The Best Honey Wheat Bread Ever!

I grew up eating whole wheat pancakes every morning for breakfast and I’ve continued that tradition with my kids.  They are some of the pickiest children on the planet, but I’ve tricked them into not only eating the pancakes, but actually asking for them every morning!  Ha ha!

I’ve brainwashed my kids into eating wheat bread too!  They always ask for “brown bread” as they call it, with their sandwiches, and they don’t have a clue that they’re eating something healthy.  I love it!

I have a good wheat bread recipe, but a little while ago, I started a Pinterest search for a “great whole wheat bread recipe”, and this is it.  If you’ve ever had Great Harvest Bread, this is right up there with (and when I say right up there, I mean it could possibly top) their Honey Wheat Bread.  Its texture is perfect, it’s as moist as wheat bread can be, it’s hearty, but not too heavy, its taste is just the right amount of sweet, it raises nice and tall, which is a must for me, and it’s healthy too (it’s 100% whole wheat).  My kids (and my hubby and I) just gobble this fresh “brown bread” right up.

This recipe does call for Vital Wheat Gluten, which I didn’t know existed.  I found some at Walmart, or if you’re going to be making this bread in large quantities or high frequencies, you may want to order it in bulk from Amazon.  It also calls for lemon juice, which I thought was weird at first, but not after I tasted the final product.

The best part about it is that the second raise is so fast!  You preheat the oven for a few minutes and then turn it off and let the bread raise in the warmed oven.  In half an hour or less, it’s ready to bake!

**Tip: If you’re going for that really tall loaf, like I always am, make sure you let the bread raise above the pan before baking it. Oh, and the amount of flour you add will depend on your elevation, but make sure that you don’t use too much or it will be dry.  I don’t add as much as the recipe calls for.  You want the dough to be slightly sticky still.

Here’s the gorgeousness that I baked up the other day.  It tastes every bit as good as it looks.

Here’s the ORIGINAL recipe