Monday, January 27, 2014

Easy 100% Whole Wheat Bread

I made many whole wheat bread recipes and almost gave up on ever finding one that was light and soft, until my friend Kelly Wilde shared this one with me. I have never made another whole wheat bread recipe since! It is so light and soft that many people don’t believe it’s 100% whole wheat! Plain ingredients – no tofu or enhancers needed.

Ingredients:

3 cups hot water                                
1 TBS salt                                                    
¼ cup oil                                              
1/3 cup honey
8-9 cups whole wheat flour (I like to use Hard White Wheat, but Hard Red or a mixture is good too!)
2 TBSP yeast
1 egg


Directions:

1. Stir water, salt, oil, honey and yeast together. Add 4 cups whole wheat flour and egg.
Mix in a mixer for 4-5 minutes.You can use a Bosch or Kitchen Aid type of mixer, or just use bowl and wooden spoon. This will be thin like a batter. Mix it well. This will help your bread have a nice texture, and it's easier than kneading it once all the four has been added in.


2. Add 2 cups whole wheat flour. Mix well. Add 2-3 more cups of flour. The dough has enough flour when it is still a little sticky...if using a Bosch, it will pull away from the sides of the bowl and not stick to the sides of the bowl any longer. That's the precise moment when you know you have enough flour added in. Remember that it is better to have a little less flour than too much! Too much flour makes a very stiff and dry bread! Knead or mix 10 minutes. 

3. Preheat oven to 325°.

4. Let the dough rise in the bowl until double. Punch down.  

5. Cut the dough into 3 pieces. Shape into loaves and put in pans that have been sprayed with non-stick spray. (See photots below)

6. Let the dough rise until double in pans. Bake 35 minutes at 325°. 

7. Let the bread sit in pans for 10 minutes after baking. Then take out and let it cool on a bread board or wire rack. Or eat immediately with butter and honey or homemade jam, and you will think you are in heaven. Once the loaf has mostly cooled down, you can bag it and freeze it if desired. It will be good in the freezer for a few months. 

I had just put the dough into the pans.


Now they have risen enough and are ready for the oven.

This is so beautiful to me. But if you let it rise much more than this, it will rise too much and then deflate, and you will have a sunken in bread. You can still eat it, but it will look funny and be a little dense. Still good though. With a little practice, you will learn when when your bread is ready for the oven.

Source: Original recipe came from my amazing friend Kelly Wilde about 20 years ago. : )

8 comments:

  1. are you suppose to let the bread rise in the preheated oven? I'm confused. it usually takes several hours for bread to rise yet you have #3 before #4. help!

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    Replies
    1. This bread does not take hours to rise. I turn on the oven and set the bowl on the stove while it is rising. And then when the bread is in the bread pans, I put them on top of the stove too. It's a nice warm place and the bread rises quickly. Some people let their bread rise in a warm oven that has been turned off, but I'm afraid if I hide it in the oven, I'll forget about it! :)

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    2. This bread does not take hours to rise. I turn on the oven and set the bowl on the stove while it is rising. And then when the bread is in the bread pans, I put them on top of the stove too. It's a nice warm place and the bread rises quickly. Some people let their bread rise in a warm oven that has been turned off, but I'm afraid if I hide it in the oven, I'll forget about it! :)

      Delete
  2. What size bread pans do you use?


    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. The pan size is 9x5. Those in the photo are the Pampered Chef pans and some glass ones the same size.

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  3. Also would the bread taste the same if I cut the recipe in half or can I freeze some loaves before the second rise?

    ReplyDelete
  4. Yes. It will taste the same and you can freeze bread dough. Let us know how they turn out for you!

    ReplyDelete
  5. Thank you Anna and I will let you know..😁

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