100% Whole-Wheat Bread
About this time last year, I decided it was time for me to get serious about my food storage (which is recommended by church and government leaders for times of economic distress)… so I stocked up on all the essentials for a family of four, and ended up with all sorts of things… including 900 pounds of wheat sitting in my basement. Did you get that?? 900 pounds of wheat!
While this was a good thing because it gave me a sense of security and accomplishment, it was also a bad thing because I was absolutely CLUELESS as to what to do with wheat! Up until this point in my life, I had never even seen what wheat looked like before it was ground into flour. Well, it sure didn’t take me long to figure out that I better learn HOW to use all this wheat that was sitting in my basement… and since then, I have learned how to grind my own wheat and make my own bread… and have made our own homemade bread ever since. (And for the record, we went camping over the weekend and had to buy a loaf of bread because we ran out of the homemade kind… and nobody in the family, not even the kids can even stand the store bought bread anymore! Too funny!)
Anyway, today as I was making my weekly batch of bread, I realized that I’ve never posted my recipe on my blog. (duh!) So, since it’s such a regular part of my life I figured that I would share it with the rest of you! Before I go on, let me assure you that this really is an easy thing to do! I do NOT consider myself a talented baker or cook in the kitchen at all. In fact, a few weeks ago, I actually ruined a batch of Rice Krispies my daughter and I were making! Hello? Who ruins Rice Krispies? My point is, if I can’t even successfully make a batch of Rice Krispies, yet I can make my own whole-wheat bread from scratch, ANYBODY can do this! And I mean ANYBODY!
The best part about it, (in my opinion at least), is that each loaf of bread ends up costing you about $.20 each! That’s unheard of at the grocery store! In fact, the last time I checked, the brand that I used to buy at the store, is now up to $4.15 per loaf! So not only is homemade bread healthier for your body, it’s also healthier for your wallet!
Anyway, I’ll quit yapping now and post the recipe below:
100% Whole Wheat Bread
1. Grind 10 cups of hard wheat and set aside. (It makes more than 10 cups of flour, so you will have extra.)
2. Put 5 cups hot water (hot as you can get it out of the tap) into your Kitchen Aid mixing bowl. (I’ve actually been told that this recipe works better with a Bosch Mixer, but I use a Kitchen Aid. With a Kitchen Aid, you just have to spend a little more time hand kneading, because it can’t handle it as well as a Bosch. At least, that’s what I’ve been told.)
3. Add one cup of brown sugar so it can dissolve into the hot water.
4. Add the following ingredients into the hot water:
- 2 Tablespoons salt
- ¼ cup canola oil (optional)
- 1 Tablespoon ground flaxseed (optional)
- 5 cups whole-wheat flour (slowly add this while mixing).
5. Mix until moist and then add:
- 2 1/2 Tablespoons SAF yeast
6. Mix on low speed for 3 minutes
7. Add 2-3 more cups of flour a little at a time. (The trick to good whole wheat bread is to not add too much flour, which will make it heavy and crumbly.) You’ll know you have enough flour when the beater cleans the sides of the bowl… but you’ll know you have too much flour when the dough climbs over the hook.
8. Take dough out of bowl and put it onto a well-floured surface. Add 2-3 more cups of flour {to equal about 10 cups total} and hand-knead for 8 minutes.
9. Preheat oven to 170 degrees (lowest setting)
10. Grease bread pans with Olive Oil spray.
11. Cut dough into quarters and form into a loaf. Put in four glass bread pans.
12. Let rise in the 170 degrees preheated oven for 30 minutes.
13. Increase heat to 335 degrees and bake for another 30 minutes.
14. When done, butter tops and remove from pans.
After my learning curve of about 3 or 4 times making bread, I’m now fast enough that it only takes me 30 minutes from the time I start grinding my wheat to the time I put it in the oven. Once it’s in the oven, it only takes 1 hour to bake and then I have FOUR loaves of homemade bread! It’s WONDERFUL! I freeze the other three loaves until we are ready to eat them and I make bread about once every week and a half!
So if you are nervous, just have faith in yourself and know that if I can do it, YOU certainly can. Or if you have questions, email me or post a comment and I’ll see what I can do to help. I’m no pro, but the lady who taught me how to make bread is like a second mom to me… so I’ll talk to her and get back to you!
I have found that making my own bread gives me a really good, independent type of feeling. I don’t really know how to explain it, but I like the way I feel when I know that I am making my own foods from scratch. I like helping my family be extra healthy and helping our money stretch farther. So give it a try and let me know what you think! But be careful… if you’re like me, you’ll love it so much, you’ll eat an entire loaf the first time you make it! YES… it is THAT good!!!
