Beginner's Wheat Bread

Ingredients:

• 3 Tablespoons sugar
• 2 envelopes (½ oz/14g—4 ½ tsp.) fast rising Yeast
• 5½ to 6 cups unbleached all-purpose flour OR
  3 cups whole wheat flour and 2 ½-3 cups all purpose flour
• 2 teaspoons salt
• 1½ cups water
• ½ cup milk
• 2 Tablespoons butter or margarine

1. In a large bowl, combine 2 cups flour, sugar, undissolved yeast, and salt.

2. Heat water, milk, and butter until very warm (115-120°F); stir into dry ingredients. Beat for 2 minutes at medium speed of electric mixer, scraping bowl occasionally.

3. Stir in 1 cup flour; beat at high speed for 2 minutes, scraping bowl occasionally. Stir in enough remaining flour (½ cup at a time) to make a soft dough.

4. Knead on a lightly floured surface until smooth and elastic, about 8 to 10 minutes OR using mixer and dough hook, knead on low to medium speed until dough forms ball and cleans the bowl.

5. Cover the bowl and dough; let rest for 10-20 minutes.

6. Grease two loaf pans, 8 ½ -inch X 4 ½ -inch. Divide dough in half. Roll each half to a 12- x 7-inch rectangle. Beginning at short end of each rectangle, roll up tightly as for a jelly roll. Pinch seams and ends to seal. Place, seam sides down, in greased loaf pans. Cover loaves with slightly damp non-terry towel. Let rise in a warm, draft-free place until doubled in size, about 45 minutes.

7. Bake at in a preheated oven, 400°F, for 25 to 30 minutes or until done. (Golden crust on all sides; 190-200 degrees F. at center of loaf. Remove from pans; cool on a wire rack until room temperature; slice or wrap.

Provided by Home Baking Association, www.homebaking.org and with courtesy of member Fleischmann's Yeast.