Let's make Bread!

I promised this post far too long ago.  I’m sorry.  Blog writing is low on my totem pole of things I need to do each day.  I feel bad, because I feel like there’s so much I want to share… I just wish I could have someone type what I’m thinking about all day long.  Sitting down at the computer brings about a whole host of things I need to do….and I forget to write.

Let’s make bread.

Why do we make our own bread?  #1 I know the ingredients.  #2 It’s cheaper #3 and it tastes so good #4 I have “perfected it”’ enough that I feel comfortable selling/sharing it!

If you are serious about this go to amazon.com and order yourself a wheat grinder.  You won’t regret it.  It’s an investment that will increase the nutrition of your bread and the best taste ever.  Then find where you can get whole wheat berries.  If you are relatively local to me – we are a distributor for a company and have them in bulk.  You can order them online too.  Again, investment that is so much better for your family. 

Let’s Make Whole wheat bread first

I grind a bunch of flour and keep it in the grinder.  Freshly ground wheat has the wheat germ and the bran in it. The germ has oil in it thus, the flour can turn rancid, so it’s removed in commercial flour. But most of your fiber, vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants are in the bran and germ.  The nutritious matter decreases 72 hours after grinding.  So, grind fresh flour.

I use my stand mixer or bread makers to mix the bread for me and knead it.  You can get your hands on a bread maker (remember you are only using it for mixing not baking) at a thrift store for no more than $8-$10?  I’ve gotten most of mine for $5.   Why I do this?  Time.  My time is precious to me.  Having the 3 kids running around, the marketing of our business, baking for 3 farmers markets, etc.  I need to maximize my time. These methods take the work load and cut it down to a functional amount for me.  I am a horrible bread kneader too.  I make bricks if I knead my own.  Paveable bricks. 

Ingredients for making 3 loaves at a time.  (I use 2 2lb bread makers or my KitchenAid pro) You can half this recipe and make 2 smaller loaves or 1 big loaf.

In EACH Breadmaker (double if making in a big mixer) In this order

1 2/3 cup Warm Water

1/8 cup Honey (Critical – don’t use any other sweetner)

1/8 cup oil (I use Peanut oil)

2 tsp salt (I use only Real Salt)

4 2/3 Cups of Whole Wheat Flour

1 T yeast 

I put it on the dough setting and hit the start button.  I set a timer for 25 mintues and let it do its thing.  25 minutes later I turn the machines off.  I let the dough rest/rise for 30 minutes in the bread maker/mixer.  After the resting time, I take the dough out of the 2 makers and put it together (or just take the big dough ball out of the mixer)  Grease your loaf pans.  I divide my dough into 3 equal parts.  I close my eyes and pick up 2 of the doughballs- seeing if they are the same weight, removing from one if it’s heavier.  Do this for all 3 and make sure the feel right.  Take that dough ball and pat it out to a rough square/rectangle. Roll it up and tuck the ends under the loaf.  Place in the loaf pans and cover with a light towel for about 35 min or longer. {My house is so warm all the time it seems so the bread rises fast}  Turn your oven on to 350 or 355.  J  When those loaves get nice and large put them in the oven for 23 minutes.  Take them out when they are nice and toasty brown.   Tada!!  You’ve made 3 loaves of bread.  Get those loaves out of those bread pans and let them fully cool.  Bag them up and they freeze super well. 

White bread:

1 1/3 cup warm water

1/8 cup honey

1/8 cup good quality oil (I love peanut oil)

2 tsp salt

4 cups unbleached white flour (King Arthur Brand is what we love)

1 T yeast. 

Follow the same plan as before!

White/Wheat mix bread

1 ½ cup warm water

1/8 cup honey

1/8 cup peanut oil

2 tsp salt

2cups wheat flour

2 ¼ cups white flour

White Wheat Swirl: This is so fun!

Make 1 bread maker wheat, 1 bread maker white.  Divide each amount of dough in to 3 balls (total of 6)  Take one wheat and one white.  Flatten it out nice and about ½ inch thick.  Lay one rectangle on the other offset by about ½ inch  Roll it up and don’t pinch the edges down.  Place these loaves in the pans.  They will take longer to rise because they have been “flattened” pretty well.   Let them fully rise and bake.  You’ll love the look when you slice in them!

Rolls:

A personal/farmers Market favorite.

I use a smaller 1.5lb bread maker or this amount of ingredients in my mixer or bigger breadmakers.

Burger Buns/Sandwich rolls

1 cup warm water

1/8 cup honey

1/8 cup peanut oil

1 tsp salt

1cup wheat flour

2 cups white  < -- You can do whatever mix of flours you want.  Just need 3 cups.  That’s it.  If 100% whole wheat, a dash more may be needed

1 T yeast

Same settings for the bread.  Except when it’s done resting divide it into 8 balls.  Flatten those out and place on a cookie sheet.  Let these beauties rise for about 30 minutes or longer till they have grown some.  Bake at 350 for 18 minutes.  YUM!  So easy and so yummy.  These freeze great too!

I hope you enjoyed this and you can let me know how your bread making goes!  This is how I do it.  You may do it differently.  It all tastes so good.

Tara