*If you are milling your own wheat flour, grind it at least 2 hours before using. It needs time to cool down and settle a bit. I prefer to use Hard White Wheat – it has a sweeter and softer texture than red wheats.
- In a large measuring cup, measure the lukewarm water. To this bowl, add the powdered milk, vital wheat gluten, lecithin granules and yeast. Whisk them together with the water to help them get dissolved. Pour into the bowl of an electric mixer.
- Add the honey, oil and 8 cups (904g) of wheat flour. Mix on low speed for 30 seconds until incorporated. It should resemble pancake batter. Allow it to sit and sponge up until doubled in size. This will take about 15-30 minutes. Keep an eye on it – it can easily spill over the sides of the bowl.
- After the mixture has doubled in size, add the salt and mix on low as you start adding an additional 6 cups (678g) of the remaining flour, one cup at a time. As you near the end of the remaining flour, look for the dough to clean the sides of the bowl. Once it is cleaning the sides of the bowl, stop the mixer and touch the dough with your finger. It should feel soft and tacky, but not overly wet or sticky. If it is excessively wet and sticky, add more flour, one half a cup at a time. Each batch is different…sometimes you’ll use all the flour and other times you’ll have some leftover. Just go by how the dough looks and feels.
- Once you have enough flour in your dough, knead on low speed for 5 minutes.
- Turn dough onto floured surface and let rest for 10 minutes, allowing the gluten to relax. Divide the dough and shape into loaves. Places loaves in greased bread pans. Cover and let rise until doubled in size. A bread pan that is 4×8″ will hold a loaf that is about 21-23 ounces. This recipe will make about 6, 23-ounce loaves.
- Preheat oven to 350°F. Bake loaves for 30-35 minutes. Tops should be golden brown.
- After removing from oven, brush the tops of the loaves with vegetable shortening. This will give the crust a pretty sheen and it make it softer.
- Allow the loaves to cool in the pans for 10 minutes before removing and cooling completely on a wire rack. Allow the loaves to cool completely before slicing – they are still baking internally right after they come out of the oven.
- Store in heavy bread bags – they will stay fresh for 5-7 days. This bread freezes well!