perfect "french toast saturday" bread

Saturday mornings = french toast mornings in our house.  Most of the time we just use regular store-bought bread but if b.r.g.d. is lucky then I will pull a loaf of this perfectly rich whole wheat bread out of my busy Friday afternoon. 

This 100% whole wheat bread (enriched with butter and evaporated milk) isn't necessarily what I would call "good for you" but it is yummy and makes very yummy french toast.  The pieces pictured are topped with vanilla yogurt and an orange-strawberry "salsa" (diced oranges and strawberries with a little honey, lime juice and fresh basil - so yummy!)

Honey Wheat Bread

Makes 2 loaves

1 T  yeast

¾ c  warm water

1 tsp  sugar

1 (12 oz) can evaporated milk

¼ c  butter or melted shortening

¼ c  honey

2 tsp  salt

4 ½  - 5 c  whole wheat flour

¼ c vital wheat gluten

Dissolve the yeast and sugar in the warm water. 

Add milk, butter, honey, salt 3 cups of the  wheat flour and gluten, mix well for 5 min.  Add remaining flour and mix well again.  Dough should be somewhat sticky.  Let the dough rise for 45 min or until almost doubled.

Punch down and divide dough in half.  Knead and form into loaves.  Place in greased 9x5 inch bread pans.  Let rise in warm area until doubled, about 30 min. 

Bake at 375 degrees F (190 degrees C) for 25-35 min until tops are dark golden brown.  Slice when cool.

Enjoy!

Note: If you are using glass pans it tends to stick to the bottom of the pan.  I usually line the bottom of glass pans with parchment paper to avoid having the bottom crust tear away from the loaf.

Another note:  If you are making it into french toast, may we highly recommend sprinkling cinnamon on each side as you cook it.