This illustrates an important principle of whole wheat bread. Virtually all whole wheat bread has a substantial amount of white flour around (50% in most cases, so this is higher in wheat than average). Without it, the bread doesn’t rise as much and tends to have a… shall we say… “earthy” flavor to it. So unless chewing on bark is something you enjoy, you’ll probably want to do the same.
A family recipe provided by Jennifer Kiel of Washington, DC, from her mother-in-law’s collection, started in Kent, Ohio.
Pat’s Whole Wheat Bread
1 cup warm water
4 pkgs. yeast
2 tbsp. molasses — golden
4 tbsp. brown sugar
Stir and let sit.
4 cups warm water
6 cups whole wheat flour
Add liquid to this. Beat until smooth.
1/2 cup cooking oil
5 tsp. salt
Add 4 cups white flour
Beat until smooth. Cover and let sit 10 min. Then knead using more flour if needed. Grease large bowl. Cover and let rise till double. Punch down and let rise again about 30 minutes. Shape into loaves. Bake at 350 degrees 30 to 40 minutes. One half this recipe makes three small loaves.