Whole Wheat Milk Bread - 1 Loaf

Ingredients:

1 cup (8 oz.) warm water

1 cup (8 oz.) whole milk

1 pkg. (2 1/4 tsp.) active dry yeast

1/4 cup honey

350 grams (12.4 oz.) or 2 1/2 cups whole grain hard white flour*

280 grams (9.8 oz.) or 2 cups whole grain hard red flour*

1 cup rolled oats

4 Tbs. (2 oz.) unsalted butter, melted

1 Tbs. Kosher salt

Preparation:

In the bowl of a stand mixer, combine water and milk.  Whisk in yeast and honey and let stand for 10 minutes.

Stir in flours, oats, butter and salt.  Attach dough hook and knead on medium speed for 5 minutes.  Remove from bowl and knead a few times by hand.  Return to bowl, cover with plastic wrap and let rise for 1 hour, or until doubled in size.  (Dough is ready if a finger pushed in the dough and dough doesn't pop back out.)

Punch down dough, transfer to a work surface.  Press out into a square shape, roughly 8" x 8".  Divide in half.  Roll up to shape into a log and place into two lightly buttered or sprayed 8" x 4" loaf pans.  Cover and rise again for 35 to 45 minutes, until dough reaches over edge of pan.

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.  Sprinkle additional oats on top if desired. Bake  40 to 50 minutes (to an internal temperature of 200 degrees) and loaf is richly browned and hollow when tapped on the bottom.  Remove from pan immediately and place on wire cooling rack.

Variation:
Add 2/3 cup of Harvest Grains form King Arthur Flour to the dough.   Just before baking, brush egg white wash on top of bread and sprinkle sesame and sunflower seeds on top of loaves.

* Use freshly milled whole wheat flours for the best version of this bread.  You can buy this flour from Grist and Toll (https://www.gristandtoll.com/).