Saturday, December 12, 2009

Whole Wheat Bread

Who doesn't love the smell of fresh baked bread? And whole wheat at that? This is a pretty easy recipe, as long as your kids don't go jumping around and make it drop down (like mine did) BUT it still tastes and smells GOOD!!!



Yeast in warm water


First mix it up with a regular beater, then use the bread hook...


What it looks like before letting it rise


I like to turn my oven on to about 350d for about 10 minutes, turn the oven off, then set the bread in the oven. That way it's nice and warm and will rise nicely


It usually gets a bit higher for me, but with the running around, this is best I got!


After it has risen in the bread pans




It isn't supposed to have that big indent in the middle, but that's what happens when you have 3 kids running around! I even told them that they wouldn't get any bread if they kept running around, but yeah, they listened... It still turned out, so I'm not gonna complain! :)




Whole Wheat Bread


4 cups whole wheat flour
1 heaping tablespoon yeast
2 1/2 cups warm water
3/4 cup honey

Mix all these ingredients together for 3 minutes.

Add 1/3 cup oil, 2 teaspoons salt and remaining flour, anywhere from 4 to 6 cups more. Beat for 7 minutes. Raise in warm draft free place until it doubles in size, about an hour and 15 minutes. Punch down and put into 2 bread pans. Place in a draft free place again and raise until doubled, about an hour. Bake at 350 degrees for 30 to 35 minutes. Or until golden brown.


* I use coconut oil in place of the oil. There is no taste and it is healthy for you. Also don't always add the salt. Also, if you want a more "airy" and lighter bread, use some (vital) wheat gluten. You can purchase it at your local Health Food store and I am sure some grocery stores. (I can't out here, but you may where you live) There are directions on how much to put in a recipe, but I used about 5 to 6 tablespoons of gluten powder to my 2 loaves of bread. I don't always add it either. I just put it in when I put the flour in.