a happy gift for you, my readers

last year, i began a tradition of sharing with friends and family our new favorite recipes of the year. i like to try new recipes and if it’s good enough for a repeat performance, it becomes a contender for “favorite new recipe of the year.” this year was a little more slim on fantastic recipes than last year (last year’s winners were chicken verde (made in a crockpot and exceedingly simple and delicious–if you didn’t get the recipe last year, let me know and i’ll post it here) and pecan crusted pork tenderloin). this year… we tried many forgettable recipes. nothing too tragic, but nothing really worth repeating. except for this bread recipe from our pastor which i love. i’ve had to bake it a few times to fine tune it to my taste and my oven’s quirks and i’ve learned that a half recipe (one loaf) is a bit easier on my mixer. mr. h-s isn’t as fond of the bread as i am, but this is my blog, not his, so here it is, this year’s gift to all:

pastor tonya’s whole wheat flax bread
2 1/4 cups warm water
2 tbsp yeast
1 egg (optional)
1/2 cup honey or sugar
2/3 cup canola oil
1 tbsp salt
2 tbsp toasted sesame seeds
1/2 cup (or more) wheat bran
1/2 cup (or more) milled flax seed
7-8 cups whole wheat flour

other options: rolled oats, oat bran, wheat flakes, ground walnuts or almonds, wheat germ

dissolve yeast in the warm water. add egg, oil, sugar, salt, sesame seeds, wheat bran, milled flax seed (and any of the other options), 3-4 cups of the flour (I often use 1-2 cups of white flour and the rest whole wheat) and mix well. i use my dough hook from start to finish. mix
in enough flour to make a slightly sticky yet firm dough and knead for about 10 minutes. let dough raise until double. form two loaves, place in bread pans and let raise again until double. bake at 350 degrees for 40-45 minutes, or until done (well browned, and sounds hollow when you tap it). remove from pans and cool.

*those were pastor tonya’s instructions as she gave them to me. if you’d like to know my tweaks, i add wheat germ from the “optional” list (about 1/2 cup) and i’ve adjusted the baking time to about 30-35 minutes or the loaves burn in my oven. when i do just one loaf, i leave out the egg (because it’s hard to add half an egg) and it turns out just fine. unlike most homemade breads, i find that this one seems to taste better the day after it’s made.

if you bake it, let me know what you think!