Hooray for Whole Wheat!

to debunk the myth that all tasty foods are unhealthy, i decided to try my hand at baking some heart-happy bread (don't get too impressed, i used a machine for the kneading :P). in doing so, i've discovered peter reinhart, who all foodies alike crown as the king of bread. he even has a bread blog that he updates regularly! yes folks, i do believe there is a new man in my life, haha.

since it's my first time working with whole wheat flour, i thought i'd ease into it with his recipe for "light wheat bread," from his bread baker's apprentice book (also featured on smitten kitchen). conclusion: the guy is a genius. the bread was fabulous- more dense than store bought sliced bread but still soft and chewy enough for sandwiches. and the smell of freshly baked bread... just use your imagination. or better yet, try it out for yourself!

Light Wheat Bread- from smitten kitchen
(makes one two-pound loaf)

2 1/2 cups unbleached high-gluten or bread flour
1 1/2 cups whole-wheat flour
1 1/2 tablespoons granulated sugar or honey
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
3 tablespoons dry milk
1 1/2 teaspoons instant yeast or 2 tsp of regular active yeast
2 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened at room temp
1 1/4 cups water at room temp

**notes: i didn't have the dried milk the original recipe called for so i substituted 1/2 the water amt for regular milk. i also primed the yeast with warm water and sugar before adding it all to the mixture.**

1. Stir together the flours, salt, dry milk, and yeast. Add butter, honey/sugar, and water. Stir (or mix on low speed with the paddle attachment) until the ingredients form a ball. If still flour, add drops of water/milk. Dough should be soft and supple. Make sure not too tough! (if you cheat like me and use machine, use "dough" cycle and skip to step 3).

2. Sprinkle some flour on surface and begin kneading (or mix on medium speed with the dough hook). Add more flour if needed to make a firm, supple dough- not sticky. Kneading should take about 10 min (6 min by machine). Lightly oil a large bowl and transfer the dough to the bowl, rolling it around to coat it with oil. Cover bowl with plastic wrap. Let dough rise at room temperature for 1 1/2 to 2 hours- should be double in size.

3. Remove dough from the bowl and press it by hand into a rectangle about 3/4 inch thick, 6 inches wide, and 8 to 10 inches long. Form it into a loaf (SK recommends rolling up the dough; i kind of just folded it). Place in a lightly oiled loaf pan, ends of dough touching pan. Lightly spray oil on top of dough and cover loosely with plastic wrap. Let rise 60-90 min more- until dough crests above lip of pan.

4. Preheat oven to 350 F with rack in middle.

5. Bake 30 min. Rotate 180 degrees for even baking and bake another 10-30 min depending on the oven (mine only needed another 10 min of baking plus 5 min sitting in the oven after heat turned off for color). Finished loaf should look golden brown on top and edges.

6. Remove immediately from loaf pan and cool on rack for 1-2 hrs (haha, uh, i waited about 15 minutes before slicing off a piece!!! :P extra delicious while hot!)

now for your viewing pleasure:



in the words of bogart- king arthur, "i think this is the beginning of a beautiful friendship"



















love that whole grain texture!! (note: my slices are short b/c i halved the recipe)











yay crust.
















as promised, heart-healthy, meaty goodness














lastly, happy v-day everyone! :)