Honey Whole Wheat Bread

So, I haven't had very many good bread-baking experiences, in fact, some may have called me breadphobic... until I talked to a friend that is quite bread savvy. She pointed out that I was using all whole wheat bread (which is often a problem and makes breads SUPER dense), and I was killing my yeast. I didn't realize how delicate that process was! I was just getting the faucet to run as hot as possible, then dumping yeast in and then was surprised when it didn't do anything! Oops. So, now I use my meat thermometer (hey, a girl's got to be savvy) to help me determine when the water is 110 degrees, then I dump in the sugar or honey and yeast. AND STIR WELL (another previous oops)!

Anyways, this was my first delicious loaf of homemade bread. The husband LOVES it and has agreed to eat it instead of grocery store bread!

Honey Whole Wheat Bread
An adaptation of a recipe by The Savannah Bee Company

1 ½ + 1/8 c. warm water (100-110 degrees F)
1/6 c. + 3 tbsp. honey, divided
2 ¼ tsp. yeast
2 c. bread flour, plus more for dusting
1 ½ c. whole wheat flour
½ c. wheat germ
*¼ c. ground flax seed
*¼ c. flax seeds
1/3 tbsp. salt
Cooking spray

Combine the warm water, 1/6 c. honey, and yeast. Stir until dissolved. Set aside to proof. The mixture will become creamy and foamy in about 5 minutes.
Bring out the Giant Kitchen Aid Mixer (with dough hook) and combine bread flour, whole wheat flour, wheat germ, flax stuff and salt. Pour in the yeast mixture and knead on low speed until well combined. After a few seconds, squeeze in an extra 3 tbsp. of honey (to add more moisture to the mixture and a little sweetness to the bread!). Take your new dough glob to a well-floured surface. Knead the dough by using the heal of your hands to push the dough away from yourself, then fold the dough back in half, turn slightly, and repeat the process. If you 'knead' help on this process (sorry, I’m helpless when it comes to shameless puns), look for an instructional video on YouTube or pictures through Google Images – they were super helpful to me! Anyway, you’ll be kneading for 5 minutes or until the dough is smooth and elastic and kind of bounces back when pressed with your fingers.
Spray a large bowl with cooking spray. Place the kneaded dough ball in the bowl, cover with a towel, place in a warm area of your house/kitchen, and let rise for about 1 hr (it should double in size).
Dump the dough out onto your lightly floured work surface and punch down. Flatten the dough into an oval shape and roll up lengthwise. Place the dough roll (seam side down) in to a cooking-sprayed loaf pan (9”x5”x3”). Cover the loaf pan with a towel, place in a warm area, and let rise for 45 min (again, it should double in size). At some point, begin preheating the oven to 350. Bake until deep golden brown and the bread sounds hollow when tapped (about 25+ minutes). Let cool on a trivet or stove top for several minutes, then remove the loaf. Allow the loaf to cool completely before storing. Or, you can always eat it warm with copious amounts of butter and honey.

*If the flax ingredients aren't accessible, or just not appetizing, feel free to delete them along with the 3 extra tbsp. of honey.

This is the dough, after being rolled and placed in the loaf pan seam side down, ready to be covered by a towel and allowed to rise.

The problems I'm still having are:
-How can I store it for a week without it getting stale? (It doesn't fit in a gallon-sized ziplock bag.)
-How can I cut the bread in skinny pieces without it falling apart? David said his mom used to have this knife/apparatus that helped you measure what you were slicing as you were slicing. Anyone heard of this and know where I can get one?

Hope you enjoy!