Little Red Hen Bread

"Hey, everyone!" said the Little Red Hen one day.  "I have some grain here.  Who will help me plant the grain?"
"Not I," said the dog.
"Not I," said the pig.
"Not I," said the goose.
"Not I," said the Kat.  "I'm kinda in the middle of a project here."

"The grain has grown into wheat!" said the Little Red Hen one day.  "Who will help me harvest the wheat?"
"Not I," said the dog.
"Not I," said the pig.
"Not I," said the goose.
"Not I," said the Kat.  "I'm just getting over a cold, and it's wet and muddy out."

"The wheat must be milled into flour!" said the Little Red Hen one day.  "Who will help me mill the wheat?"
"Not I," said the dog.
"Not I," said the pig.
"Not I," said the goose.
"Not I," said the Kat.  "Seriously, can't you just buy a bag of flour like a normal person?"

"The flour must be baked into bread!" said the Little Red Hen one day.  "Who will help me bake the bread?"
"Not I," said the dog.
"Not I," said the pig.
"Not I," said the goose.
"Aww, what the heck," said the Kat.  "I have this great recipe for honey wheat bread I've been wanting to try out..."

Little Red Hen Honey Wheat Bread
2 tbsp. white sugar
3/4 cup warm water
1 tbsp. active dry yeast
1/4 cup milk
1 tbsp. vegetable oil
1 cup whole wheat flour
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp. salt
2 tbsp. honey
1/4 cup water (may not be needed)
1 egg, beaten

1. In a small bowl, dissolve the sugar into the warm water.  Make sure the water is tepid-warm, not hot, not cool.  Stir in the yeast and let it sit until it appears creamy and bubbly, about ten minutes.  (This is called "blooming the yeast," by the way, and what it does is wake up the freeze-dried yeast so it starts to make bubbles.  Skip this step and you have flatbread, which is all well and good, but not really what we're after here.)
2. In a large mixing bowl, combine the yeast mixture with the milk, vegetable oil, whole wheat flour, 1 cup of the all-purpose flour, the salt, and the honey. Mix well.
3. Add in the remaining flour, half a cup at a time.  If the mixture is crumbly and will not hold together, add the water a little at a time until it forms a ball.  You don't want sticky, but you don't want it to crumble, either.
4. Either use an electric mixer's dough hook for about 5 minutes OR turn the dough out on to a lightly floured surface and knead until smooth and elastic-y, about ten minutes.
5. Oil or no-stick-spray a large bowl and place the dough in, turning it over so it gets oil on all sides.  Put the bowl in a warm place and cover it with a slightly-damp cloth for about an hour or until the dough has doubled in volume.  (Note: the oil and the damp cloth keep the dough from drying out on the outside.  The world won't end if you skip this, but it tastes better if you don't.)
6. Grease a loaf pan.  Place the dough on a lightly-floured surface and punch it down.  Form it into a loaf and set it in the pan, covering again with a damp cloth to let it rise for another 40 minutes.  Preheat the oven to 400 so it's ready when your dough is done rising.
7. Brush the loaf with the egg (this will help it to brown - butter would also work).  Bake it for 30 minutes, covering with tinfoil mid-way through if the top is getting too brown.
8. Let the loaf rest for a few minutes before cutting into it, as it may otherwise not set right. 

This bread is pretty tasty as-is, but if you want to sprinkle, say, some sesame seeds on top before baking, that would be a nice addition as well.  You can also use this dough to make rolls, which would be nice, but be sure to adjust your cooking time.

Hmm... I have all this bread now, and nothing to put on it...