Best Whole Wheat Bread Ever
No joke this is the easiest and best whole wheat bread I have found to make at home. Right now I use all store bought ingredients, but as soon as I have used up my stores of flour and honey, I will be grinding my own flour and harvesting my own honey! Dry milk on the other hand isn't easy to come by homemade unless you dehydrate some - this I might just have to keep buying at the store :)
So bread making 101 - Here is what you will need for ingredients:
4 cups luke warm water
3 Tablespoons Yeast (I used active dry yeast - store bought)
1/3 Cup Honey
1/3 Cup Oil - this can be corn, vegetable, olive - whatever you want to use
1 Tablespoon of salt
1 3/4 Cup Dry Milk
5 Cups Whole Wheat Flour - I use King Arthur
4-5 Cups All Purpose Unbleached White Flour - Also King Arthur
The proper way to do any recipe is of course measure everything out first and then you just need to plop the ingredient in when you need to. I of course don't always follow this method except for the flour as I always pre-measure the flour in any recipe just in case I loose count :0)
In a small bowl (I use my 4 cup Pyrex measure) I measured out the 4 Cups of luke warm water - (no exact science here just make sure it isn't too hot or it will kill your yeast). Add the yeast to this - give it a good stir and let it sit for a bit.
So bread making 101 - Here is what you will need for ingredients:
4 cups luke warm water
3 Tablespoons Yeast (I used active dry yeast - store bought)
1/3 Cup Honey
1/3 Cup Oil - this can be corn, vegetable, olive - whatever you want to use
1 Tablespoon of salt
1 3/4 Cup Dry Milk
5 Cups Whole Wheat Flour - I use King Arthur
4-5 Cups All Purpose Unbleached White Flour - Also King Arthur
The proper way to do any recipe is of course measure everything out first and then you just need to plop the ingredient in when you need to. I of course don't always follow this method except for the flour as I always pre-measure the flour in any recipe just in case I loose count :0)
In a small bowl (I use my 4 cup Pyrex measure) I measured out the 4 Cups of luke warm water - (no exact science here just make sure it isn't too hot or it will kill your yeast). Add the yeast to this - give it a good stir and let it sit for a bit.
Next mix the Honey, Oil, Salt and Dry Milk in a mixing bowl. I use my kitchen aide with the whisk attachment for this first part and then switch to the dough hook later on. It doesn't have to be mixed completely, just so the ingredients are combined. I then measure out all but 1 Cup of the All purpose flour into a separate bowl - set this aside for now. This time frame usually gives my yeast a few minutes to start working. How do I know it is working? It starts to bubble in the water (see picture above). I then add the yeast water to the honey mix in the kitchen aide and mix it well with the whisk. No more than a minute or two as everything dissolves pretty fast.
Now is the time I switch my whisk attachment to the dough hook. Slow the mixer down to about 1 (lowest setting) so you don't end up with a face full of flour, and start adding the flour a few cups at a time. Allow to mix in between a bit - it won't be completely combined just so flour is wet and starts to disappear into batter. Keep adding flour until it is all gone. This will be about 9 cups of flour (remember we left 1 cup out). Here is where using the kitchen aide is sticky - literally as there is so much dough that mine usually grows and climbs up the dough hook to the top and I have to stop the mixer and scrape everything back down. I sometimes do this a couple of times until I get so fed up I know it is time to knead by hand. ( I really am quite lazy and let my mixer do as much as possible)
This is when that extra cup of flour comes into play. Before I empty the dough onto my counter, I sprinkle it generously with flour from the cup measure. The dough will be a bit sticky so I make sure my hands have flour on them too! Empty the dough onto the counter keeping it in a kind of ball shape. Now it is the therapy session of making bread... kneading.
With the heals of your hands and fingers gently cupped over the far edge of the dough, press your hands forward pulling back the top of the dough towards you. It reminds me a bit like rocking the dough. Now turn the dough about 1/3 around clockwise and repeat the pushing/pulling motion. As the dough gets sticky, you add more flour from the cup measure as needed. I usually use all 10 cups and depending on the weather and type of flours used I sometimes can use another 1/2 cup as well. So keep kneading the dough until all the flour is incorporated and then for another 5 - 7 minutes. You know it is done when you pinch some dough pull it up a bit and it springs back down into itself. Gluten is activated, shape into ball and bread is ready to rise!
With the heals of your hands and fingers gently cupped over the far edge of the dough, press your hands forward pulling back the top of the dough towards you. It reminds me a bit like rocking the dough. Now turn the dough about 1/3 around clockwise and repeat the pushing/pulling motion. As the dough gets sticky, you add more flour from the cup measure as needed. I usually use all 10 cups and depending on the weather and type of flours used I sometimes can use another 1/2 cup as well. So keep kneading the dough until all the flour is incorporated and then for another 5 - 7 minutes. You know it is done when you pinch some dough pull it up a bit and it springs back down into itself. Gluten is activated, shape into ball and bread is ready to rise!
Next Find a very large bowl as there is a lot of dough here. Generously oil the bowl (I use olive oil or whatever you have) and picking up the dough I put it top down first so it gets oil on it, then flip it over so the top is back on top. Now I cover with a tea towel (cotton kitchen towel) and let it rise in a warm place until double in size - about 1 1/2 - 2 hours depending on the weather. Or you can use plastic wrap over the top which helps keep in the moisture and warmth. I myself am lucky because my pilot lit oven is always around 100 degrees so I plop it in there shut the door and let it rise away. See you in a few hours....
Wow time flies doesn't it? When the dough has risen to double its original size it is time to punch it down and shape it into the bread you want. I have extra large bread pans I use - that way my family can make sandwiches or toast out of it. I get 2 pretty good sized loaves when done. So to punch the dough down, take the towel off and literally punch the dough to deflate it. Now let it rest 5 or 10 minutes. I don't know why this is just what all the bread recipes tell you to do. LOL
Once the dough has rested, you take it out of bowl and place it onto a slightly floured surface. Using a knife, cut the dough in half and shape into how you want your bread to look. Using my loaf pans I generally shape the dough into an elongated oval shape. Oil the pans you are going to use and repeating the step above, place the top of the dough into the pan so it gets oiled, then flip it up so all surfaces have oil on them. Repeat with second half of dough. You can really be creative here, make smaller loaves, make round loaves that are just cooked on a flat pan... how ever you want. Then just cover again with a tea towel and put it back into a warm area for the second rise. Mine goes back into the oven again. This second rise is quicker and should only take 45 minutes to an hour depending on the temperature of your house.
When your loaves have risen to double in size it is time to bake them finally! Set the oven at 375 degrees F. Once it is at temp, put the loaves in and bake for about 30 minutes. The loaves should be brown and when you tap on the them, they should sound hollow. When baked, allow to sit in pans for a few minutes then remove to cooling racks. You can rub butter onto top of loaves if you want a softer loaf or for a crispier crust just add a pan of water to the oven while the bread is baking.
There you go, homemade bread that is easy to make, has simple ingredients and tastes so much better than store bought! So go bake some today, your family will love you for it!
There you go, homemade bread that is easy to make, has simple ingredients and tastes so much better than store bought! So go bake some today, your family will love you for it!