Friday, September 2, 2011

Fantastic Honey Whole Wheat Bread!

Here is my recipe for homemade whole wheat bread. This is the bread that Kendall and I use for our everyday bread. We love the taste of it! The first time I made it I followed the recipe I had found to a T, however I want to change a few things, so i will post this recipe with those changes :)

This recipe will make 4-5 loaves of bread.  What you do is freeze it until you are ready to make more! It makes things so easy.  I recommend using a stand mixer, if you have one, however I do not and I did it by hand.  It's hard, but it CAN be done by hand!

You will also want to start this recipe in the evening as it will soak overnight and then you will finish it in the morning.

Ingredients: 
6 cups of unbleached whole wheat flour
2/3 cup of honey
1/2 cup of organic butter
2T salt
1/2 cup of buttermilk
3T active dry yeast
4 cups of very warm water
1/2 cup of very warm water
2 cups of Spelt or bread flour
4 to 5 cups of all-purpose flour

First, combine the butter and 4 cups of water in a saucepan.  Heat on low until the butter is melted.


Next combine the whole wheat flour and the salt in a bowl.


Combine the water and butter mixture with the flour mixer and 1/2 cup of buttermilk and allow to soak overnight. I covered mine with foil just to protect it and left it sitting on the counter.

The reason you soak it is to allow the wheat grains to fully open up.

























Next, combine the yeast, 1/2 cup of warm water and 2/3 cup of honey together.


Combine, the yeast mixture and the wheat flour mixture. Add the bread flour and the all-purpose flour. I added it 1/2 cup at a time and I alternated the flours. You will know it's done when the dough is no longer sticky. It may take a while.


Remove the dough and butter the inside of the bowl all the way to the top. Replace dough and allow to rise for about an hour. You will want it to double in size (it will probably be almost overflowing on the top.

























Once it has risen, dump the dough out on a board and "punch" down the excess air. Break the dough into 5 equal portions (my original recipe said 4, but i felt that it would rise better as 5 loaves instead of 4). Take a section of the dough and roll it out

























Roll up the dough and pinch the edges so it stays together

























Fold the edges down so they sit underneath the roll of dough

























Place the dough in a completely buttered bread pan

























Here is where you can choose to freeze them. I made one loaf and froze the other ones, You can also make all the loaves and freeze the already made loaf until you want to use it. Depends on if you want to eat fresh bread or want the ease of just pulling it out of the freezer.

To freeze the bread:

Place the dough in the buttered pan and cover the pan with foil

























Place the loaves in the freezer. Once you are ready to bake them, pull them out and allow them to thaw and rise to your liking.

Note: Only freeze for about a month.  I discovered that if frozen longer than that, they will no longer rise.  I lost a whole batch due to that.  So just make sure to use it within about a month. 


























To Bake the bread:

Place the bread in the buttered pan, leave out the loaves you want to bake and cover with a clean towel. Allow them to rise for about 30-45 minutes (You will know they are ready when the top of the loaf looks like a nice dome.

Cook at 350 for about 30 minutes. You will know they are done when you tap the top and it sounds hollow.


Remove from the pan and allow to cool until you're ready to eat :)

























Slice your bread with a cerated knife and enjoy!! I store my bread in a ziploc bag in the fridge. I then take it out when I want a slice :)


4 comments:

Anonymous said...

Yummo! Great job and thank you for sharing! Looking forward to your next sharing!!

Niki said...

In the middle of this today...it's rising now!

La Dolche Vita said...

Niki, I hope you enjoyed it! I have some rising right now too :) Let me know what you thought!

Niki said...

Erica - It was great. About to bake a loaf I froze.

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