Whole Wheat Bread

Ingredients

• Whole Wheat Flour
• Active Dry Yeast
• Salt
• Olive Oil
• Warm Water

Steps

1. Mix 2 1/4 tsp yeast with 1 c warm water and let sit for five minutes
2. Add 3 c whole wheat flour, 1 tsp salt, and 2 Tbsp olive oil
3. Slowly add another 1 c whole wheat flour and 3/4 c water, while kneading to ensure dough remains slightly sticky. Depending on various factors, you may need less or more than that total 4 c flour so add the remainder slowly to avoid drying out the mixture.
4. Knead for 10 minutes
5. Cover with cling film and prove for 25 minutes — this can be in a proofing oven or simply covered and placed in a warm place such as an oven that is turned off (depending on the ambient humidity and temperature, proofing may take longer if it is cold – it helps to place the dough in an already warm bowl and use a bowl that retains heat such as a glass or stainless steel bowl).
6. While dough is proofing, heat an oven to 450ºF (if proofing the bread in an oven, use a different oven otherwise wait until bread is done proofing if only one oven is available)
7. Transfer proofed dough to a floured surface and divide in half
8. Smooth out each portion of dough into a smooth loaf
9. Score the top with a knife – this can be one slash or a design (scoring allows for the dough to expand)
10. Place loaves on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper
11. Bake bread at 450F for 30-35 minutes, until the bread is golden (will look darker than ‘golden’ since it is whole wheat flour)
12. Allow bread to cool prior to slicing
13. I made a bread bowl out of one loaf – to do this, carve a circle over the top with a bread knife and the cut down about two-thirds down and scoop out with hands. Additional bread filling can be scooped out with a spoon or hands to accommodate soup

TIPS

To smooth the dough: Fold the dough with edges down like you would a letter – do this on both “sides” so that all edges go to the bottom surface to create a completely smooth top and sides with all edges and seams at the bottom of the bread – simply pinch the edges together

I made a bowl out of one loaf and ate broccoli “cheddar” soup (i.e. vegan broccoli potato soup) out of it and it was just like the broccoli cheddar soup bowls I used to get at Panera. Just like then, I of course could not eat an entire loaf of bread. I scooped out the inner soup-soaked surfaces of the bread and ate it and then sliced the rest of the bread into chunks to dip in to my leftover soup (or you can try to reuse the bread bowl for the leftover soup