Wheat Berry & Raisin Bread

At first I was perplexed by wheat berries, until I realized they were actually whole wheat kernels. Unfortunately, I had already purchased a bag of wheat berries when I had this epiphany, so my stash of wheat to grind remained untouched for this bread. (Technically, I did grind it for the flour in the recipe.)

Wheat Berry & Raisin Bread
2 tsp. yeast
1 1/3 cups water
1 1/2 tsp. salt
2 Tbsp. canola oil
2 Tbsp. honey
2 Tbsp. molasses
2 cups whole wheat flour
2 cups bread flour
1 cup cooked wheat berries, well drained
1 cup raisins

Heat the water until warm, between 105ºF and 115ºF. Pour into warmed mixing bowl, and add yeast, salt, oil, honey and molasses. Let stand 5 minutes.

Add wheat flour and half the bread flour. Beat well. Cover, and let stand 15 minutes.

Add remaining bread flour. Knead the dough until soft and springy but soft to the touch. Knead in wheat berries and raisins. Remove the dough hook, cover the bowl and let rise until doubled, about 1 hour.

Turn dough onto lightly greased or floured surface, and punch dough down. Divide dough into two pieces, and shape each into a round loaf. Place on prepared baking sheet. Cover, and let rise until doubled, about 45  minutes.

Preheat oven to 375ºF. Bake 25 to 35 minutes, until golden.Cool on a wire rack.

Note: To cook wheat berries, combine 1 cup grain and 3 cups water in medium saucepan. Cover, and bring to a boil. Simmer approximately 45 minutes until tender. Drain well. Store remaining grain in the refrigerator.