Mary's Whole Wheat Bread

1/2 c. warm water
1 tsp. sugar
2 tbsp. yeast
In a small bowl mix water and sugar and add the yeast, stir, and let sit 10 minutes until yeast bubbles.

1 cup buttermilk
3 cups warm water
1 tsp. salt
1 tbsp. dark brown sugar
1/4 cup oil
1/4 cup molasses
In a large bowl, combine the above ingredients, adding the yeast mixture to this liquid. 

1 cup rye flour
3 cups white flour
4 1/2 cups whole wheat flour (I needed another cup for kneading)
Slowly add the flours and blend thoroughly with a large spoon.  When it is too thick to stir clean the spoon with flour and use flour to clean the sides of the bowl.  Begin turning the dough to the middle, using flour to incorporate all the edges.  Knead dough for 10 - 15 minutes, adding a small amount of flour as you knead to keep the dough from sticking to your hands.  Knead until the dough is smooth. Make the dough into a smooth ball, cover, and let it rise 1 - 2 hours, depending on the warmth of your room.  When it has doubled in size, punch it down and form into about 5 loaves, depending on the size of your pans.  Let rise double, about another hour.  Do not over rise the loaves or they will form bubbles on the tops of the loaves.
Bake at 350 degrees for about 40 - 45 minutes.
Leave the loaves in the pans for about 2 minutes and the steam from the bread will cause the loaves to fall out of the pans easily. 

Let cool completely before packing in plastic bags.  This bread makes excellent toast and is especially good with Mom's Marmalade.