Starting with this loaf we are leaving the transitional breads behind. Now we are in serious whole grain territory. Although not on the cover of the book, this is (or at least should be) the iconic loaf for this book. This is the first recipe in the book and one of the recipe that Reinhart refers back to in later recipes, "Proceed as in steps 3 through 7 in the whole wheat sandwich bread on page 97."
While the recipe can be made in a loaf pan, as a free standing loaf, or even as rolls, for me a "sandwich bread" calls out for a loaf pan. I slightly doctored the recipe, as can be seen in the before and after pictures to the right. The original recipe gives a crust that is flat and dull. All I've done (second picture) is brush the loaf with melted butter. The recipe doesn't call for this, but it is easy to do and dramatically (I think) improves the appearance of the loaf.
Overall, this is a quite reasonable loaf. The recipe is clearly written, and I didn't encounter any problems. The flavor was good, but I wasn't overwhelmed by it. I found the bread a bit dry and the loaf didn't keep particularly well. Overall, I prefer the first loaf in the challenge, the Transitional Whole Wheat Sandwich Bread to this recipe. But that is just my preference.
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