Easy Milk and Honey Whole Grain Bread

Easy Milk and Honey Whole Grain Bread is flavorful and nutritious, with a soft, rich texture and tender crumb. It has become a family favorite.

“She heard the air whooshing into the big bellows in the forge and the practice tap for range of hammer on anvil. She heard Liza open the oven door and the thump of a kneaded loaf on the floury board.”

East of Eden, John Steinbeck

Inspiration

Introduced to whole grain bread at a conference, I marveled at the nutty taste. It was so different from the white bread we usually ate. The whole grain bread was fragrant and satisfying. Held in a redwood grove near the coast in northern California, it was a typical foggy, damp, coastal morning. When we arrived, we were offered warm-from-the-oven, whole grain bread with butter and honey. The bread warmed our spirits and filled us with whole grain nourishment. The memory of whole grain bread and warm honey has stayed with me. This recipe for Easy Milk and Honey Whole Grain Bread is my ode to that day.

Nutrition and flavor are the reasons to add whole grains to our daily diets. There’s vegan protein and fiber too. Whole grains are good at filling up hungry humans, keeping thoughts of snacking away.

Essentials

Our favorite way to enjoy Easy Milk and Honey Whole Wheat Bread is toast for breakfast. The aroma of nutty whole wheat and spelt with honey is unmistakable as the bread warms in the toaster. A peanut or almond butter sandwich made with Easy Milk and Honey Whole Grain Bread is an amazing lunch or snack. The recipe comes together easily and makes two fabulous loaves of whole grain bread.

Making Easy Milk and Honey Whole Grain Bread to share with family and friends I began to streamline the process. The ingredients remained the same, but I found that the dough could be deflated in the bowl. There was no need to use and clean up a floured surface. Deflating the dough in the bowl insures no more flour is added to the recipe, keeping Easy Milk and Honey Whole Grain Bread’s tender crumb and soft texture. Less time is spent making bread by warming the liquid ingredients and then using the stand mixer’s whisk attachment to mix them together with the active dry yeast. Using a scale to measure the dry ingredients always makes for the best baking outcomes.

	Easy Milk and Honey Whole Grain Bread
2-1/2 C	whole milk
3/4 C	honey
1/2 C	unsalted butter (more for the loaf pans & bowl)
2	large eggs
2 pkgs/4-1/2 t	active dry yeast
4-1/2 C/660 grams	whole wheat flour
3C/350 grams	spelt flour
1-1/4 C/100 grams	wheat germ
1 T	fine grain sea salt

1. Liberally butter 2- 9”x5” loaf pans and a large mixing bowl.
2. Warm the milk in the microwave or stovetop to finger tip temperature, no more than 110°. If needed, warm the honey in the microwave or on the stovetop, just until it is fluid and pours easily. Melt the butter in the microwave or on the stovetop.
3. In the bowl of a stand mixer add the milk, honey, butter, eggs and active dry yeast. Attach the whisk attachment to the mixer and mix until the eggs are broken up and throughly incorporated. Remove the whisk attachment and bowl from the stand mixer. Add the whole wheat flour, spelt flour, wheat germ and salt to the bowl. Return the bowl to the stand mixer and attach the dough hook. Mix on low speed to thoroughly combine the wet and dry ingredients. Stop to scrape down the side and bottom of the mixer bowl. Once all the flour is mixed in and the dough comes together turn the mixer to medium-low speed and mix for five minutes. Transfer the dough to the buttered bowl and cover with plastic wrap. Set in a warm place to proof, until almost doubled in size, for 1 to 1-1/2 hours.
4. Deflate the dough in the bowl by using a flexible bench scraper or large rubber scraper. Scrape the dough down from the outside edges of the bowl toward the center of the bowl, turning the bowl as part of the process, making sure all the dough has been deflated. Then scrape half of the dough into each buttered loaf pan. Smooth out the dough with a flexible bench scraper, or your hands, lightly moistened with water. Make sure that the loaves are of even size and thickness by pushing the dough into the corners and edges of the loaf pans.
5. Heat the oven to 350° while the dough proofs. Let proof for twenty-five to thirty minutes. When ready to bake, the dough will reach the rim of the loaf pan and have a slightly rounded top.
6. Place both of the loaf pans in the center of the oven with at least an inch between them. Bake the loaves for 25 to 30 minutes. When done, the Easy Milk and Honey Whole Grain Bread will have a toasty brown top crust, sound hollow when tapped and the internal temperature of the bread will be 190°. Let cool five minutes and then loosen the loaves from the pan with a table knife or small off-set spatula. Turn out on a cooling rack to finish cooling. For perfect, almost crumb free slices wait until the bread has cooled completely to slice.