Wheat Bread - never too tall!

Traditional Whole Wheat Bread - 5 hours and more than 6" tall!

I started baking bread in 2001 with my first (and only) Oster Bread Machine. I rely and have learned what a good loaf looks like but it is highly subjective and depends on many factors including the amount of moisture in the air. This loaf started off looking like a twirling hockey puck, a dry round ball in the machine. Following Lora Brody's advice I turned off the machine after the second (and final) knead was completed and restarted the machine. During both knead cycles I had added tablespoons of water to the pan but the bread did not look ready to bake . After the second processing, The bread ball looked moist, tender and ready to rise. Beautiful golden color and look at the texture! I had to cut off the bottom of the loaf so that I could maneuver it into my deli-type Chefs Choice slicer for sandwich

slices.