Learn to bake with whole wheat flour. Most recipes need to be altered to replace white flour with whole wheat. The bread flour in this recipe adds extra gluten since the wheat bran in whole wheat flour, especially home ground flour, can cut gluten strands so important to bread structure.
WHOLE WHEAT BREAD, BUNS, AND ROLLS (Pantry Cooking: Unlocking Your Pantry’s Potential, pp. 110-111)
6 cups warm water
4 cups bread flour
2 tablespoons salt
2/3 cup packed dark brown sugar
2/3 cup oil
2 tablespoons yeast
10 to 11 cups whole wheat flour
In a heavy duty (8 lb.) bread mixer, combine warm water and 4 cups of bread flour. (Add 3/4 cup potato flakes and 2 tablespoons vital wheat gluten when milling old wheat for the whole wheat flour.) Mix briefly. Add salt, sugar, oil, and yeast. Blend. While the mixer is running, slowly add whole wheat flour until the dough pulls away from the bowl. (Then let the dough rest for 10 minutes if using old wheat.) Scrape sides of the bowl; add an additional 1/2 cup flour. Knead 10 to 12 minutes or until dough is smooth and is not sticky when touched with well-oiled hands. If it is still sticky, add 1/2 cup more flour and knead 2 more minutes. Remove the dough and place on an oiled surface.
Divide dough into 4 portions. Place each portion in a greased 4×8 bread pan. Press the dough down to make it conform to the pan. Let rise 1 to 1-1/2 hours or until doubled. Bake 30 to 35 minutes at 375o. Remove from pans to cool.
