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Sunday, April 18, 2010

How to make the best wheat bread ever!


I took a bread class from my daughter who was in town this week. I have had this recipe and have made this bread several times but my bread would never turn out like hers did. When I would go to visit her I would eat her delicious bread and could not figure out why my bread did not turn out like hers. So, I had her watch everything that I did and tell me what I was doing wrong. I learned some tricks and figured out what  her secrets were. 
The bread turned out great so, I have written the recipe with all of the secrets and took pictures of most of the steps along the way. Here is the recipe:


Favorite Wheat Bread recipe


Add the following in this order:

4 cups hot water

1/3 cup of oil

2/3 cup of honey or sugar but honey is very good

2 ½ tsp. salt

¾ cup dry milk

1/3 cup of lecithin (this is a preservative and is great when you don’t eat your loaf very fast, the recipe is still good without it.)

2/3 cup of gluten flour (you won’t need this if you are using bread flour)

8 cups of whole wheat flour

Mix all of these together well

After it is all mixed let it sit for 15 minutes with towel over bowl. I use a Kitchen aid mixer so after this part change your hook to a bread hook.

In a bowl add ½ cup of warm, hot water

1 ½ tsp of quick yeast, if it is not quick yeast wait until carbon dioxide bubbles are forming all over top of liquid

Add this to your bread mixture

Then add 2 cups of bread flour

Mix well and then start testing for moisture level.

Depending on the day the dough may be have varying degrees of moisture level i.e. if it is a stormy or a sunny day.

You check the moisture level by inserting your finger into dough; it is just the right level when you have a little ring of dough with a dry small circle in the middle. You adjust the moisture level by adding more water or flour ( this will not affect the taste but will make all the difference in the way your bread turns out.

When you get the moisture level right knead the bread for 3-4 minutes in your mixer with the dough hook. Kneading it for the right amount of time develops the gluten strands and will make the difference in soft chewy bread instead of dry crumbly wheat bread.

You then take the bread out of the mixing bowl and place on a sprayed grease counter; you do not want to put it on a floured counter because you finally have the moisture level.

You knead it into a smooth ball and then carefully lift the ball and place into a large greased glass bowl. (This will make the difference in having bread with a smooth top.

Let this rise in bowl until it doubles in size. If it is a cold day you can proof your dough in the oven. You do this by warming your oven to about 100 degrees.

When it has doubled in size you carefully put dough on greased counter and divide into 4 equal parts. To get this just right it is great to have a scale and then your loaves will be exactly the same.

You then knead the 4 equal parts into loaves by bringing the dough into the center into a rectangle shape. Just knead into the center to get rid of the air bubbles. You won’t knead very long this will make the dough tough.

Place dough into greased loaf pans.

Let rise for about 2 hours or until the dough has doubled in size.

Make a slit in the top of the bread with a sharp bread knife.

Immediately place into a 370 to 375 degree oven and cook for 25 to 30 minutes.

Pull out of oven when finished and let sit in pan for several minutes, then slip bread from pans and place on cooling rack. Wait to cool before cutting bread and if you can’t wait just dive in and eat it.


This is when you pour the bread onto the greased counter
Now shaping it into a smooth ball, this is what makes the smooth top on the bread.Place it into a greased bowl.This is after it has risen and doubled in size.Divide it into 4 equal parts.Knead it into 4 rectangles shaped ballsPlace into four loaf pans.After it has doubled in size make a small slit into the top of the bread, this is to prevent it from splitting at the sides.Bake for 25-30 minutes at 370 degrees. Remove from oven and let rest for a few minutes.

Brush with butter to make the crust soft and then eat this delicious, healthy wheat bread and share with those you love most!


11 comments:

Mandy said...

I was just telling my husband how we need to start making our own and we only eat wheat---so this is perfect timing!! Thanks so much for sharing!

I {heart} Nap Time said...

this looks really good! I'm going to have to try it! I'd love for you to link it up to sundae scoop http://iheartnaptime.blogspot.com/2010/04/sundae-scoop-2-link-party.html

raggygirlvintage said...

Mmmmm, looks so yummy!

Mary Beth @ Live. Laugh. Make Something said...

This looks sooooo yummy! ...and I can smell it from here! I have saved this recipe and am going to give it a try. I have become a follower and would be honored if you choose to do the same!

Keri said...

Yeah! I'm always looking for good whole wheat bread recipes. Thanks for sharing!

Beth said...

Bookmarking this!

Sue said...

These loaves are gorgeous!

Barbara said...

If you leave the Lecithin out, do you have to add more flour or anything else to make up for the loss of a dry ingredient?

Bella @ Bella before and after said...

What a fantastic tutorial, I can practically smell that bread. I was raised on homemade bread, and my mom just brought me a huge one yesterday. My kids drool over grandmas bread. Love you already!!! This looks wonderful!!!

Come link up, I would love to have this great recipe on my blog.

Bella :)

Charity said...

This bread really is delicious! I've been making it for several months now and it always comes out well. Thank you for the recipe!
Adriana

Gail said...

My brother is home recuperating from major surgery. He used to make homemade bread- the whole process was calming to him. I'm sending him a link to your sight to maybe spark his interest again in this pleasure. Might be something he can do to help him recover.

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