Mrs. Rodden's Whole Wheat Bread.

This is a recipe from Mrs. Rodden, my son's 4th Grade teacher. She has been making this bread since she was 9 years old.


Take a large glass and fill it with very hot water from the tap.

Pour into a large mixing bowl.

Add 3 eggs, 4 Tbsp oil, 3 tsps sugar (or molasses), 4 - 5  Tbsp of wheat germ,about a tsp of salt, and 3 pkgs or 3 Tbsp active dry yeast.( optional-- add sunflower seeds or other whole nuts in the amount you wish. I usually use about 1/2 cup chopped) You can also enrich it with 1/4 cup dry milk and 3 Tbsp Malt powder.

Blend well with a whisk and begin blending in whole wheat flour until it is difficult to stir with the whisk but the dough is still very wet.

Begin folding in and kneading by hand unbleached flour until the dough reaches the state that it is elastic and does not stick to your hands.

Lightly coat the entire ball of dough with oil and cover and let rise for 1 hour in warm place ( I often heat oven to 250 for about 10 minutes then turn it off and place dough in the warm oven--especially in winter.)

Let rise for 1 hour.

Punch down and knead again. Form into loaves (will make 3 large loaves), or form into shapes for rolls or buns or a mixture of all.Cover and let rise again for 45 minutes. For soft crust--brush with milk before baking. For hard crust--brush with beaten egg and 1Tbsp water before baking. Bake at 350ºF for 40 to 50 minutes depending upon the size loaves--rolls usually take 15-20 at same temperature. This bread is hearty, but will slice thin for sandwiches and also makes yummy garlic bread and French toast.