No-Knead Whole Wheat Sandwich Bread

This is my version of Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day (by Jeff Hertzberg and Zoe Francois), a revolutionary approach to bread baking. Actually it's a combination of Five Minute Bread and Cook's Illustrated Almost No-Knead Bread 2.0. Perfect answer to a busy life . . . mix once and store in the refrigerator and use within 5 days. The addition of beer and vinegar gives the bread a 'sourdough' like taste. If you prefer, water may be substituted for the beer and the vinegar omitted. The bread can be baked in a traditional bread pan, or it can baked using a cast-iron dutch oven, see Almost No-Knead Bread 2.0. Makes three 1-1/2 pound loaves. Preparation time does not include fermentation time.

• Ready In: 1 hr
• Yields: 3 1 1/2 pound loaves

Ingredients

• 2 3⁄4 cups whole wheat flour
• 2 3⁄4 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
• 1⁄2 cup wheat germ
• 1⁄4 cup  rye flour
• 3 1⁄2 teaspoons salt
• 1 1⁄2 tablespoons instant yeast
• 1  cup  mild lager beer, such as budweiser
• 2  cups  lukewarm water
• 1  tablespoon white vinegar
• 1⁄4 cup honey
• 1⁄4 cup butter, melted

Directions

1. MIXING AND STORING DOUGH:
2. Whisk together flours, wheat germ, yeast, and salt in large bowl or lidded 5 quart container.
3. Stir honey and melted butter into water; then add water, beer, and vinegar to the dry ingredients.
4. Using rubber spatula, fold mixture, scraping up dry flour from bottom of bowl/ container until shaggy ball forms (use wet hands if needed).
5. Cover bowl with plastic wrap and let sit at room temperature until dough rises and collapses (or flatttens on top); 2 - 5 hours.
6. Refrigerate in lidded (not airtight) container and allow to preferment for at least one day or up to 5 days.
7. ON BAKING DAY:
8. Lightly grease a 9x4x3-inch nonstick loaf pan.
9. With wet hands, pull up one end of the refrigerated dough. Using a serrated knife, cut off a 1 1/2 pound, or canteloupe-size, piece of dough. Dust the piece with flour and quickly shape into a ball by gently stretching the surface of the dough around to the bottom on all four sides, rotating the ball a quarter-turn as you go. Most of the dusting flour will fall off. The bottom of the loaf may appear to be a collection of bunched ends, but they will flatten out during resting and baking. The dough ball should be smooth and cohesive and take no more than 30 to 60 seconds to shape. Form an elongated oval and place into the prepared pan.
10. Cover loosely with plastic wrap and allow to rest until doubled in size, approximately 2 hours.
11. Twenty minutes before baking, preheat oven to 400 degrees, with an empty broiler tray or cast iron skillet on any other shelf that won't interfer with the rising bread.
12. Place the loaf on a rack near the center of the oven. Pour 1 cup of hot tap water into the hot broiler tray or skillet and quickly close the oven door.
13. Bake for 45 - 50 minutes or until golden brown and firm.
14. Remove from pan and allow to cool on wire rack before slicing.