Whole Wheat Bread

from the Norwegian Seamen’s Church

submitted by Irene Lindbeck Tibbits

preparation time: about 2 hours

2.2 pounds whole wheat

5 ounces sunflower seeds

5 ounces flax seed

8½ ounces oats (not instant)

¾ teaspoon salt

2 teaspoons dry yeast

4.65 cups water

Heat oven to 120 degrees F. In a large bowl, mix ingredients by hand (or use an electric stand mixer) and divide dough in two 9 x 5-inch forms. Bake to proof, proofing for 40 minutes at 120 degrees F.

Increase the heat to 420 degrees F. Bake for 1 hour and 10 minutes.

Let bread cool on a rack. You can slice the bread, freeze and take out as needed.

Supremely easy recipe and comes out tasting like a very dense, delicious ‘farm-style’ old-time bread you’ve heard about or still yearn for. Anyone can make bread with this recipe!

A final note – The tester wondered if it’s OK to make half the recipe and just a loaf at a time – as it’s really easy to do by hand, just gets VERY heavy and dense as you get to the final mixing. You don’t waste any ingredients doing it by hand, but it gets pretty arduous.