Whole-Wheat Herb Bread

By Cindy

Ingredients

• 2/3 cup water
• 2/3 cup milk
• 2 teaspoons granulated sugar
• 2 envelopes active dry yeast
• 3 egg whites, lightly beaten
• 3 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon dried basil
• 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
• 4 to 4 1/2 cups whole-wheat flour

Details

Servings 24

Preparation

Step 1

1. Bring water to a boil in small saucepan. Remove from heat; stir in milk and sugar. When mixture is warm (110°F to 115°F), add yeast. Mix well; let stand until bubbly, about 10 minutes.

2. Combine egg whites, olive oil, salt, basil and oregano in large bowl until well blended. Add yeast mixture; mix well. Add 4 cups flour, 1/2 cup at a time, mixing well after each addition, until dough is no longer sticky. Knead dough until smooth and elastic, about 5 minutes, adding more flour if dough is sticky. Form dough into a ball. Cover and let rise in warm place until double in size, about 1 hour.

3. Preheat oven to 350°F. Lightly spray baking sheet with nonstick cooking spray.

4. Punch down dough and place on lightly floured surface. Divide into 4 pieces and roll each piece into a ball. Place dough balls on prepared baking sheet. Bake until golden brown and loaves sound hollow when tapped with finger, 30 to 35 minutes.

Tip: Grandma used a "poke-the-dough" technique to test her yeast dough. She kneaded the dough, then poked it. If the dough sprang back, it had been sufficiently kneaded. Then she let the dough rise for an hour and poked it once more. If her finger imprint remained, she knew the dough was ready to punch down and shape.

These are great with Oven Baked Beef Stew (see separate recipe).