6 cups whole wheat flour, divided
1 ¾ cups warm water, divided
1/3 cup honey
1 pkg. yeast
1 t. salt
3 T. melted butter
1. Mix 3 cups of whole wheat flour with 1 ½ cups of warm water in a large glass bowl. Allow this to sit for about 30 minutes. This will break down the gluten and help the bread to rise better.
2. Meanwhile, in a small bowl mix together ¼ cup water, yeast and honey. Allow this to sit for about 10 minutes, or until the yeast is activated and mixture becomes bubbly.
3. Add salt, melted butter and yeast mixture to the flour and water mixture. Gradually add the remaining three cups of flour and stir well.
4. As the dough becomes harder to stir, pour it out onto a clean counter and begin to knead the dough. Add a little flour if needed to keep it from sticking. Knead the dough for 5-10 minutes.
5. Place the ball of dough back into the bowl and cover it with a cloth. Allow the dough to rise for one hour, or until it has double in size.
6. Using a floured hand, pull the dough out of the bowl onto the counter. Knead for just a minute or two until the air bubbles are gone.
7. Cut the dough in half with a large sharp knife.
8. Shape each section of dough into a loaf and place them each in a buttered bread pan.
9. Cover and allow 45 minutes to one hour to rise again.
10. Bake in a 350 degree oven for 50 minutes, or until the bread sounds hollow when you thump the top of it.
11. Allow the bread to cool for 10 minutes, and then remove it to finish cooling on a wire rack.
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