3.5 c. whole wheat flour (grind your own if you have a wheat grinder)
1/3 c. vital wheat gluten
2 T. instant yeast (almost 2)
2.5 c. hot water (120-130 F)
3/4 T. salt
1/3 c. oil
1/3 c. honey or 1/2 c. sugar (I use a scant half cup of sugar because it is cheaper than honey)
1 1/4 T. bottled lemon juice
2.5 c. whole wheat flour
Mix together the first three ingredients in your mixer with a dough hook. Add water all at once and mix for 1 minute; cover and let rest for 10 minutes (this is called sponging). Add salt, oil, honey or sugar, and lemon juice and beat for 1 minute. Add last flour, 1 cup at a time, beating between each cup. Beat for about 6-10 minutes until dough pulls away from the sides of the bowl. This makes very soft dough.
Pre-heat oven for 1 minute to lukewarm and turn off. Turn dough onto oiled counter top; divide, shape into loaves place in oiled bread pans. Let rise in warm oven for 10-15 minutes until dough reaches top of pan. Do not remove bread from oven; turn oven to 350 F and bake for 30 minutes. Remove from pans and cool on racks. This recipe is halved to make 2 loaves. Double to make 4.
