Honey Wheat Bushman Bread

With Big Daddy on the mend, my kitchen play time has taken a back seat but I did manage to bake some lovely bread today. We all love Outback's Bushman Bread, so when I came across this copycat version I had to try it. It was simple easy - made 4 loaves and was delicious AND it made the house smell wonderful:)

1 1/4 c warm water
2 tsp sugar
2 1/4 tsp (1 pkg) yeast
2 c bread flour
1 3/4 c whole wheat flour
1 tbsp cocoa powder
1 tsp salt
2 tbsp butter, softened
1/4 c honey
2 tbsp molasses
1 1/4 tsp red food coloring
1 tsp blue food coloring
1 tsp yellow food coloring
cornmeal for dusting

Mix sugar with warm water, then dissolve the yeast in the solution. In 5 minutes the solution will begin to foam as the yeast starts to bubble. While the yeast is foaming, mix the flours, cocoa and salt in a large bowl. Mix butter into the dry mixture with your hands. Make an impression in the middle of your dry mixture. Add honey and molasses into the well. Now mix food coloring into your yeast mix and pour it into the well. Stir slowly at first, bringing dry ingredients into wet stuff, then quickly incorporate everything. You will eventually need to use your hands to combine everything. Knead dough for about 10 minutes on a lightly floured surface, then roll into a ball and place it in a covered bowl in a warm place for 1- 1 1/2 hours or until it has doubled in size. When dough has doubled, separate it into 4 even portions. Roll each into a log shape. Sprinkle cornmeal all over work surface. Moisten your hands and rub a little on each loaf and roll each one into cornmeal. Transfer each log onto a cookie sheet and cover with plastic wrap and let sit in a warm spot to rise for another hour until they have doubled in size.

Preheat oven to 350º, uncover and bake 35-40 minutes in the hot oven. When bread is done, let it cool for 10-15 minutes. Serve with a sharp knife and butter on the side. Yum. Makes 4 medium loaves.