Honey Wheat Bread

Today is, most certainly, a soup day. Cloudy sky, soggy ground, 50 degree temperature and a constant, cold mist all means that a. I won't be leaving the house if I can help it, b. soup is a definite must.

But this post isn't about soup, you see. The good thing about soup (besides being warming, cozy and delicious all in itself) is that it begs to have a nice hefty chunk of homemade bread dunked repeatedly into the bowl. How are you supposed to reach that last drop of goodness, apart from any actually licking, without a thick piece of bread to swipe along the corners and edges of the bowl?

Honestly, you can't.

Besides, who doesn't love a loaf of bread, kneaded and shaped by your own hands, cut while its still warm and slathered with butter? If your mouth isn't watering, something is seriously wrong.  Luckily, soup offers the perfect reason to spend a rainy day inside with the smell of bread drifting through the house. Maybe rainy days aren't so bad after all.

{Honey Whole Wheat Bread}

Ingredients

3 cups whole wheat flour

1/3 cup honey

1/4 cup shortening (crisco)

1 tablespoon salt

2 packages active yeast

2-1/4 cups very warm water

3-1/2 cups bread flour (or all-purpose)

Butter, melted, for brushing

Directions

Mix whole wheat flour, honey, crisco, salt and yeast in a large bowl. Add warm water and beat with a mixer. Stir in enough flour, one cup at a time, to make dough easy to handle.

Place dough on a lightly floured surface and knead for about 10 minutes, until the dough is smooth and springy. Place in a large bowl greased with shortening, turning dough to coat all sides. Cover bowl loosely with plastic wrap and let rise in a warm place until it doubles in size, about 40 minutes.

Grease bottoms and sides of 2 loaf pans with non-stick spray. Gently push fist into dough to deflate. On a lightly floured surface, divide dough in half and flatten each with hands into a rectangle. Roll dough up tightly, beginning at the skinny end. Press with thumbs to seal after each turn and pinch, then press, the edge of the dough into a roll to seal. Fold ends under loaf. Place seam down in the pan and brush the top lightly with butter. Cover loosely with plastic wrap and let rise in a warm place 40 minutes, or until double.

Move racks in oven to low position so that tops of pans will be in the center. Heat oven to 375 degrees and bake for 30-35 minutes, until tops are golden brown and sound hollow when tapped. Remove and cool.

This bread is hearty (because of the whole wheat flour) and sweet (due to the honey) and is incredible by itself, with soup, with a huge dollop of jam, I could go on and on. If every rainy day smelled and tasted like this, I wouldn't hope for the sun.