whole wheat loaves: tuesdays with dorie/baking with julia

the last couple of weeks have been a blur.  mom and i traveled to atlanta to visit my daughter.  our days were filled with trips in and out of antique shops and restaurants with a few stops at bakeries and asian markets in-between.  now that we are back in nashville, it is about the same-you name it, if it is an antique shop or a thrift store, we have probably been in there.  needless to say, whether i would have the chance to spend some time at home in my kitchen baking the challenge for this week's tuesdays with dorie/baking with julia challenge was questionable.

the saving grace, we ran out of bread-an opportunity or an excuse, to get to work and make a loaf of bread.  better yet, it is a simple loaf of whole wheat bread that was quick to mix up in the kitchen aid.  the only note, i did not need all of the flour called for; of the 6 1/2 cups of white and wheat flour that are mixed together, i had about 1/4 cup left over and still had a slightly tacky dough.  once the machine kneaded dough was in the pans, it rose quickly.  word to the wise, this isn't a good time to run out to the store while the bread rises...

this is why, it rises up real quick and before you know it, it is hanging over the sides of the pan like a drunk on a stool.  but in their defense, i will say that the directions to use an 8 1/2"x4 1/2" loaf pan may not be the best idea.  if i make this again, i will have to remember to follow my first instinct and use my slightly larger 9"x5"x3" pans.

looking a little like a plumbers gut hanging over the top of his pants, my loaves baked in the suggested 35 minutes but i took them out of the pans at about 32 minutes and baked them on the oven rack for a few extra minutes.

the next morning, it sliced beautifully and tasted wonderful with a little salted butter.  thanks to our hostesses, michele of veggie num nums and teresa of the family that bakes together.  be sure to check out the tuesdays with dorie page to find the links of all of this week's participants and see how they did. and if you are interested in baking a batch of this wonderful bread, buy the book or visit michele's or teresa's blog pages.  bake on friends!