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10 Responses to “100% Whole-Wheat Bread”
Lance
June 29th, 2009
I’ve never made my own bread, nor am I completely comfortable with wheat anything, so this might sound dumb, but how do you grind you wheat (I’m thinking mortar and pestle, which would take a long time), and what is SAF yeast? Thanks, because this is sounding yummy!
Nicky Hurt
June 29th, 2009
Thanks for the response! I might have to try it! 
Nicky Hurt
July 1st, 2009
Hey Liz, it’s your friend Gina. I have two questions about your bread. First, do you need to use glass bread pans? Second, how big is your mixer because I can’t seem to get my kitchen aide to even make two loaves of whole wheat bread. I so wish I had a Bosch! Hope to see you soon.
Gina
July 8th, 2009
Thanks for sharing this recipe. I will be sure to try it out. I just bought a coffee grinder to grind up nuts, etc. Will try it for grinding wheat berries.
Patricia - Spiritual Journey Of A Lightworker
July 12th, 2009
Hey Liz. I like you love homemade wheat bread and have been making it for years. I have a ton of wheat in my basement too. One think I like to do is use honey instead of brown sugar. Plus if the bread drys out fast and starts to crumble, if you add 1/2-1 cup of Vital gluten wheat flour, it fixes the problem. I have learned that the golden flaxseed causes the bread to be fluffier and the black actually makes it more dense. I like also like to add oats and sometimes bran to the mix. Do it when the sugar or honey is dissolving so it “cooks” slightly. It will make the bread taste so moist. When it is done that way, the kids won’t see the oats and don’t complain. they won’t even know they’re there.
Sorry I know this is long, but I also LOVE cracked wheat for breakfast. Put it in the food processor or blender until it is broken up (corse) then 1 cup of cracked wheat to 2 cups of water, bring to boil, put on lid and simmer for 20 minutes. You’ll have a couple days worth. I add a little honey, milk and cinnimon to mine. It is my favorite!
Mary Morley Ethington
July 25th, 2009
Hi Liz, We don’t know each other, but I stumbled onto your site and you are friends with my husband, Patrick. I just thought I’d let you know that I tried this bread and it’s the new favorite! I’ve been searching for a winner, trying different recipes for about 11 years (all in a bread machine). I’ve experimented with different wheat, flour, gluten, etc. I’d been too chicken to try the “slow” way but this sounded doable for me. I would make a note to only add about 8 cups of flour or so, add the yeast and mix for 3 minutes as instructed, and then take it out and add the remainder of the 10 cups of flour by hand when you are kneading it. 10 cups will not fit in the Kitchenaid and the dough will climb over the hook. I tried it a second time and it went great. Thanks for the recipe! Have you tried it with honey? I was thinking of trying it with 1/2 c. honey next time. And yes, the first time we made it, Ethan and I put away half a loaf before Patrick even got off work that day. We love it! Thanks!
Julie Stevenson
September 9th, 2009
Hi Julie… good to “meet” you! Tell Patrick hi for me! And THANK YOU so much for catching a total mistake on my part! You are exactly right when you say to add 8 cups of flour and then take it out and add the remainder to knead on the counter! That’s exactly what I do when I make this recipe and I just made a mistake when I typed it up! {Totally blushing right now!} THANK YOU for catching that! I’ll make that edit right after this comment! And yes, I have tried it with honey and I had the hardest time keeping the honey from sticking all over me… the bowl… the spoon… my hands… I felt completely STUCK everywhere that I wanted to scream! When my husband made it with honey, he had a much easier time with it. I’m just not a great nor talented person in the kitchen, so as soon as something becomes the least bit complicated… I give up. So if you try it with honey and you come up with any great secrets on how to keep it from being too sticky… let me know! I’d be willing to give it another try. {Well, maybe!}
Liz Rosenbaum
September 9th, 2009
Hi Liz,
I think this is great! Good for your body and good for your bank account! While I haven’t ventured out into making my own bread (am I a slacker, or what??) – we only buy 100% whole wheat bread. And we’re fortunate enough to live near a bakery – which includes a discount store. I can usually get some really good whole wheat bread for about 70 cents/loaf (the same stuff would cost about $3.50 in the grocery store)! Still not your 20 cents…and there’s something about homemade, anyway… (I think I’m coming to your house for dinner!!).