The Most Simple Loaf of Bread

I tend to go in spurts with bread. I'll have a sandwich every day for a few days, then go three weeks without having another slice. If I do eat bread, I don't consume the crappy kind. Artisan breads from local shops like La Brea Bakery or my hometown favorite (that I mentioned here) Zingerman's have elevated my taste level for a loaf. I started this week with a hankering for a honey wheat bread and I had company in town, so what a better occasion to break out my Mark Bittman cookbook and get baking! 

Adapted recipe: How to Cook Everything Vegetarian, "Sandwich Bread." 

• 3 cups whole wheat flour
• 2 teaspoons salt
• 1 1/2 tablespoons instant yeast
• 2 tablespoons honey
• 2 tablespoons butter at room temperature, plus more for greasing the bowl and pan (vegan option, grapeseed oil; it will stick to the pan)
• 1 1/3 cups room temperature milk (I used warm water to make it a vegan loaf, however, it doesn't rise as high without the additional fat content from the milk)

Mix the flour, salt and yeast in a bowl. Add in honey, grapeseed oil (or butter) and warm water (or milk.) Mix until combined. The dough should be a well-defined, barely sticky, easy-to-handle ball. Knead the bread into a ball. Grease a large bowl with oil (butter.) Shape the dough into a ball and place it into the bowl. Cover the bowl with a damp towel. Place in a warm place for at least two hours, until the ball has doubled. Punch the ball and shape it once again into yet another ball and allow it to rest for 15 minutes, covered with the damp towel. 

Using only enough flour to keep the dough from sticking to your hands or the work surface, flatten it into a rectangle then shape it into a loaf then pinch the ends up in the middle. Flip it over in the greased pan and flatten. Again, cover and let rest for 1 hour.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Brush the top of the loaf with water, then place in the oven. Bake about 45 minutes or the internal temperature reads about 200 degrees F. Remove loaf from the pan immediately after baking and cool at least 10 minutes (I know, it will be hard! on a wire rack before slicing.