100% Honey Whole Wheat Sandwich Bread Recipe

I've been holding onto this baby for a long time. I wanted to test it a dozen times before I shared it with you, to make sure it's good.

Testing results are in... this recipe consistently produces light, fluffy, tender, flavorful bread, with no all-purpose flour and no dense-as-a-hockey-puck failures.

Today I put it through a few more tests: cinnamon raisin bread, monkey bread, and pizza rolls (like cinnamon rolls but with mozzarella and pepperoni instead). All of them are exceptional.

Without further ado:

100% Honey Whole Wheat Bread 
Printable version

• 2 cups warm water (4 cups warm water) 
• 1 T yeast (2 T yeast) 
• 1/3 cup honey (2/3 cup honey)
• 1/3 cup oil (2/3 cup oil) 
• 2 tsp. salt (4 tsp. salt) 
• 1/3 cup gluten flour (2/3 cup gluten flour) 
• 5 to 7 cups whole wheat flour (10-14 cups whole wheat flour) 

Preliminary Notes: For two loaves, use given measurements, for four loaves use measurements in parentheses. This recipe can be made by hand rather than in a stand mixer... just knead by hand wherever it calls for machine kneading. Gluten flour is also called "vital wheat gluten" and can be found in most grocery stores where the flour is sold; this added gluten is necessary to make the dough light and fluffy... I can't vouch for the recipe if you skip it.

In a stand up type mixer such as a Kitchen Aid combine water, yeast and honey. Let this sit for about 5 minutes or until the yeast is nice and bubbly. Add oil, salt, gluten flour and 3 to 4 (6-8) cups of whole wheat flour. Knead this with your mixer and continue to add more flour until the dough does not stick to the side of the bowl and does not feel sticky to the touch. Knead for another 7 to 8 minutes.
When dough has finished kneading place it in a greased bowl in a warm place til it is double in size (about 1 hour).
Punch the dough down. Divide the dough into 2 (4) pieces and shape into loaves and put in bread pans that have been buttered generously. Let the loaves rise until they are about 1 inch above the rim of the bread pan (30-45 minutes in a warm kitchen).
Bake at 350 for approx. 30 minutes or until golden brown.

Here's what I've made with this basic recipe, lately:

{Image source: pickycook.com}

{Image source: savorynotes.com}

and of course:

(Not the actual loaf, though I did take this picture. It's too dark to take a picture in my kitchen right now).

So there you have it. No orange juice, no citric acid, no xantham gum, no mashed potato flakes, no overnight proofing... none of those crazy ingredients or techniques most whole wheat recipes call for. Vital wheat gluten is easily found, and this bread is about fool-proof.