Free Beard on Bread by James Beard

cups warm water (100° to 115°, approximately)
    2 tablespoons molasses
    1 tablespoon salt
    Put the whole-wheat flour in a large mixing bowl and place in a warm oven (a gas oven with the pilot light on or an electric oven set as low as possible). Both the flour and the bowl should be warm when you make the bread.

    Dissolve the yeast in ½ cup of the warm water, and blend in the molasses. Let proof. Add another ½ cup of water. Combine the flour, yeast mixture, and salt. Add enough warm water to make a wet, sticky dough (about 1 cup or more according to the flour). Put directly into a buttered 9 × 5 × 3-inch bread tin. Cover, set in a warm spot, allow to rise by one-third its original size. Preheat the oven and bake at 450° for 50minutes, or until the crust is nicely browned and the loaf sounds hollow when tapped. Remove from the pan and leave on the rack in the turned-off oven for 20 minutes more to give a crustier finish.

Whole-Wheat BreadMade with Hard-Wheat Flour
    You must get the specially milled hard-wheat and whole-wheat flour for this bread. It is as good a coarse-meal bread as I know, and has a lovely smell when baking and cooling. If you prefer, you may substitute honey for molasses.
    [1 large free-form loaf or 2 regular loaves]
    2 packages active dry yeast
    1 tablespoon granulated sugar
    2 cups warm water (100° to 115°, approximately)
    ¼ cup melted butter
    2 tablespoons molasses
    1½ tablespoons salt
    3 cups whole-wheat flour
    2 cups hard-wheat flour
    1 egg beaten with 1 teaspoon water
    Dissolve the yeast and sugar in ½ cup of the warm water in a large mixing bowl and let proof for 5 minutes. Stir the butter into the remaining 1½ cups warm water; add the molasses and salt. Add this mixture to the yeast mixture and blend with a wooden spoon, then add the whole-wheat flour, 1 cup at a time, beating hard after each addition. Stir in 1½ cups of hard-wheat flour. When the dough gets too stiff and sticky to work, turn it out on a board sprinkled with about ½ cup hard-wheat flour and knead a good 10 minutes, or until the dough is smooth and pliable. (It may retain a bit of stickiness, as do most doughs made with dark-wheat flours.) Shape into a ball, place in a well-buttered bowl, and turn to coat with the butter. Cover, set in a warm, draft-free spot, and let rise until doubled in bulk, about 1 hour, possibly longer.
    Punch down, and if you want 2 loaves, divide in two and shape each piece into a loaf to fit an 8 × 4 × 2 or 9 × 5 × 3-inch loaf tin. Or makeone large free-form loaf. Cover and let rise again until doubled in bulk. Brush the loaves with the egg wash. Bake in a preheated 425° oven for 10 minutes, then lower the temperature to 375° and continue to bake for 20 to 25 minutes longer, until crust is glazed and the bread sounds hollow when removed from tins and tapped on top and bottom.

William Melville Childs’ Health Bread
    This unusual bread recipe was sent me by a dear friend and great cook, Janet Wurtzburger, who is compiling a benefit cookbook for the Walters Art Gallery in Baltimore. It was perfected by a Marylander whose name is William Melville Childs. A veteran breadmaker, Mr. Childs grinds his own whole-wheat flour and recommends that you do the same. Buy whole-wheat berries (not chemically treated, but suitable for human diet), and grind them with a little hand mill or in an electric blender. This produces a very coarse meal, which is what Mr. Childs prefers in the bread. His variation on this recipe, which follows, uses absolutely no white flour and has a somewhat denser texture, but also more flavor.
    [2 loaves]
    2 packages active dry yeast
    ¾ cup warm milk (100° to 115°, approximately)
    1 teaspoon granulated sugar, more or less to taste
    2¼ cups boiling water
    2 cups quick-cooking oats
    3½ cups whole-wheat flour, either 100% whole-wheat graham or hand-milled whole wheat
    ¾ cup dark molasses
    1½ tablespoons butter or margarine
    1 tablespoon salt
    3½ cups all-purpose