Since we have been living on the BRAT diet at my house (see previous post--by the way, I think we are over it, whew) for the past week, I really needed to make some more bread. So, I thought I would share my mom's recipe with you all.
Whole Wheat Bread
5 1/2 c warm water
1/2 c honey
1/2 c oil
*mix*
In a small bowl mix together:
1/2 c gluten flour
1 1/2 Tbsp salt
2-4 Tbsp dough enhancer ( or if you are grinding your wheat, add a couple vitamin C tablets to your wheat as it is grinding-they are a dough enhancer)
Add this mixture to the water/honey/oil and mix
Then I just leave it mixing and start adding flour 11-15 cups. Once the dough is pulling away from the sides and bottom of your mixer, stop adding flour
THEN ADD 3 Tbsp yeast (I have forgotten this a couple times :)
Let mix for 10 minutes and then remove, shape into loaves (by the way, this recipe makes 5 loaves and I use oil on my counter as I am shaping them), let rise and bake at 325 degrees for 25 minutes. Don't forget to grease your bread pans!
It turns out great every time! As long as I don't forget the yeast! :) But seriously, this is so fast and easy with no waiting periods here and there that drag out the process. Just mix, raise and bake. I can have bread made in and hour and a half, easy. Most of that is raising and baking time.
My kids also love to help me make bread and it is nice because they can just sit there adding flour and I tell them when to stop. It doesn't have to be measured super accurately, just as long as you stop when the dough is pulling away from the bowl like I said earlier.
Oh-I almost forgot. This bread recipe turns out fantastic with hard red wheat. I know most people like hard white, but the red wheat bread turns out softer and nicer. White wheat works great, too, but I prefer red. Just FYI.
Anyway, happy bread making!
Thanks for the recipe...it looks amazing!!
ReplyDeleteI am new to this and have a couple of questions. Do you use whole wheat flour for the 10 plus cups? There are sooooo many different choices...what do I look for in flour? Is the gluten flour whole wheat too? Do you use rapid rising or regular yeast? Also where do you get dough enhancer? I am new to this, thanks for humoring me! I am working on starting a new healthy habit each week. Making bread is next weeks healthy habit! :)
ReplyDeleteKari,
ReplyDeleteI do use whole wheat flour for the entire recipe. Sometimes, I will throw in a little bit (a cup or so) of other kinds if I have them on hand like bean, oat, spelt, rye, etc., but the majority is still wheat. I grind my own wheat, so if you are buying wheat flour, I'm not sure what to look for. Usually, there aren't many options. I use SAF instant yeast. I'm not sure where you are, but I get my gluten flour (different than wheat flour) from WinCo in their bulk bins--but I'm in Idaho. Dough enhancer I find at one of the Walmarts by me. If you are not out west you might not be able to find it in a store. You can order things like dough enhancer and Vital Wheat Gluten (I'm not sure how different from gluten flour it is, but it's pretty much the same thing) from stores online like Emergency Essentials (http://beprepared.com/search.asp?t=ss&ss=dough+enhancer&image1.x=0&image1.y=0) or Honeyville Grain (http://store.honeyvillegrain.com/vitalwheatglutencan.aspx). Now, for a dough enhancer, you can just crush up 1000mg of vitamin C into powder and add it to your flour. It is not necessary for making bread, it just makes it a little better. You don't need to have gluten either. I notice that my bread holds together better (not so crumby) when I am adding gluten to it.
I hope that helps! Let me know if you have any other questions and I'll do my best! Thanks and good luck!
Wow! Thanks for all of the great information. I am going on my maiden bread baking voyage this weekend! I will report back!! :)
ReplyDeleteCan you freeze the dough itself without baking it?
ReplyDeleteSorry it has taken me so long to reply! I freeze dough all the time and then use it later. . . but I have never tried it with bread dough. I can't think of why it wouldn't work. Try it!
DeleteWhat Type of Yeast do you use?
ReplyDeleteTami, I use either the SAF instant yeast or the Red Star brand(basically, whatever Costco has when I am buying more).
Delete