almost whole wheat bread

so, i've been baking bread for about a month now. i just love it. i love the smell that wafts through the house, even on a hot day! and it just tastes so good. earthy and hearty. anyways, i decided i would post my recipe on here in case anyone wants to try it:) pictures to come soon.

time to make: 3-4 hours total(including raising times)
yield: 1 loaf
bake time: 30-35 minutes
temperature: 350 degrees fahrenheit

ingredients:

1 package yeast
1 1/4 cup warm water
1 tablespoon molasses
2 cups whole wheat flour
3/4-1 cup unbleached white flour
1 teaspoon salt(optional)

directions:

first put the warm water and molasses in a bowl, stir the molasses around so it dissolves. next, put the yeast in. leave it to sit for no more than 10 minutes.
while the yeast is sitting you can measure out your flour. in another bowl, combine one cup of the whole wheat with the cup of white flour. add the salt to that. mix up.
once the yeast has dissolved, add the other 1 cup of whole wheat flour. mix with a mixer or wire wisk. then gradually add the other bowl of flour(about a half cup at a time), mixing after each addition. if it gets too stiff to mix i just dump the remaining flour on the counter and begin kneading. i use whole wheat flour on the counter to keep the dough from sticking. some recipes i've read say to knead for 10 minutes. besides the fact that my arms are dead after that long, my dough gets all wierd when i knead that long. i probably only knead for about 5 minutes at the most. make sure you keep enough flour on the counter to keep it from sticking. when your dough feels supple and bounces back when you press it with a finger its probably good. shape it into a ball and place it in a bowl. either oil the bowl and the dough lightly or flour them so it wont get dried out. cover with a damp towel. let it rise in a warm spot, i put it on top of the oven or over the dishwasher on the counter. wait 1 to 2 hours. the dough should about double in size.
then take the dough out of the bowl, i use a rubber spatula. at this point what you need to do is get as much of the air out of it as possible. punch it down and flatten it out. you can even use a rolling pin(but i dont). then shape it into a loaf and put it in a lightly oiled loaf pan. or you can make a french bread loaf out of it, just shape it into a long loaf and sprinkle cornmeal on a cookie sheet then put it on there. now it has to rise one more time. another 1-1 1/2 hours. it should be about double again. after that put it into a preheated oven for abotu 30-35 minutes. it is nicely browned when it's done. remove it from the pan after about 5 minutes. bread cooling racks are nice but i dont have one so i put it in a basket with a towel over it to finish cooling.
wait till it cools to slice it.
i haven't quite figured out the best way to store it without it getting hard/soggy/dry/moldy. i think covering the cut end with foil worked pretty good. my best recommendation is to eat it within about 3 days then you wont have to worry much about storing it! that's probably why i tend to only make one loaf at a time.
well, i hope you enjoy this recipe:)
blessings.
:)