Honey Wheat Black Bread

Recipe by Kathy DeStadio

This bread, often known as Canadian Brown Bread, is dark and quite sweet, but pleasingly so. Our recipe shapes the dough into rolls instead of a loaf. We love them with just a plain pat of butter, though they make fine PB&J sandwiches as well.

Prep
15 mins
Bake
20 to 25 mins
Total
2 hrs 40 mins
Yield
8 mini loaves
Honey Wheat Black Bread

Instructions

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  1. Weigh your flour; or measure it by gently spooning it into a cup, then sweeping off any excess.

  2. Starting with the smaller amount of water, mix and knead all of the ingredients — by hand, or using an electric mixer or the dough cycle of your bread machine — to form a smooth, soft dough.

  3. Transfer the dough to a lightly oiled bowl, turning to coat all sides. Cover the bowl, and allow the dough to rise until doubled in bulk, at least 1 hour.

  4. Divide the dough into eight pieces. Shape each piece into a small log-shaped loaf. This dough is soft, so use flour or a non-stick spray on your hands.

  5. Sprinkle a lightly greased or parchment-lined baking sheet with cornmeal, place the loaves on the sheet, and cover. Let the loaves rise for 1 hour, or until they look puffy but aren't doubled in size. Towards the end of the rising time, preheat the oven to 350°F.

  6. Bake the bread for 20 to 25 minutes. The loaves will appear slightly darker on the top when they're done. Remove them from the oven, and cool on a rack.

  7. Store, wrapped, for 4 days at room temperature, or freeze for up to 3 months.

Tips from our Bakers

  • This bread stays moist and delicious for at least four days. If you want a less sweet bread, cut the honey to 1/4 cup and leave out the 1 tablespoon sugar. The bread won't stay moist as long, but has very good flavor. We also tried this bread with molasses in place of the honey, and it was very good.
  • Want to bake a loaf instead of rolls? Shape the risen/deflated dough into a log, and place it in a lightly greased 8 1/2" x 4 1/2" loaf pan. Let the loaf rise until it's crowned about 1/2" above the rim of the pan; then bake it in a preheated 350°F oven for about 40 minutes, tenting it with aluminum foil for the final 15 minutes of baking to prevent over-browning. The interior temperature of the finished loaf should be at least 190°F. Take the bread out of the oven, and turn it out of the pan onto a rack to cool.