Fat free honey whole wheat bread is a great base for your sandwiches and a healthy addition to your table.
Whole Wheat Bread
White bread is a great standby. It toasts to a golden brown and can be easily made with all-purpose flour. But what white bread has going for it as far as versatility, it lacks in texture and flavor. Yes, fresh white bread tastes great but whole wheat bread has a depth of flavor that white bread can't touch.
Adding honey to whole wheat bread brings a naturally smooth sweetness to your bread. You can add in a secondary flavor by choosing a custom honey. Clover honey is always popular, but your local co-op will probably have a nice selection of unique flavors. In order to make this a fat free honey whole wheat bread recipe, I took out the butter and added a light vegetable oil.
Honey
People have been using honey for thousands of years. It was the most common sweetener before sugar became more accessible. Honey has several health benefits and naturally supplies you with vitamins B6, C, thiamin, niacin, and essential minerals such as copper, iron, magnesium, and calcium. These minerals are not called essential for nothing--your body needs them and cannot make them by itself. Honey is also a good source of antioxidants and antioxidants are very good for you. Regular sugar is nice, but it isn't going to supply you with all these great benefits.
Honey is significantly sweeter than sugar. The distinct flavor of the honey comes from the flowers the bees visited during the honey making process.
I used honey in this fat free honey whole wheat bread recipe because it adds viscosity and sweetness to the dough without adding extra fat. I also liked the extra flavor the honey added to the bread. I used a local sage honey that I like on my morning toast, so I thought it would be a great addition to my bread.
Fat Free Honey Whole Wheat Bread
For this bread, you will need:
- 1/4 ounce yeast
- 2 cups water
- 1/4 cup vegetable oil
- 1/4 cup honey
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 3 cups whole wheat flour
- 2 cups white flour
Instructions
- For this recipe, I'm going with dry active yeast. Since I am avoiding using sugar, you can either just dissolve the yeast in the water, which will let it dissolve but not bloom. I tried this with a little it of honey in the water. It bloomed ok but not as if I had sugar in the water. I would say add a drop or two of honey into the water, it didn't seem to hurt. Let the yeast rest and bloom in the water for ten minutes.
- While the yeast is blooming, get another large bowl and mix the oil, honey, and salt.
- Combine the yeast and honey mixture.
- Gradually add the flours to the yeast/honey combination using your plastic scraper.
- Once the dough has come together enough to be turned out, turn the dough out onto a floured board and knead the dough until it is smooth.
- Put the dough into a bowl that has been sprayed with a non-stick spray. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and place in a warm, draft free place until it has doubled in size.
- Punch the dough down.
- Shape the dough into two loaves and let it rise again.
- Then wash the loaves with an egg wash and slash the loaf.
- If you are using bread pans, put the dough into two bread pans sprayed with non-stick spray and left it rise again. Then, wash it again with an egg wash and slash.
- Bake the bread in an oven that has been preheated to 375 degrees Fahrenheit.
- Cook until golden brown, about thirty minutes.
