Light Wheat Bread

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I saw this recipe on Smitten Kitchen's blog, and I thought, bread for sandwiches, what a great idea. I should give that a try.

So I did. :)

I'll be honest - I haven't tasted it yet. I made myself a sandwich for lunch today, and then remembered that I was going to lunch with a vendor (sushi, can't pass that up!). So I'll have to save it for tomorrow. But it does look and smell great. The texture seems very nice, and the crust is nice and soft, which I really like. I promise I'll review it as soon as I try it. :)

Update: I tried it and I love it!! I thought at first it may end up being a bit too dense, but it's really good! The texture isn't what I'm used to with the store-bought, but I would definitely make it again. Of course, I'm sure it would be even better straight out of the oven. :)

All in all, it's a pretty easy recipe. I did make one stupid mistake - I was about a cup short on flour. Apparently my 1 cup measuring cup was in the dishwasher, and I just grabbed the biggest one out of our drawer. The biggest one turned out to be the 2/3 cup - oops. I didn't realize my mistake until the dough had already been rising for about 10-20 minutes. And I thought at that point - it would've made it worse, not better, if I tried to add more flour.

The consistency of the dough seemed to be right, though. I did add a bit more flour when I was kneading because it was a bit sticky. But it was firm and slightly tacky when I was done.

Ingredients:
2 1/2 c bread flour
1 1/2 c whole wheat flour
1 1/2 T granulated sugar or honey (I used sugar)
1 1/2 t salt
3 T powdered milk
1 1/2 T instant yeast
2 T shortening or unsalted butter, at room temp (I used shortening)
1 1/4 c water, at room temp

Directions:
Stir together the flours, sugar (if using), salt, milk and yeast in a 4 quart bowl, or bowl of an electric mixer.

Add the shortening, honey (if using), and water. Stir (or mix on low-speed with the paddle attachment) until dough forms a ball. If there is still flour on the bottom of the bowl, drizzle in a little extra water. The dough should feel soft and supple.

Sprinkle some flour on the counter, and transfer the dough to the counter, and begin kneading. (Or you can mix on medium speed with the dough hook.) Add more flour if needed to make a firm, supple dough that is tacky but not sticky. Kneading should take about 10 minutes (6 in the mixer). It should pass the windowpane test and register about 77-81 degrees F.

Lightly oil a large bowl, transfer the dough to the bowl. Roll it around to coat the surface with oil, and cover with plastic wrap.

Let it rise for about 1 1/2 - 2 hours, until dough has doubled in size.

Remove the dough and press it by hand into a rectangle about 3/4" thick, 6" wide and 8-10" long.
Fold it into a loaf by working from the short side of the dough, rolling up the length of the dough one section at a time. Pinch the crease with each rotation to increase the surface tension. It will spread wider as you roll.
Pinch the final seam closed with your thumbs. Place the loaf in a lightly oiled 8 1/2 by 4 1/2" bread pan; the ends of the loaf should touch the ends of the pan. Mist the top with spray oil and loosely cover with plastic wrap.
Let sit at room temp for 60-90 minutes, or until the dough crests above the lip of the pan.
Preheat oven to 350 with oven rack on the middle shelf.

Place the bread pan on a sheet pan and bake for 30 minutes. Rotate pan 180 degrees and continue to bake for another 15-30 minutes. The top should be golden brown and it should register 190 degrees F in the center, and sound hollow when thumped.
Immediately remove bread from the bread pan, and place on a cooling rack for 1-2 hours (preferably 2), before slicing or serving. I had read somewhere that rubbing a stick of butter over the outside of the bread as soon as it's out of the oven would make it a bit softer. So I did that too - since it's the first time I've made it, I don't know if it's any softer or not. :)