100% White Whole Wheat Bread with Olive Oil

Ingredients

• 3 1/2 cups white whole wheat flour
• 3/4 T yeast
• 3/4 T fine sea salt
• 2 T vital wheat gluten
• 1 3/4 cups lukewarm water
• 1/4 cup olive oil

Directions

1. In a large bowl, or in the bowl of a stand mixer, combine the White Whole Wheat Flour, yeast, salt, and vital wheat gluten.
2. With the mixer on low and fitted with the paddle attachment, or with a large spoon, work in the olive oil and water until no dry patches remain. If you are mixing by hand and the flour is being stubborn, use wet hands to help bring everything together.
3. Cover the dough loosely, not airtight, and leave it at room temperature until it has risen and then settled back or leveled on top, about 2 hours. At that point, you can bake with it right away, or chill it for easier handling for a few hours and up to 10 days.
4. When you are ready to bake, dust the top of the dough with flour and pull off a grapefruit-sized portion.
5. Flour the dough once more, then form it into a ball by tucking the edges underneath while stretching the top until it looks smooth. You can keep it round or shape it into more of a loaf.
6. Set the shaped dough on a pizza peel, parchment paper, or a cookie sheet so it can rest.
7. For baking, you will need a pizza stone or a baking sheet lined with parchment paper or a silicone mat, along with a separate metal baking dish for the water that creates steam. Place the metal dish where it will not block the bread as it rises; in a standard oven, a rack below the bread works well.
8. Let the dough rest for 90 minutes. After 60 minutes, start heating the oven to 450F/230C, warming the pizza stone if you are using one. If you are using a baking sheet instead, heat that.
9. When the dough has nearly finished its 90 minutes of resting, brush the top with water using a pastry brush. With a serrated knife, make several parallel cuts across the top of the loaf.
10. Move the bread, with the parchment paper if you are using it, onto the hot pizza stone or baking sheet. Right away, pour 1 cup hot water into the separate baking dish and close the oven door. If your baking dish only holds 3/4 cup water, that will still work.
11. Bake for 30-35 minutes, until the loaf feels firm and is well browned. If you are using parchment paper or a silicone mat, pull it out after 20 minutes so the underside can brown. The loaf shown was baked for exactly 30 minutes.
12. Let this 100% White Whole Wheat Bread with Olive Oil cool before you slice into it.