Whole Wheat Sandwich Bread

I recently improved my Sandwich bread recipe and I think it's time I posted it here.  I like it because it uses 100% whole wheat flour, and doesn't require a lot of processed ingredients.  It's also fairly simple, and yields a dense, moist, loaf that's perfect for peanut butter and jelly sandwiches.  It also isn't overly bitter like many whole wheat breads.  So, without further ado:

You'll need:

• 1 tbls active dry yeast
• 1 tbls sugar
• 1 cup warm water
• 1/4 cup melted butter
• 3 tbls honey
• 1/4 cup milk
• 1/4 cup orange juice
• 1&1/2 tsp salt
• About 3-4 cups of 100% whole wheat flour

Start by dissolving the yeast and sugar in 1 cup of warm water.  It should become frothy on top as the yeast activates.  Add the butter, milk, honey, orange juice, salt, and mix together.  Then add 3 cups of flour and mix until combined.  By the time that's combined you should be have a sticky, wet dough, that you can't really stir with a spoon anymore.  Start adding flour about 1/4 cup at a time and mix with your hands until the dough becomes kneadable and no longer sticks to everything it touches.  Continue to knead for another 5-7 minutes until the dough becomes smooth and springy.  Transfer to a bowl and let rise until double, about 1-2 hours.  Gently deflate and shape it into an 8 inch log, then set it in a lightly greased 8x5 bread pan.  Cover the bread pan loosely with lightly greased plastic wrap.  Allow this to rise about an hour or until the top of loaf is about 1" above the pan.  Then place in a 350 degree oven and cook for 35-40 minutes.

And that's my 100% Whole Wheat Sandwich Bread recipe.  I haven't tried it yet, but I bet it'd be really good with some tree nuts too.  I'll add step by step pictures next time I make it, I know those always help me.

True or False: Babies first illness

True:  Babies get sick
False:  You will panic
True:  Your wife will panic
False:  Your life will be horrible while he's sick
True:  Your life will be horrible while you're sick

Oliver came down with his first illness last week, nothing too bad, just a head cold.  The first day he had a fever, it started at about 100 and went up to 102 shortly after I left for work, which resulted in a long string of texts from the wife.  She called the pediatrician and he told her to keep an eye on him and make sure he was still eating, and that it would probably pass over without any trouble.

The next day the fever was gone, but he was still miserable.  He had a bad cough and (I'm assuming) a sore throat.  He was cranky, and didn't eat a lot, and started sleeping more than normal.  By the next day (which coincidently was the first day I had time alone with him) he was hardly eating and just wanted to sleep all day.  Which made me feel really bad for him.  On the other hand...

It gave me all sorts of time to do things I wanted to.  It was almost a day to myself, he was only up for about 2 hours total before I left for work, so I logged a good amount of me time.  I felt bad as I got him ready for daycare, he wasn't fevering anymore, so even though I knew he was no longer contagious, I still didn't want to get anyone else sick.  That feeling ended the moment I opened the door to his room and heard his cough...only it wasn't him.  Then again, still not him.  Turns out every baby in that room had the same cough he did, must have been a rough day for the caregivers.

Of course the next day, I awoke to a sore throat of my own.  Fortunately, he was still sleepy, so I didn't have to do a lot for him, but it took a lot of the fun out of my alone time.  It only got worse from there, and unlike him, I didn't get to sleep through it all.

And here I am, a week later, and I'm still stuffy and loosing my voice by the end of the day.  Fortunately, Oliver's back to normal now.  It was nice having that extra time to myself, but I sure did miss all his giggles.