Homemade Bread

There's nothing like homemade bread. If the smell of it baking in the oven doesn't get you, then by the first bite, you'll be hooked. Once you start making homemade bread, it's hard to buy it from the store. Enjoy this simple homemade bread recipe that is sure to excite your taste buds.

Ingredients:

2 3/4 cups of hot tap water

2 T active yeast

1/3 cup cane sugar (can use honey)

1/2 cup neutral oil

1 Tbsp salt

1 Tbsp lemon juice

1/2 cup gluten flour

1 cup unbleached flour

4 1/2 cups whole wheat flour

Instructions:

In KitchenAid mixing bowl (that’s what I use), combine:

3/4 hot tap water

2 T active yeast

1-2 T cane sugar (from 1/3 cup in recipe)

1 Tbsp whole wheat flour

Stir together and let sit for 10 minutes, until it becomes raised and bubbly.

Now add in:

2 C hot tap water

The rest of the 1/3 cup cane sugar

1/4 cup neutral oil (canola oil or mild olive oil)

1 Tbsp salt

1 Tbsp lemon juice (not completely necessary)

1/2 cup gluten flour

1 cup unbleached flour

3 cups fine whole wheat flour (don’t use course flour)

Mix on setting 2 in KitchenAid.

Slowly add in about 1 1/2 more cups of whole wheat flour while the mixer mixes/kneads. I use a spatula to scrape down the edges of the bowl in the beginning. You want a moderately firm dough. If it is sticky, add more flour. You don’t want it too dry. If you press your finger into the dough, it should slowly come back out. Knead about 5-7 minutes probably. Take out of bowl.

Shape dough into a big ball. Cover and let rise in a warm place until about double in size. Some people put this ball in a bowl in the oven so there is no draft. I happen to let mine sit on the counter under a slightly damp cloth (very slightly…not much). Sometimes I let it sit there for just 30 minutes. Sometimes an hour.

Punch the dough down and divide into two equal parts. Shape into loaves and put in loaf pans (mine are 4x8) that have been sprayed with cooking spray. Cover again and let rise until about double, usually until the bread has risen a bit over the rim.

Have the oven preheated by this point to 350. Bake loaves for 30 minutes. Once they are done baking, take them out of the loaf pans and let cool on a cooling rack.