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)
- 10 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 the rest of the 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.) Add more flour until the beater cleans the sides of the bowl.
8. Take dough out of bowl and put it onto a well-floured surface. 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! if it’s a question that I can’t answer.
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!!!
