Whole-Wheat Bread with Wheat Germ and Rye

1. In the bowl of a stand mixer, mix the water, yeast, honey, butter (make sure the butter is also under 100 degrees so you don’t kill your yeast) and salt with a rubber spatula. Mix in the rye flour, wheat germ, 2 cups of the white whole wheat flour, and the vital wheat gluten.

2. Add 3 cups of the white whole wheat flour, attach the dough hook and knead at low speed until the dough is smooth and elastic, about 8 minutes. Add more flour as necessary to get the dough to the right consistency (smooth and elastic, not tacky). Transfer the dough to a lightly floured surface. Knead just long enough to make sure that the dough is soft and smooth, about 30 seconds.

3. Place the dough in a very lightly oiled large bowl and cover with plastic wrap. Let rise in a warm, draft-free area until the dough has doubled in volume, about 1 hour.

4. Heat the oven to 375°. Gently press down the dough and divide it into two equal pieces. Gently press each piece into a rectangle about 1-inch thick and no longer than 9 inches (width-wise, so it will fit in your loaf pan). With a long side of the dough away from you (hot dog, not hamburger), roll the dough firmly into a cylinder, pressing down to make sure the dough sticks to itself. Turn the dough seam-side up and pinch it closed. Place each cylinder of dough into a greased 9 by 5-inch loaf pan, seam-side down, pressing the dough gently so it touches all four sides of the pan. Cover the shaped dough; let rise until almost doubled in volume, 20 to 30 minutes.

5. Bake until an instant-read thermometer inserted at an angle from the short end just above the pan rim reads 205°, about 35 to 45 minutes. Transfer the bread immediately from the baking pans to a wire rack. Cool to room temperature.