We eat a lot of bread. I mean, A LOT of bread! Maybe it's the fact that we have two small children and sandwiches are such an easy go-to for lunches and many snacks in between. Maybe it's because bread goes so well with so many things I cook for my family. Maybe it's because there is just something about fresh bread that triggers this wonderful feeling of nostalgia. I really don't know. I have been making bread for a long time. To start it was just because I wanted to and I missed having fresh, homemade bread around. My dad made wonderful breads all the time while I was growing up and I was use to having them. His Thanksgiving dinner rolls will be painfully missed this year. These days I make bread for my family twice a week. It's on my "chores" list but I really don't consider it a chore at all.
Here in America there does not seem to be the same importance placed on bread as in so many other countries. You would be hard pressed to find a French, Italian, or any European table that didn't serve some form of bread with meals. Bread is made fresh and eaten fresh in so many these countries daily. People go to their bakeries everyday for their daily bread. Of course, many households make their own, too. In the Middle East, bread is an absolute staple. Hummus and Baba would not be the same without delicious soft pita bread. It is the constant, unchanging absolute to food and mealtimes in so many nations around the world.
A lot of people seem scared to attempt to make bread for some odd reason. Maybe it's all the steps involved or the fear of doing something wrong. Perhaps it's the fact that most people today just head to their local grocery store where they can buy a loaf for next to nothing. Well, I don't know about you, but the last time I picked up a loaf of your standard store-bought bread I couldn't even pronounce half of the ingredients that were listed! I really don't want to be eating all those chemicals nor do I want my children to be eating them either. I was taught a long time ago to never eat something if you can't even pronounce what it's made of. To top it off, if you want to buy the higher-quality bread that does have the simple list of ingredients, you're going to pay somewhere along the lines of $4.00!! I can buy a whole bag of really good flour for that much and it will make MANY loaves of wonderful, good-for-you bread.
Today I wanted to share with you my recipe for the wheat bread that I bake. This is my own recipe I'm proud to say! It makes two loaves of sandwich style bread. I have other recipes I use for crusty bread and grain-type bread, but this is the one I use by far the most. I've gone through a lot of recipes to figure out what I like and what I think needs improvement. I finally came up with this recipe. Now I will say, it is not 100% whole wheat. I'm sorry, I just CAN NOT find nor create a bread from all whole wheat that doesn't have a residual cardboard-like texture! Believe me, I've tried. Bread has to have at least some soft chewiness to it! I did still want the healthy qualities that whole wheat has to offer though. I finally decided on half bread flour and half whole wheat flour. Now if you are someone who just can not stand the texture of true whole wheat, you can substitute white whole wheat flour instead. I also wanted to incorporate the wonderful raw-honey from our bees into the bread. You can feel free to tweak the amounts of honey and salt if you so choose, but I think it's a pretty good balance. Please give it a try and I really do hope you like it as much as we do. Now for the recipe.....
Rachel's Wheat Sandwich Bread
1 1/2 Tablespoons Active Dry Yeast
2 Cups Warm Water (~110℉)
1 Tablespoon Sugar or Honey
1/2 Cups Vegetable Oil
3 Cups Bread Flour
3 Cups Whole Wheat Flour
1/3 Cup Pure Raw Honey
3 Teaspoons Salt
First you need to dissolve the sugar/honey into the warm water. Add the yeast, stir to dissolve, and allow it to "proof." This is when the yeast starts to foam and get all puffy. The yeast feeds on the sugar in the water. Just leave it alone and let it go, don't be tempted to stir it. It can take about ten to fifteen minutes for the yeast to get there depending on how warm your kitchen is at the time.
Here is what proofed yeast looks like. You can see the foamy layer on top of all the liquid.
While your yeast is proofing, measure out your flours and combine them in a large bowl. Make sure that you get a high-quality flour and please be sure that it is unbleached and unbromated. Bromine depletes your body of Iodine, a vital nutrient your body needs, ESPECIALLY your thyroid gland. I spoon the flour into my measuring spoon and then level it off with a knife. I have been told that next to weighing out your flour, this is the best way to get an accurate measure.
