One of the things I do when I feel the need to reenergize myself is retreat to my kitchen.  There's a reason that I chose a neutral, monochromatic color scheme that evokes a sense of peacefulness and calm when I redesigned my kitchen last Fall.  It's also the room where I spend a lot of alone time.  My family is well aware of the fact that if they linger in the kitchen for any length of time, I will assign them a task.  Sooooo, they tend to avoid hanging out in there and as a result - I get a lot of alone time in the kitchen.   🤣

Solo baking is actually therapeutic for me.  🥖  For some reason, I find the experience of combining simple ingredients into light, fluffy loaf of bread - incredibly fulfilling.  It's not an experience that can be rushed or forced.  It takes time and a whole lot of  patience to be a bread baker.  These loaves of Whole Wheat Sandwich Bread took 3 days of preparation.  It may seem like a long time but most of the time during those 3 days are spent waiting for the dough to rise.  Trust me when I tell you that this delicious bread was worth every minute of time that I invested into it.  

Whole Wheat Sandwich Bread
Sponge
2 cups bread flour
1 cup warm water
1/2 teaspoon yeast

Soaker
3 cups whole wheat flour
2 cups whole milk
1/2 cup wheat germ

Dough
6 Tablespoons butter, softened
1/4 cup honey
2 Tablespoons yeast
2 Tablespoons oil
4 teaspoons salt

Combine sponge ingredients.  

Cover with plastic wrap and let sit 8-24 hours at room temperature. 

Combine soaker ingredients.  

Knead 2-3 minutes by hand.  

Return to bowl.  Cover with plastic wrap.  Refrigerate 8-24 hours.  

Tear soaker into 1" pieces and place in bowl of stand mixer. 

Add butter, honey, yeast, oil, salt and sponge.  Knead 10 minutes. 

Transfer to a greased bowl.  Cover and let rise 45 minutes. 

Gently fold dough 8 times.  

Cover and let rise 45 minute longer. 

Transfer dough to counter and divide in half. 

Press each half into a 17x8" rectangle.  

Roll dough, starting with short side.

Pinch seam closed and seam side down in greased loaf pans. 

Cover pans with greased plastic wrap and let rise 1 - 1 1/2 hours. 

Slash loaves 1/4" deep lengthwise.  

Preheat oven to 400.   Place baking stone in oven to preheat.

Place an empty loaf pan in oven.  Bring kettle of water to a boil  Fill empty loaf pan with water.

Place loaves on baking stone, reduce heat to 350 and bake 40-50 minutes or until loaves reach 200 degrees.  

Cool 2 hours in pan before removing.  

I can think of so many reasons that I need to keep a loaf (or 2) of this bread on hand at all times. 😅

​Ciao! 

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