This is the seventh post in my 31 Days of Living on Less Series. If you’d like to read all the posts in order, go to Day 1.
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For the past year, I haven’t been making bread regularly. Life has been very busy, and we were increasingly being persuaded that a gluten free diet was best. We still needed bread of some kind, though, so we were ordering the Ezekiel sprouted bread from Azure (our food co-op).
In looking at the price, however, I’ve decided to start baking bread regularly again. My husband and I usually don’t eat it (or at least we try to eat it in extreme moderation), but our children don’t seem to have any difficulties with it. The recipe I’m sharing today is the one I’ve been using for years. It always turns out well for me. It’s so hard to switch when things are working well, but I’m planning to try out a couple of different recipes that use a two-stage, soaked-grain method. Someday. Not right now, because I just don’t have the energy for another change. For now, I’ll continue on with this recipe.
First, I put on my apron, and I put up my hair up in a flexi clip. I just can’t seem to get started baking without these two important preliminary steps!
Then it’s time to grind the grain into flour. I use a K-Tec Kitchen Mill that we bought (used) over 13 years ago. It still works great even though it sounds like an airplane taking off in the kitchen!
Since I’ve been doing this for years, I know that if I fill this big bowl with flour, I’ll have enough for my bread. So, I just keep grinding it until this bowl is full. And sometimes I do more, if I’m planning to do other baking.
I use a Bosch mixer that we’ve had for about 12 years. It was purchased on sale, and I was so excited when I finally got one. It’s one of my favorite kitchen appliances.
Whole Wheat Bread for a Large Mixer (like a Bosch)
Ingredients:
- 6 cups warm water
- 2/3 cup oil (I usually use coconut oil)
- 2/3 cup honey
- 2 Tablespoons dough enhancer
- 2 cups whole wheat flour
- 3 Tablespoons instant yeast (I usually use SAF)
- 2 Tablespoons sea salt
- 14-18 cups of whole wheat flour (I often use at least half spelt flour)
Directions:
- Combine the water, oil, honey, dough enhancer, and about 2 cups of the flour in the bowl. Mix.
- Sprinkle the yeast on top, and mix.
- Allow to sponge for 15 minutes. (I just put the lid on my Bosch and set the timer for 15 minutes. During this time the dough begins to get bubbly and thickens if your yeast is active.)
- Add the salt and 14-18 cups of flour until the dough begins to clean the sides of the mixing bowl. This is the tricky part, knowing when to add enough flour and not too much.
- Knead the dough for about 6-8 minutes on speed 1 (or a medium speed, if using a different mixer).
- Form the dough into 5-6 loaves and put into well-greased bread pans. (I usually make about 3 loaves of bread and 2 pans of rolls or 3 loaves of bread, 1 pan of rolls, and 1 pan of cinnamon rolls.)
- Allow the bread to rise in a warm oven or another warm place until doubled in size (25-60 minutes, depending on conditions in your kitchen). I usually turn my oven on about 250 degrees for a few minutes as I’m starting to make bread, then I turn it off. That way, the oven is warm but not too hot. If the kitchen is really warm, or I’m doing other baking (so the top of the stove is warm), I’ll just let the bread rise there, on top of the stove or nearby.
- Bake the loaves/rolls for 25-30 minutes in a 350 degree oven.
- After removing the loaves from the oven, I sometimes brush the tops with butter, which gives them a nicer appearance.
- Enjoy!
P.S. My children LOVE to help me make bread. It doesn’t turn out as perfect when they shape the loaves (like the ones below), but it’s so, so fun to let them share the joy of bread baking with me!
Do you make your own bread? Do you eat wheat bread, or do you eat gluten free? If you’re gluten free, do you have a favorite bread recipe?
Anonymous says
November 12, 2014 at 2:34 amMy husband and makes the no knead breads. He uses the L. A. Times recipe. There is a U-tubes on the actual one. Mainly you put the simple ingredients together and let it sit for 12 hours, get it out of the bowl and sit for 2 hours while you heat up your dutch oven with lid in a not oven and bake for 30 minutes. It makes a large round rusty bread. There are many different things you can add to it to change it up.Look on line. Even one recipe for chocolate cherry bread done this same way! There are other recipes that make more dough you can hold in a container in the refrigerator and use only what you want out of i† at a time. We have never tried this one. Sarah
Joy Kincaid says
November 12, 2014 at 3:37 amSounds delicious! I've been wanting to try that type of bread for so long. Maybe that can be a project for this winter!
wilma says
October 12, 2014 at 1:02 amBread making is my favourite hobby. I also have a bosch mixer and couldnt do without it. We eat about 10 loaves of bread a week. Too much to do by hand. I usually do about 60 % wholewheat, because whole wheat usually turns out heavy for me. I did do one whole wheat recipe one time and it said the trick was to add all the ingredients except only about half the flour and let that double in bulk, then add the rest of the flour. This has done wonders to my bread. Nice and soft and fluffy every time.
Joy Kincaid says
October 12, 2014 at 1:58 amIt is a wonderful hobby! Thank you so much for sharing that tip for softer, fluffier bread!
Jennifer says
October 10, 2014 at 4:11 pmI just love making bread for my family! There's just something wholesome about it. I don't have a grain mill yet, but it's on my love to have list. This past week my husband surprised me with a Bosch mixer he found locally. I've only made butter in it but I can't wait to make bread! 🙂
Joy Kincaid says
October 10, 2014 at 7:46 pmWow, that's so neat that your husband just surprised you with a Bosch! It's such a useful machine to have. I've never made butter in mine, but that sounds fun!
Kristen @ Joyfully Thriving says
October 10, 2014 at 1:26 amI do make my own bread…and that savings tip is coming up on day 11 of my series. Frugal minds save alike! 🙂 I just started using Vital wheat and it really does make a difference in how bread rises!
Joy Kincaid says
October 10, 2014 at 2:26 am"Frugal minds save alike"–haha! I look forward to reading your bread post! 🙂
quiltiferous says
October 9, 2014 at 5:39 pmA friend just gave me a lovely loaf of sourdough bread from an Amish country store. It's delicious, as most homemade bread is! When my sourdough runs out, I'm going to make a few loaves of French bread, just flour, salt, water, a little sugar, and yeast. I love the smell and taste (of course) of fresh bread! It's such a calming ritual for me; when we lived in Italy I made all my family's bread. The whole process is fun, I think! It always amazes me that those ingredients can be mixed together from virtually inedible things, and voila, bread! =}
Joy Kincaid says
October 9, 2014 at 7:41 pmMmmm, I love sourdough! That's on my (long) list of skills I'd still like to master. 🙂 I agree with you about the process being calming and also fun. There's nothing happier to me than an afternoon spent making bread!
That's neat that you lived in Italy! I spent almost a month in Paris, and we ate baguettes from bakeries down the street every day for breakfast. Very delicious!
Julian says
October 9, 2014 at 4:07 pmLooks so yummy! What is dough enhancer?
Christina
Joy Kincaid says
October 9, 2014 at 4:44 pmMy understanding is that dough enhancer helps the bread to rise better and makes a lighter loaf of whole grain bread. You can find it at bread/baking supply websites and health food stores. I've always used it, but I'm hoping to eventually find a recipe where this could be eliminated!