Now I will admit, I use my KitchenAid stand-mixer these days to work and knead my dough. I have done it by hand though many times! Oh gosh.....countless times! I hand-kneaded every dough I made up until I was gifted my mixer two years ago. It's a great workout and there is something more "authentic" about hand-kneading I think, but boy, it sure is quicker and easier with a stand-mixer! Add the salt to the flours and stir well to get the salt well combined.
Add the honey to the flour mixture. My honey had crystallized so if you're wondering why it looks a little odd, that's why. By now your yeast should be ready. Add the oil to the yeast and give it a stir. You now pour the yeast and oil into the bowl with the flour and honey.
Combine these ingredients well and continue to knead until the dough becomes smooth and elastic. If you're kneading my hand make sure you work on a nicely floured surface as this dough is on the stickier side. You may think the dough is too wet, but it seems that the extra bit of moisture helps the bread stay nice and moist during the baking.
Because this dough is a bit sticky, I use an oiled spatula to help scrape it out onto a floured surface.
Lightly oil a large bowl ( I use the same workbowl it was mixed in.) and turn the dough-ball over in it to lightly cover it all with oil. Leave it in the bowl and cover with plastic wrap. Place the bowl in a dark, warm area to rise. You really want your room to be at least 72℉. Yeast likes warmth and it helps it work better. If it's too cold, it may not activate at all. It can take from one to two hours for the dough to fully rise. For me, it is generally closer to two hours. You want the dough to double in size. If you're just not sure, one way to check if the dough has risen enough is to poke your index finger into the dough and pull it out. If the dough at the indentation basically stays in place it's ready. A tiny bit of give is okay. If it starts it close back in it needs a little more time. Below you can see the dough before and after it's first rising. You can see the size difference.
Before
After
When the dough has finished rising you then punch the dough down. It will deflate back to it's original size. Knead the dough by hand a few times just to redistribute the yeast. Divide the dough into two equal pieces and shape them into loaves. Place each into a well buttered 9 by 5 inch loaf pan. I really recommend butter for this because for some reason it really does help the loaves come free from the pans after baking so much better than oil. Each time I have used oil in the past the bread sticks really bad. Just trust me on this one. I actually butter the tops of the loaves also because it helps give the bread this nice browned top during the baking process.
Again, cover the loaves with plastic wrap and place them in a nice warm, dark area. They now start their second rise and this generally takes 30 minutes to an hour. The loaves should rise to one inch above the pans. Here is what the loaves look like when they are ready to bake.
Once they get into a hot oven they puff up a bit more during the first ten minutes or so. It's kinda neat to walk away only to return a few minutes later to see this bread all puffed up. Meanwhile, while the bread is about done with it's final rise, heat your oven to 350℉ and place a rack in the middle of your oven. Once they're ready, place the loaves in the hot oven and bake for 30-35 minutes or until the tops are a nice golden brown. Make sure to leave a couple inches between the two loaves while they bake or the tops will fuse together as they puff up! The smell will be amazing, almost nutty thanks to the whole grain in the bread.
Let the bread sit in the pan for ten minutes or so and then remove the loaves from the pans being very careful not to burn yourself because they are still very hot! Put the bread on a rack to finish cooling. Now if you're like Matthew, the kids, and I, you won't and can't wait until it's totally cooled. Fresh hot bread with real butter is up there on my list of favorite things. I put each loaf in their own bag. One I leave on the counter for us to eat right away and the other I place in the refrigerator to keep it fresh until we need it. If it's going to be awhile until you eat it, bag it well and put it in the freezer. Just pull it out in time for it to thaw and enjoy!
And there you have it, the bread I make all the time. I do hope you give it a try and if you have any questions or need something explained more, please just ask! Sometimes I think I've explained something well when in reality it's only so-so. I will be glad to help however I can!
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