Honey Whole Wheat Bread - water

Method

• You'll need a flat clean work surface and a large loaf pan (9x5), and, of course, an oven!
• Start off by putting the yeast in a large bowl.
• Measure out 1 1/2 cups of water and heat it up to 110 -115 . (I heated mine in the microwave for about 25 seconds. This can take time to get the temperature right, but it's really important.)
• Pour it into the yeast that's waiting patiently in the bowl. Add 1/4 cup of honey and give it a stir! Let it sit for 5-10 minutes or until it starts to bubble a bit. Measure out your other ingredients in the meantime. Pour the other 1/4 cup of honey into the water/yeast mixture and stir. Add the 2tbsp of melted butter and stir again. Add the salt and stir yet again.
• Okay, now it's time to add the flour. You should do this 1 cup at a time and not add the next cup until it's at least moistened.
• 1 cup.
• 2 cups..
• 3 cups...
• 3.5 cups...
• It should form a ball. If it's sticking to the side of the bowl, add a sprinkle of flour until it can easily form a ball. (I usually have to add about an additional 1/4 cup.)
• If you haven't already, form into a ball in the bowl. Cover with a kitchen towel and let it rise for 1 hour.
• - - - - -
• Flour a surface with a good amount of flour. You don't want it to stick to the counter! After the hour has passed, the dough should have doubled in size. Time to knead!
• You can use your own method, but I found that the fold over, punch down, then rotate 90 works best.
• BAM!
• Do this for 3 minutes. It will become increasingly harder to fold. After 3 minutes is up, form into a loaf shape to place into the pan.
• Before you place it in the pan, grease the pan with a little Pam or your preferred greasing agent.
• Place the dough in the pan and "punch" the dough down so it touches all four sides.
• Cover with a kitchen towel and let it rise for 30 minutes. During some point during these 30 minutes, turn your oven on and preheat to 350 .
• Place the lovely loaf in the oven. After 30-35 minutes, it should be done!
• Take it out of the pan, and let it cool on a wire rack. Then...
• Slice it up! (Note: It's best to slice it after it cools, though the smell is incredibly tempting! Just wait. It's hard to cut when it's warm.)
• Slice it up and enjoy!