Mrs. Birdie’s Bread

This was one of my favorite breads when I was a kid. I think the first time I remember having it was when Erin was in school and made it for a class. Now that I’m older, I realize that it tastes good, because there is a lot of sugar in it. Nevertheless, I’m sharing the recipe here.

Ingredients

1/2 c warm water (95-110 degrees)
2 pkg. dry yeast (approximately 4.5 teaspoons)
1 tsp. brown sugar
1/2 c milk
2 tbsp. brown sugar
1 tsp salt
3 T wheat germ
2 T vegetable oil
1/2 c cold water
2 c whole wheat flour
1 c unbleached all-purpose flour

Method

1. Whisk yeast and 1 tsp. brown sugar into warm water
2. Gently heat the milk and whisk in 2 T brown sugar and 1 tsp salt. Once the sugar and salt have dissolved, stir in the wheat germ and vegetable oil. Remove from heat.
3. Pour the yeast mixture into a large mixing bowl.
4. Add the cold water to the milk mixture and then stir the milk mixture into the mixing bowl.
5. Sprinkle the flours over the liquid mixture and stir with a spoon or spatula until the dough begins to form. The mixture will be quite sticky.
6. Flour a countertop and your hands and begin to knead the dough. You may need to add up to 1/2 c more all-purpose flour while kneading, depending on the stickiness of the dough. Knead until gluten starts to form and the dough becomes cohesive and less shaggy, about 10-15 minutes.
7. Place dough into a lightly oiled bowl and cover until dough has doubled in size, about 1 hour.
8. Lightly oil a loaf pan and preheat the oven to 400 Farenheit.
9. Shape the dough into a loaf, making sure the seam is face-down when placing it into the loaf pan.
10. Cover and allow to rise while the oven preheats, about an additional 30 minutes.
11. Bake bread for 30-35 minutes.
12. Allow to cool for 20 minutes before turning the bread out onto a rack to cool completely.
13. Slice and serve.

Notes:

This recipe is not vegan, because it has milk in it, however, the milk may be substituted for non-dairy to make it a vegan recipe.