Easy Peasy Crock Pot Bread!

I have two sick kids this week.  Nothing terrible, just some colds and sniffles, but as a result we had a "down day" yesterday.  A whole day at home gave me the opportunity to try out some new recipes that I've been really curious about.  So I spent the whole morning making homemade cottage cheese, ricotta cheese, and cannoli filling.  Sounds amazing, right?  Well, let me share a little lesson I learned...use full fat milk instead of skim or all your cheeses will turn out pretty tough instead of smooth and delicious.

This morning, in the light of a new day, and with all the failures of yesterday's attempts behind me, I decided to go to a recipe that I have made a number of times and know to be a winner...Crock Pot Whole Wheat Bread!  I found this recipe a couple months ago over at Food.com, and it's made regular appearances on my dinner table ever since.  Super simple to make, and better than any whole wheat bread I've ever attempted to make before - my whole family loves this one!  Slice it up while it's warm and slather it with some honey butter for a little whole wheat perfection!

Crock Pot Whole Wheat Bread

Ingredients:
1 Tbls. yeast
1/4 C. warm water
1 C. warm whey (if you've made crock pot yogurt, save the whey and use it here, if not, use skim milk or buttermilk)
1/2 C. rolled oats
1 tsp. salt
2 Tbls. olive oil
2 Tbls. honey
1 whole egg
1/4 C. wheat germ (in a pinch I've been known to use Cream of Wheat...)
2 3/4 C. whole wheat flour

Directions:
Grease a deep metal or glass bowl, or a 1 lb. coffee can, (I use the crock from a 1.5 quart crock pot!) and turn the crock pot onto high to pre-heat.  Dissolve the yeast in the warm water, and then combine all ingredients except the flour.  Once combined, add the four and knead until smooth and elastic, about 5 min.  I actually just throw everything into my Kitchen Aid mixer and use the kneading hook to knead the dough for a few minutes until all the dough clings to the hook.  Turn the dough into your baking dish and cover loosely with foil.  Place a piece of crumpled foil or a small trivet (or canning lid) in the bottom of your crock pot with 1/2 C. water.  Place your can or bowl in the crock pot, cover and bake on high for three hours.