Whole Wheat Bread from Ken Cooper

Steps

1. Grind the wheat into flour.
2. Dissolve the yeast in the warm water with the sugar.
3. Add enough flour to the yeast to make a thick batter. Add the remaining ingredients and the rest of the flour.
4. Knead dough a couple minutes, sprinkling work surface lightly with extra flour as needed to prevent sticking. Let dough rest, covered, about 10 minutes to allow water to absorb. Dough will become stiffer.
5. Continue kneading about 10 minutes, until dough is supple, elastic, and bounces back when pressed.
6. Add about 1/2 tsp oil to a clean bowl that is at least three times the volume of the dough. Place dough upside down in the bowl, coat with the oil, then flip dough over to coat the underside. Cover bowl and let dough rise in a warm place until doubled in bulk, about 45 minutes.
7. Turn dough out and knead gently a couple times to deflate redistribute the yeast. Don't knead too roughly, though, think of tiny air pockets in the dough that you don't want to lose. Repeat step 6 for a second rising until doubled in bulk, about 30 minutes.
8. Turn dough out again and knead gently to deflate. Divide into two and shape into loaves. Cover and let rise about 10 minutes.
9. Preheat the oven to 325 °F. Put the risen dough in the oven and immediately turn the oven down to 300 °F. Bake about 45 to 50 minutes, until bread feels solid to the touch.
10. Take bread out of the oven, remove from the pan, and cool completely on a rack before slicing.