Wheat Bread with Flax Seeds

Another recent random grocery store purchase-- flax seeds. Gary was all, "What are flax seeds and why are you buying them?" I dunno. I heard they were healthy for you and stuff? Of course, I had no idea what to do with them until I came across this recipe. I had everything on hand except the sunflower seeds, which I omitted, so I thought I would give it a try. This made a very dense, but tasty, bread. It has a nutty flavor, so we paired it with something sweet-- apple butter-- and it was delicious. The original version was for a bread machine. I used my Kitchenaid mixer... this is how I did it.

Ingredients
1 1/3 cups warm water
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
4 tablespoons honey
1 1/2 cups bread flour
1 1/2 cups whole wheat flour
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon active dry yeast
1/2 cup flax seeds
cooking spray, or oil

Directions
Set oven at the lowest setting.

In a small bowl, mix warm water and honey. Add yeast; let sit for about 5 minutes until the mixture is bubbly.

Using the mixer with the dough hook, mix the dry ingredients together. Add the yeast mixture slowly. Mixer should be on the "stir" setting. When the dough starts forming together, add the oil, one tablespoon at a time. Turn the mixer up to #2 setting and let the dough knead for several minutes until it forms a smooth ball. If the dough is too dry, add water; if it is too sticky, add more flour.

Spray a mixing bowl with cooking spray. Put the dough in the bowl and cover with a towel. Turn off the oven, place the covered bowl inside, and leave the oven door open slightly. Let the dough rise for 1-1.5 hours.

Spray a bread pan with cooking spray. Punch down the risen dough, and place in the bread pan. Cover and allow to rise for another 20-30 minutes while oven preheats.

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Bake the bread for 30-35 minutes, remove from pan, and allow to cool on a wire rack.