1/2 cup warm water
2 TB yeast (I use active dry for this recipe)
12 cups whole wheat flour (I don't measure any of the flour, other than the 7 cups at the beginning. I just add flour until the consistency is right...slightly sticky....around 13 cups.)
5 cups hot water
1 cup powdered milk (optional, but I always use it)
2/3 cup cooking oil
2/3 cup honey
2 TB salt
2 eggs (optional, but I always add it as well, and I used powdered)
I also throw in a cup of ground flax to increase the fiber content. You'll use a little less flour if you add the flax.
Dissolve yeast in 1/2 cup warm water and set aside. Combine and beat 7 cups of flour, powdered milk and 5 cups hot water for ten minutes (this is a very important step to develop gluten). Add oil, honey, salt, and eggs and beat until blended. Add yeast mixture and blend. Then add 5 cups of flour. Mix by hand (I don't do this yet...the dough is still way too sticky for me at this point, so I add several cups more flour while it's still in my Kitchen Aid...once it's not too sticky to handle, I take it out to knead by hand and it usually takes 1-2 more cups of flour during hand kneading to get it to the right consistency). Let rise. Punch down and knead for about 3 minutes. Let rise again. Punch down and divide into loaves. Let rest 10 minutes and shape into loaves. Let rise until doubled. Bake at 375 degrees for 15 minutes, then turn heat down to 350 degrees and bake for 20 minutes longer. Makes 4 loaves.
