Whole-Wheat Honey-Walnut Bread

1. Combine honey and yeast with 2 cups warm (90°F) water in large bowl. Let stand 10 minutes, or until yeast foams on surface. Stir in butter and salt.

2. Stir in flour 1 cup at a time until dough forms ball. Turn out dough

onto well-floured work surface, sprinkle generously with flour, and knead 15 minutes, or until dough is smooth and no longer sticks to hands. (Add more flour as needed to keep dough from sticking.) Alternately, knead bread in food processor with dough blade 3 to 5 minutes, or in stand-up mixer with dough hook 7 to 10 minutes. Knead in walnuts with hands until nuts are distributed throughout dough.

3. Transfer dough to lightly oiled bowl. Cover with damp towel, and let rise

1 hour in warm place, or until dough doubles in size. Punch down dough, and let rise 1 hour more, or refrigerate overnight, if desired. (The second rising time makes for a less dense bread.)

4. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper, or spray with cooking spray. Turn dough onto floured work surface, and shape into 2 round loaves, smoothing and stretching surface until smooth, then drawing excess dough together at bottom. Pinch seam at bottom of dough. Place on prepared baking sheets, and cover with damp towel. Let loaves rise 30 minutes, or until doubled in size.

5. Preheat oven to 400°F. Bake loaves 45 to 50 minutes, or until well-browned on outside. Cool at least 20 minutes on wire rack before slicing.