Whole Wheat Bread

As the weather is turning cool...it is a great time to make some bread.

This bread is my staple. I try to make it as often as possible, instead of buying bread at the store. I use it for everything. It is easy to make. It only rises once in the pan. It makes 4 loafs. Good nutrition, 10 cups wheat flour to 1 cup white flour. Love it and my family loves it too. 

Air pockets...make for light fluffy bread.

We eat one loaf as soon as it comes out of the oven. It is easy. Warm bread. Honey butter. What a great combo...it is gobbled up in seconds! 

This bread is not difficult to make. You should give it a try!

Ingredients:

3 1/2 cups water
1 can evaporated milk
3 Tb yeast
2/3 cup canola oil
1 cup honey
3 Tb vital wheat gluten
2 Tb lemon juice
1 cup all purpose flour
1 Tb salt
10-11 cups wheat flour


*If you make this with your Bosch or Kitchen aid: Use mixing attachment up to the first 4 cups of flour, then switch to your kneading tool. Continue to add flour to your dough until it pulls away from the side of the bowl and knead for 6 minutes. This recipe makes a lot of dough, so if you are having trouble in your mixer, take out and knead by hand.

*To make this bread, add the ingredients in the order given.


In very large bowl, add yeast and water. Now, when you add your water...get a liquid measuring cup and measure 2 cups at a time. Get cold water from the tap and put the water in your microwave for 1 minute 20 seconds to warm. You don't want all the ick that comes out of your tap in the "hot" water, that is why you use cold and heat it up. When you heat it, don't heat more than 2 cups at time, then it will be too much water to heat. And if you heat 1 cup at a time, cook for 1 minute or 1 minute 10 seconds. But for this recipe, do 2 cups, then the rest 1 1/2 cups.

Add warm water to bowl. Add can of milk. Then in your liquid measuring cup, measure oil. Dump in bowl. Then in the same measuring cup, measure honey. The honey will slide out well when adding your oil first. 


Now, add your wheat gluten. You can find wheat gluten at any store. What it does: It helps so your wheat bread is not rock hard. It helps the bread be light and airy. Also, wheat gluten is the glue that helps bind the dough together well. Gluten is naturally in white flour, but not in wheat; that is why you need to add it. Wheat gluten also helps to improve the protein level, rise and texture, retain moisture, prevent crumbling and controls expansion and uniformity of dough. 

Mix with wire wisk in bowl (if making by hand...this is how I usually make it). Then add your lemon juice. Lemon juice also acts the same as Dough Enhancer (don't worry about buying that...it enhances your dough, but lemon juice works great). 

Add 1 cup white flour. Mix. Then add your salt. Mix. *Remember, salt fights with the yeast, sugar helps...so always add your salt a little later.


Add 3 cups of wheat flour at a time. With the first 3 cups, mix with wire wisk. Then as you add the rest, use a spoon. Mix each time until well incorporated. As you add the last 2 cups flour (you might not need ALL the flour or you might need more. Adding flour is never an exact science) you might need to mix by hand and knead. Sometimes it is so much dough for me, that I divide the dough into 4 parts and knead each one separately until it is done kneading and ready to place in the pan. 

You know when you are done kneading, when you push the dough lightly with your finger and it bounces back. Also, when it is not very sticky to the touch and there is not an overload of flour in the dough. 

After your dough is done kneading, roll and tuck so the dough fits nicely in your bread pans. I have longer bread pans (not thick) I like the way my bread turns out better with them. Plus I make this bread on average every other week. 

Repeat this with remaining dough. 


Turn oven on warm setting. Mine is about 170 degrees. As soon as it preheats...TURN OFF. Place your bread pans with dough in it. Cover with clean towel and let rise until double in size.


Remove towel and leave bread in oven while turning oven on to 350 degrees. Set timer for 30 minutes and cook. 30 minutes should be perfect. 


Remove from oven and let cool for a few minutes...if you can wait that long! *Recipe adapted by Sister's Cafe. Enjoy! 

Now, I didn't measure my dough exactly...so each loaf is not exactly the same size. Still tastes great!

 

Funny story...once while making this bread, I forgot to add the salt, so I added it when all my flour was already added. Not a good idea. There were salt patches in the bread. ICK. Mistakes are good~how else do we learn and grow? Right?