Whole Wheat Oat Bran Bread
Marliss Desens adapted this recipe from "Oat Bran Bread," in Brother Juniper's Bread Book, by Peter Reinhart (pp. 102-104). It makes two very large 9 x 5 loaves or three medium 8 x 4 loaves.

4 cups (511 g) whole wheat flour
2 cups (241 g) oat bran (whirl in a food processor after measuring and before adding)
½ cup (61 g) flax meal
2 cups (247 g) bread flour (Bob's Red Mill Artisan)
¼ cup (37 g) special dry milk

1 ½ Tbs. active yeast
6 oz. water (108 F) [Note: for Ankarsrum use 8 oz]

3 cups buttermilk
1/3 cup honey

2 cups (247 g) bread flour [Note: for Ankarsrum, hold back at least 47 g]
1 Tbs. salt

1/3 cup olive oil

Stir together the first group of ingredients in medium bowl. Put buttermilk and honey into stand mixer bowl. Place warm water (rinse off honey spoon in it) in small bowl, add yeast, agitate with fork, and let proof for 5 minutes. Add proofed yeast to buttermilk and honey. Mix with paddle. Add first group of dry ingredients. Mix with paddle on setting 1 initially, then setting two to combine. Cover mixer with towel and allow to rest for 15 minutes. Meanwhile, stir together the remaining bread flour and salt.

Add flour and salt mixture to mixer bowl. Mix on setting 2 for a short period until mostly combined (it will be a very thick dough), then switch to the dough spiral on setting 2. It may be necessary to adjust the dough to help incorporate some of the flour. With mixer running, drizzle in olive oil around edges of bowl. Using setting 3, knead for 7 minutes. Check dough. It will likely need an additional two minutes. It is done when windowpane can be pulled.

Let dough rise in a covered, lightly oiled, large dough bucket for about 1 ½ hours or until nearly doubled. When dough is ready, empty bucket onto a Silpat mat, briefly degas, then weigh and cut into three equal pieces. Shape each into a small oval. Cover and let rest for 5 minutes. Grease three 8 x 4-inch loaf pans. Shape dough into loaves. Allow to rise for about 1 hour. It should crown the pans by about an inch. Preheat oven to 375 F, about 20 minutes before end of rise.

Put bread into the oven and DROP temperature to 350 F. Bake for 40 minutes, until bread reaches 195 F on digital thermometer. Cool on rack.

What I changed: I replaced wheat bran with flax meal. I replaced 2 cups of water with additional buttermilk and increased the water by 2 oz. I replaced 4 cups of bread flour with 4 cups whole wheat flour and replaced ¾ cup brown sugar or ½ cup honey with 1/3 cup honey. I added the special dry milk. I reduced the yeast from 2 Tbs. and the salt from 1 ½ Tbs. I added 1/3 cup olive oil, which keeps the bread soft longer. I prefer to bake it as 3 smaller loaves rather than two very large 9 x 5-inch loaves.