Whole Wheat Bread Recipe

I've enjoyed getting to pass on my grandma's recipe to a lot of friends.  Here is my grandma's Whole Wheat Bread recipe.  I'll write it out in steps, instead of the traditional ingredients/steps listings, for clarity.   This recipe makes 6 loaves.  I double it each week.

1.  In a small (cereal-sized) bowl, mix 1 cup of very warm (as in "bath temp") water, 1 tablespoon of white sugar, and 4 1/4 teaspoons (or 2 envelopes) of yeast.  I have used fast-acting or regular.  Both are fine.   Set aside.

2.  In a large mixing bowl, mix:
            1 stick of margarine or butter, softened
            2 eggs
             2 tablespoons of salt
             1/3 cup of brown sugar (light or dark--whichever you want)
             1/3 cup of honey
              1/3 cup of molasses

3.  By now, the yeast mixture should at least have some bubbles on the surface to show that your yeast is good.  If so, add this to the large mixing bowl in step 2.

4.  Add 4 cups of very warm water and stir.

5.  Add 3 cups of whole wheat flour.  (If you want to increase the wheat, you might check for ideas on other recipes, because arbitrarily adding more wheat can make the recipe too dense and cause it to rise poorly.)  Stir.

6.  Add 2 - 3 cups of white flour and stir.  Repeat this until the dough is too thick to stir with a spoon.

7.  On a well-floured surface, knead the bread dough for about 5 minutes or so, until it is no longer sticky.  Return it to the mixing bowl, cover with a towel, and set in a warm place for 2 hours.

8.  After 2 hours, punch down the dough and knead it a little.  Separate it into 6 equal-sized portions.  Form each into a loaf and place each loaf into a greased,  5 X 9" bread pan (spray works fine).   (My bread pans are three different sizes, so anything in this vicinity works.) 

9.  Cover with a towel and set in a warm place for 2 more hours.

10.  Preheat oven to 350.  Once it is preheated, bake the loaves for 15 minutes.  Without removing the loaves, turn down the heat to 300 and bake for 25 more minutes.  (I bake my bread in 2 batches, six loaves at a time.  So, the second batch gets an extra 50 minutes of rising time.)

11.  Once the bread is done, remove the loaves immediately from the loaf pans and set on a towel or rack to cool.  Do not slice the bread until is has cooled a little, or the knife will crush it and make it mushy.

12.  Freeze any loaves that will not be eaten within 2 days, since they do not contain preservatives and will mold easily (especially in the summer). 

Just a hint:  My electric knife is a huge blessing because it enables my to slice thinner bread slices, which are easier for sandwiches.