25 percent whole wheat bread

This bread started out as an 8 loaf recipe that I made and sold at church for fund raising for food for the hungry. At 5 dollars a loaf it was quite successful for that year.  This makes a goo bread with no preferment but it is soooo much better with a long preferment and and a long rise so less is more where the yeast is concerned

The mix is:

25 % stone ground whole wheat flour

75% all purpose house label unbleached white flour

66% hydration

Yeast content can vary depending on how big a hurry you are in but never more than 2 teaspoons

salt about 1.5 %

On day one:

 Make a poolish with8 ounces of stone ground whole wheat flour and 8 ounces of water and as much yeast as will lay on a table knife blade.

On day two:

 add 14 ounces of water to the poolish and a teaspoon of dry yeast just to kick things along.

 In a large bowl place 24 ounces of flour and a half tablespoon of salt. mix this a little and add the poolish and mix the whole into a shaggy ball. Cover and let rest while you have a cup of coffee.

 Knead the dough in the bowl through several turn and fold strokes. Cover and let rest for another cup of coffee. come back and dust the dough with a tight fist full of flour and form a smooth ball. make sure that you scrape the bits and pieces of dough from the bowl and include them in the ball.

Pour a couple of tablespoon of melted bacon fat around the ball and turn the ball of dough over so it is well greased and the bowl is also. Cover and find something else to do for about two hours or more . If the dough is well risen, spread a handful of flour on the table and dump the dough out and put the bowl in the sink to be washed.

 Divide the dough into three pieces and form each into a tight round loaf and dust with enough flour that it is not at all sticky. place all three on a well greased baking sheet and allow to rise and rise. just before baking make a slash across each loaf.

Pre-heat the oven to 450 and bake the loaves for about 40 minutes

This freezes well.