Comments on: 100% Whole-Wheat Bread

By: Liz Rosenbaum

Liz Rosenbaum — Thu, 10 Sep 2009 03:30:16 +0000

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!}

By: Julie Stevenson

Julie Stevenson — Thu, 10 Sep 2009 03:19:30 +0000

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!

By: Mary Morley Ethington

Mary Morley Ethington — Sun, 26 Jul 2009 02:25:39 +0000

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!

By: Patricia - Spiritual Journey Of A Lightworker

Patricia - Spiritual Journey Of A Lightworker — Sun, 12 Jul 2009 16:58:00 +0000

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.

By: Liz Rosenbaum

Liz Rosenbaum — Wed, 08 Jul 2009 23:04:35 +0000

Hey Gina – I use both glass and metal pans because I only have 3 glass pans… but I’ve noticed that the metal pan seems to brown a bit more on the bottom. I don’t know the specific size of Kitchen Aide that I have, but I know that it’s not a fancy one… it’s just the most basic one available. However… I add WAY more flour once I start kneading it on the counter, which bulks it up enough to make four whole loaves. Oh – and one more thing. When I put the dough in the pans, it’s only about 1/3 high – so it doesn’t look like much at all but rises like crazy! Good luck! If you want, we could get together sometime to bake bread! Maybe for my club in September we could have a bread baking night! ha ha! Take Care!

By: Gina

Gina — Wed, 08 Jul 2009 20:20:39 +0000

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.

By: Nicky Hurt

Nicky Hurt — Wed, 01 Jul 2009 16:39:01 +0000

Thanks for the response! I might have to try it!

By: Liz Rosenbaum

Liz Rosenbaum — Tue, 30 Jun 2009 15:07:08 +0000

Lance! You are so lucky to live near a bakery that sells 100% whole wheat bread for so cheap! You are a lucky man! I think if I had that opportunity, I would forget making homemade bread and just buy it! ha ha!

Nicky – ha ha! You can buy all sorts of electric wheat grinders. Just do a google search for them and all you do is pour in the wheat, push a button and whallah! It turns it into soft flour! And SAF yeast, is just a particular BRAND of yeast that is vacuum packed. It seems to have less of a “yeast-y” flavor to it than other yeasts… if that even makes sense. Plus, the other good thing about this brand of yeast, is that you can store it in your pantry for a long time because it’s vacuum packed. Once it’s opened, you just store it in your fridge. Seriously… if this is sounding yummy to you, you NEED to give it a try! You’ll love it!

By: Nicky Hurt

Nicky Hurt — Tue, 30 Jun 2009 05:13:45 +0000

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!

By: Lance

Lance — Tue, 30 Jun 2009 03:08:24 +0000

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!!).