Wheat Bread

Combine milk and brown sugar in a small saucepan; heat over medium heat, stirring to dissolve the sugar, until warm. (The temperature should register 95 degrees F on an instant-read thermometer.)

Pour the milk mixture into a large mixing bowl and sprinkle in yeast. Let stand until the yeast has dissolved, about 5 minutes.

Meanwhile, combine whole-wheat flour, 2 cups bread flour, cracked wheat, oat bran and wheat bran in another mixing bowl.

Give the milk/yeast mixture a stir and add about half of the flour/bran mixture to it. Add salt and beat with a wooden spoon until smooth. Beat in the remaining flour/bran mixture. Gradually add enough of the remaining white flour until you can stir no more.

Place the dough on a floured work surface and knead, adding only enough flour to prevent it from sticking, until the dough is smooth and somewhat elastic, 5 to 10 minutes. (Alternatively, the dough can be mixed and kneaded in a stand-up mixer fitted with a dough hook.)

Place the dough in a lightly oiled bowl and cover with plastic wrap. Let rise in a warm place until doubled, about 40 minutes. Gently punch the dough down.

Coat two 9-by-5-inch loaf pans with cooking spray. Place the dough on a floured work surface and cut it into 2 pieces. Shape into loaves and place in the prepared pans. Cover with greased wax paper or plastic wrap and let rise until loaves are 1/2 to 1 inch above the tops of the pans.

Meanwhile, preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Bake the loaves until the tops are brown and the bottoms sound hollow when tapped, 30 to 40 minutes. Remove from the pans and place on a wire rack to cool.