Hi Linda,
We use mostly whole wheat in our flour and have a good recipe that almost
always rises beautifully using 100% whole wheat and very little sugar.
Mostly we just use lecithin but sometimes use both an egg and lecithin if
it's a sweeter loaf. But here's our basic recipe and maybe it will help.
You'll note it's pretty similar to yours.
3 cups (13.5 ounces) whole wheat flour (making sure it is hard wheat)
3 Tablespoons vital wheat gluten
1 teaspoon salt
1 Tablespoon dough enhancer (made with lecithin, ask if you want the recipe)
1 1/4 cup water
1 tablespoon honey
1 tablespoon butter
1 1/2 teaspoons SAF instant yeast
This is our standard bread. We use a bread machine for it and the only
machine I've ever found that can make a great whole wheat loaf is the
Panasonic.
Before I had a bread machine (and also seeing how the Panasonic works),
here's what I think helps this loaf.
1. Extensive kneading - this machine really whacks that dough around for a
lengthy period of time. The gluten needs to develop and as there's no
"bread" flour in here, it needs a long knead.
2. A rest between kneads. I've seen this called "autolyse" (I think).
Whole wheat absorbs more liquid than white flour and takes longer to do so
and this rest allows you to use less flour and still get a tender loaf. You
could also use the sponge method.
This bread seems plenty sweet to me without the addition of splenda but
your tastes may vary. The yeast seems to have plenty of sugar to feed from.
Happy Baking,
Bev C