recipe for fabulous homemade bread

I’ve had a few requests for this recipe, so here it is. I first discovered this recipe about 2 years ago at allrecipes.com.

I don’t follow the recipe exactly (of course), so here is my variation that I make in my mixer:
(Based on the comments over at allrecipes.com, this recipe is too big to use in a standard size mixer.)

Stir together the following and let sit for about 5 minutes:
1/2 cup warm water
4 teaspoons active dry yeast (bulk)
1/4 cup whole wheat bread flour
1 tablespoon white sugar

Then add the following and mix for about 2 minutes with dough hook on speed 1 or stir like crazy if doing it by hand.
2 cups rolled oats or steel cut oats
1/2 cup vital wheat gluten*
2 cups whole wheat bread flour**
4 1/2 cups warm water
1 1/2 Tablespoons sea salt
2/3 cup brown sugar
2/3 cup sunflower oil***

Increase mixer to speed 2 and add about 1 cup of flour at a time. You’ll need approximately 10 cups of flour. Keep adding flour until the dough pulls away from the side of the bowl. Decrease the speed of the mixer when the dough gets tougher to knead. Don’t add too much flour– the dough should be slightly sticky.

Now put dough in an oiled bowl, turning the dough to get oil on all sides. Cover with a wet cloth. Let rise for about an hour until doubled in size.

Divide the dough into 4-6 loaves , depending on the size of your pans. I usually make one big loaf,4 small loaves in my mini loaf pan ****and then shape the rest into a circle and bake it on my pizza stone. Let rise another hour.

Bake at 350 degrees until tops are browned–about 30-40 minutes. Baking time will depend on your oven and the size of your loaves. After 10 minutes out of the oven, remove bread from pans and cool completely on wire racks.

This bread freezes well for later use.

*Gluten is necessary because I don’t use white flour
**I use Weisenberger fine grind hard whole wheat bread flour available at the Good Foods Market and Cafe.
***Melted coconut oil works good too.
****Please note this picture depicts the pans I use; this is not the bread in the recipe.