This is what we had for breakfast this morning, I haven't made bread all summer but now with the need to have a school lunch for my 1st grader bread is becoming a necessity! This morning we just had eggs and toast but my Emma put in a request for french toast for tomorrow... Kyle came to our marriage with a great recipe for french toast so Ill share that tomorrow...
alrightie then, making bread... One of those things that is so much incredibly better than store bought. I sooo want my kids to have memories of waking up (late) in the morning to the yummy smell of my-mommy-loves-me-so-she-made-bread smell! (i like yhe idea of my kids having the healthy habit of waking up early- but in practise...its just so productive for me if they wake up late) okay im rambling...so, I got this fabulous recipe from Corn Farms in Ontario Oregon. Which just happens to be where I buy my wheat.
(if you can, grind your own wheat it makes whole wheat bread SO MUCH BETTER!! Spring Hard White Wheat is what I buy and the protein content is very high so it makes great bread)
Here's the recipe...
8 cups whole wheat flour
7 cups hot water
1/2 cup olive oil
3/4 cup honey
1 teaspoon of vinegar (this makes the bread last longer than a week!)
3 cups bread flour
2/3 cup gluten
3 Tablespoons Salt
4 Tablespoons yeast- active dry yeast
6-7ish cups whole wheat flour
Ok !!
So in a large bowl combine first amount of flour then water salt olive oil, vinegar, honey and stir until combined. Then add gluten and bread flour, and stir in yeast, combine well.
Add the rest of the flour until it's not a huge sticky mess just a bit sticky!! About half way through adding the last of the flour I dump it all on the counter and start kneading. Don't be wimpy while kneading...push and fold with the palm of your hand! If you need more flour at this point i like to use bread flour just because it makes for a smooth knead. Once it feels like chewed gum, it's ready to rest!
****you don't want to add too much flour or knead too much or your bread will be dry**
Let rest (sit untouched on the counter for 10 min)- during the 10 min grease your pans and preheat your oven to 145-170, once it hits temp, turn the oven off and walla!! You've created yourself a warm breeze-free rising spot!
Cut your dough into 6 even balls of dough, to form your bread loaf you punch your ball into a small rectangle, just a bit smaller than your glass bread pans. Next fold over the far side into the center, pinching in the left and right sides, then turn your dough a little more towards yourself and tuck those sides in. {sometimes i need a bit more flour at this point-so of the dough is stixking to your hands-add a bit o flour} Once in a oval shape rotate your bread dough with the seam on the bottom.
Place softly all your formed loaves into the greased glass bread pans and put it into the {warmed but off} oven to let rise.
Rise 30 min. Now in my directions it says that the bread is ready to cook but 30 min never seems to be enough rising time for my bread so at this point I leave the bread in the oven and turn it on to 335. While the oven preheats the bread rises to perfection!!- at least that's the goal!
As soon as the oven hits temp-Bake at 335 for 25-30 min
Cut one loaf immediately and eat with butter and honey or butter and jam or just butter or honey and almond butter or pure style without anything
My amazing hubby is a picky eater to the emph degree and he LOVES this bread so I hope you love it to!
Briti
And ps... I know that there are kitchen aids and Bosch machines that do the kneading for you- but I enjoy kneading it gives me the earthly pure motherly feeling of providing food for my chillins... I realize I'm silly- but? It's fun.
