Bernard Clayton's Hearty White Bread, Less Hearty

 

I thought I had wheat germ in my freezer, but it must have been tossed in my biannual freezer clean up.  So I guess it's just a little less hearty than it should be. Oh, well.

Bernard Clayton's Hearty White Bread, Less Hearty

Bernard Clayton's New Complete Book Of Breads

makes one 9x5" loaf

3 1/2 cups all purpose flour
2 eggs, room temperature
1 cup hot water (120F-130F)
2 tbs butter (originally vegetable oil)
4 1/2 tbs dry yeast
1/2 cup instant potato flakes
1/2 cup wheat germ (I didn't use it)
1/4 cup dry milk powder
2 tbs honey (recipe calls for sugar)
2 tsp salt

Add 2 cups of flour into a mixing bowl and add remaining ingredients. Stir with wooden spoon to blend.

Add additional flour, 1/4 cup at a time, to form a shaggy mass of dough. Work the dough until it is no longer sticky and hold together.

Turn the dough out onto a floured surface and knead for roughly 10 minutes. Add additional flour sparingly if dough is sticky.

Knead until dough is soft and elastic and passes the windowpane test.

Return dough to bowl, now greased, and turn to coat. Cover bowl with plastic and let rise 60 minutes, or until doubled in size (mine needed a 2 hour rise).

When dough has doubled, turn it out onto kneading surface. Shape into a ball and let rest 3 to 4 minutes.

Shape the dough for a bread pan, and place in greased pan. Cover with plastic and let rise 30 minutes.

20 minutes before baking, preheat oven to 400F. Bake for 15 minutes at 400F, then reduce temp to 375F and bake for an additional 25 minutes.

Remove from oven and let cool before eating.

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