Bread Machine Whole Wheat Bread

The market continues its steady climb. I had 3 showings this week and 1 offers. My reputation precedes me now — the Greek agent who tells the truth about roofs and brings food to open houses. Worse reputations exist.

Alexander called from school this week. He is doing well and building a life with the quiet competence of a young man who watched his mother rebuild from nothing and decided that building is what Papadopouloses do. He still does not call Yia-yia enough. He never will.

Mama is 87 and still at the bakery at 4 AM. I do not know how much longer she will do this. I do not ask. You do not ask Voula Papadopoulos about endings. You stand next to her and roll phyllo and trust that the beginning continues as long as the hands are moving.

I made loukoumades — Greek honey puffs, fried golden, drenched in honey and cinnamon. They disappeared in twelve minutes. I served it with bread and olive oil — always too much olive oil, because in this family there is no such thing as too much. We ate and the conversation was easy and the evening was warm.

Sophia told me this week that she is proud of me. I was not expecting it. We were in the car, driving to Tarpon Springs for Sunday dinner, and she said Mom, I am proud of you. I said for what. She said for everything. For the bakery. For the houses. For making dinner every night even when you are tired. I gripped the steering wheel and blinked and said thank you, koritsi mou. She said do not cry. I did not cry. Much.

The loukoumades were the showstopper — they always are — but it was the bread that held the evening together, the way bread always does in our house. Mama has been pulling loaves from the oven since before I could stand at the counter beside her, and when Sophia told me she was proud of me in that car, I thought about flour and patience and what it means to pass something down without ever saying you are passing it down. This whole wheat bread is not her recipe, but it is the spirit of it: honest, warm, made to be eaten with too much olive oil in the company of people you love.

Prep Time: 10 min | Cook Time: 3 hrs | Total Time: 3 hrs 10 min | Servings: 12 slices

Ingredients

1 cup warm water (110°F)
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 tablespoons honey
1 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 cups bread flour
1 1/2 cups whole wheat flour
2 tablespoons dry milk powder
2 1/4 teaspoons active dry yeast (1 standard packet)

Instructions

Layer the ingredients. Add ingredients to the bread machine pan in the order recommended by your manufacturer — typically liquids first, then dry ingredients, with yeast last and kept away from the salt.
Select the cycle. Choose the Whole Wheat setting on your bread machine. Select a 1.5-pound loaf size and your preferred crust color (medium is a reliable choice).
Start and wait. Press start and let the machine do its work through the knead, rise, and bake cycles — approximately 3 hours total. Resist lifting the lid during the first rise.
Cool before slicing. When the cycle completes, remove the pan carefully and turn the loaf out onto a wire rack. Let it cool for at least 20 minutes before slicing so the crumb sets properly.
Serve. Slice and serve with good olive oil and a pinch of flaky sea salt. There is no such thing as too much olive oil.

Nutrition (per serving)

Bread Machine Whole Wheat Bread — The Hands That Keep the Beginning Going