Honey Wheat Seeded Bread

This is my Dad's favorite bread recipe. Because of that, it has a special place in my heart. While my father-in-law is recovering from his car accident amazingly, my Dad is not getting better. He is still in experimental treatments and wondering what will happen next. I'm so impressed with the way Mom and he are handling all of this...one day at a time. I'm grateful for whatever time we have left, but it's hard to think about what's happening inside his body. Cancer is so unpredictable...it pretty much sucks. Some of the things he loved to eat before, don't even taste good to him anymore. That's where the bread comes in.

If there is anything I can do to make Dad's life a little happier right now, I'm all for it. And this bread seems to make him happy. Sometimes it's as simple as a loaf of fresh bread. It's really all I can do.

I love you Dad.

Honey Wheat Seeded Bread

Ingredients

2 packets yeast (or two tbsp)
1 c warm water
1 1/2 c warm milk
2 eggs
1/2 c honey
1/4 c sugar
2 tsp salt
1/4 c oil
3 c wheat flour
2 c white flour (or go all wheat)
1/4 c wheat germ
1/4 c sesame seeds
1/4 c sunflower seeds
1 egg white
water

Combine water and yeast in a glass measuring cup to allow yeast to proof {For specifics on bread making and yeast, see this post.} The water should feel warm to your fingers, but not hot.

Once your yeast is proofed (or should that be "proved itself") pour it into a large stand mixer bowl. Add the milk, honey, sugar, salt and oil. Blend together. Add the wheat flour and blend together using a dough hook on the mixer. Add 1 cup of the white flour and reserve the rest of the flour. Add the wheat germ and seeds.

You want to knead the dough in the mixer for about 5 minutes until the it's smooth, adding small amounts of the remaining 1 cup of flour a little at a time until the dough pulls away from the sides of the bowl, forming a ball. You may not use all of the flour if it's a dry day or you may need a little more if it's a humid day outside, but you shouldn't vary more than 1/2 c more or less in what you need.

Put your dough into a greased bowl and cover it loosely with plastic wrap. Let it sit in a warm place until it doubles in bulk. This should take around 1 hour unless your kitchen is pretty cold. You can figure out if yeast bread is ready with the poke test. 

When the dough passes the poke test, you need to gently deflate it by folding it or "punching" it down. Then let the dough rest for 5 minutes or so (which means just leave it alone for a few minutes).

Cut dough into two portions and shape into loaves. Put in greased loaf pans and cover loosely again. Let rise for 30 minutes.

To make the top look pretty, brush it with a little egg white and water wash (which means use fork to mix some egg white and water). Then sprinkle on oatmeal, seeds, wheat germ. The egg wash works like glue and holds it all on the top - looking like it came from a fancy bakery.

Bake in 350 degree oven for 30 minutes. Cool on racks.

Try giving this loaf of fresh bread to someone you love. Wait til it cools, then wrap in in plastic wrap. Then put it in a old citrus/ apple mesh bag. Tie the ends with pretty ribbon and you have a wonderful gift and you didn't spend a lot of money. Those mesh bags are also great for smoothie gifts and assorted other ideas - like homemade pot scrubbers. How do you repurpose them?