Description
Soft and tender whole wheat sandwich loaves that can be ready in just two hours!
Ingredients
Scale
- 3 C hot water
- 1/3 C coconut oil, melted
- 1/3 C honey
- 1 1/2 Tbsp yeast
- 2 Tbsp vital wheat gluten (or other dough enhancer)
- 8–10 C flour (half all-purpose flour and half whole wheat flour.
- 1 1/2 tsp salt
Instructions
- In a large mixing bowl, combine the water, oil, honey and yeast. Let the mixture stand for five minutes while the yeast starts to foam and bubble. After about five minutes, stir in the vital wheat gluten, 6 cups of the flour, and the salt. Stir well to incorporate all of the flour. Add additional flour in 1/2 C increments and continue to stir until the dough begins to come together and pulls away from the side of the bowl.
- Transfer the dough onto a clean counter and knead, working in additional flour until the dough no longer sticks to your hands or the counter. Continue to knead for 5 more minutes until the dough is soft and smooth.
- Turn on your oven and set a timer for 2 minutes. After two minutes, turn the oven off. Place the dough in a clean bowl with a teaspoon of olive oil in the bottom. Flip the dough once to coat the top. Cover the top of the bowl loosely with a dishtowel and let rise in the warm oven until the dough is doubled, about 30 minutes. Use a timer to keep track of the time.
- After the dough has risen for about 30 minutes, punch the dough down in the center. Transfer the dough onto a lightly floured counter and divide it into two pieces. Roll each piece out into a 8 x 10 inch rectangle, then roll tightly into a long 10″ log. Place log in a greased bread pan. Repeat with second half of dough.
- Cover the pans with the dishtowel, and let the loaves rise a second time for about 30 minutes again. (I return them to the still-warm oven for part of the time). The bread should be just rising out of the pans. It will continue to rise when it is baking.
- About halfway through the second rise time, preheat the oven to 375°.
- When the loaves have risen until they are just beginning to come out of the pan, drizzle about a teaspoon of olive oil on top of each loaf and bake them in preheated oven for 30 minutes, or until an instant read thermometer reads 180°.
- Remove the bread from the oven and let them cool in the pans an a wire rack for 10 minutes. Then remove the bread from the pans to continue cooling. You can also return the loaves to the oven (now turned off) to let the exterior get crustier.