Molasses Wheat Bread

I can remember baking this bread for the first time back in 1983. The bread was hard, dense and didn't rise much at all. My husband was so sweet and told me I made it just the way he like it, a good heavy dense European Bread and ate the whole thing, what a guy. Over the years and determination not to give up on yeast baking, it is one of my favorite and therapeutic things to do. It still is a bit of a denser bread because of the heavier whole grains but it is full of flavor and goodness.

• 2/3 cup nonfat dry milk powder
  
• 1/2 cup of rolled oats (quick cooking is fine but not instant)
• 1/2 cup of wheat germ
• 1/2 cup of bran
• 2 cups of whole wheat flour
• 1 cup of unbleached all purpose flour
• 2 teaspoons salt
  
• 2 tablespoons of instant yeast
• 3 cups of additional unbleached all purpose flour
• 1 3/4 cups of warm water
• 1/4 cup liquid honey or brown sugar if you have no honey
• 1/4 cup molasses
• 2 beaten eggs
• 2 tablespoons oil

1. Preheat oven to 200 degrees to proof your dough before you mix everything together, and shut it off. The warm oven will be just right to let the dough rise and the opening and closing of the oven door will cool it down just enough. You can leave the oven light on to keep the dough nice and warm.
   
2. Combine first 8 ingredients into a large mixing bowl.
3. Add all the liquid ingredients to the flour mixture.
4. Stir in remaining flour, a cup at a time until it becomes difficult to stir.
5. Turn flour out onto a floured surface and knead the bread adding enough flour to make a soft but a bit sticky dough. About 5 minutes.
6. Put the dough into a lightly greased bowl. Turn the dough in the bowl so the surface is covered in a light coating of oil.
   
7. Cover with a tea towel.
8. Let rise for a good hour or until double in bulk.
9. Punch the dough down, let rest for 10 minutes.
10. Shape into two loaves and place in greased loaf pans, mine are about 8x4x2.
    
11. Cover again, and let rise another hour in the warm oven.
12. Bake at 350 for 40 minutes.
13. Remove from pans and let cool on rack.
14. I find that after it has cooled I am able to slice it and freeze it only taking out a few slices at a time if you don't want need to use the whole loaf.
    

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