Whole Wheat Homemade Bread (recipe included)
I make all my own bread and this is a recipe I love. We go through a lot of bread each week so I love the fact that I save money by making all my own bread plus there are no additives or preservatives, I know exactly what goes into this bread and as mom I love knowing whats in my food and exactly what I am feeding to my kids. This recipe came from one of my favorite blogs www.melskitchencafe.com. I have the recipe tightly tucked in my brain so I don’t have to use the recipe anymore, I have made it so many times. It’s so far my favorite recipe I have come across for whole wheat bread and I have tried a few. I make my bread every Monday while I am making Yogurt. I have found that, that works great and gets both done on the same day. Monday is my prep day to make sure bread and yogurt get made every week (I’ll post my schedule for what I do each week sometime, I love having a schedule it really ensures that I get things done). I do have a favorite yeast I use, I included a picture at the bottom and you can buy it here or check your local grocery store. It’s fool proof and I love the stuff just throw it in and you don’t have to proof it or put it through a process or anything, easy as pie. I also included a picture of the wheat grinder I use, It’s the Nutrimill Classic Grain Mill. I love it, here’s the link for it, I looked on the Bosch site and the Nutrimill site and they all look like they sell it for the same price. I’ll be honest I have only tried one other wheat grinder and it was the one my mom used while I was growing up and I like this one better. This is a great wheat grinder but being honest I don’t have a ton of wheat grinders to compare it to. I love that it grinds the wheat super fine or more course if you’d like, it does it quickly and it grinds as much wheat as I need for one batch of bread (about 14-15 cups of flour). It will also grind other grains just nothing oily like flax seed. It is easy to clean and care for so it’s a favorite on my list. I highly recommend getting a wheat grinder, fresh whole wheat is better for you than wheat that has been ground and sits on the shelf for a while, it loses some of its nutritional value from sitting on a shelf plus wheat is usually cheaper than buying wheat that is already ground into flour. If you make your own bread or do a lot with wheat I would totally recommend investing in a wheat grinder. If it’s not on your affordable list right now just buy whole wheat flour and maybe put it on your list of things to save for.
Here’s the recipe, I hope you love this bread as much as we do!
Ingredients
- 12-15 cups whole wheat flour
- 2 tablespoons instant yeast (see picture below of the yeast I use, it's Saf brand and I love it not fail)
- 1/2 cup vital wheat gluten ( I buy mine at Winco foods in bulk but I have also gotten it at Walmart)
- 2000 mg Vitamin C, crushed, (I put the vitamin c tablets in my wheat grinder as I grind my wheat so I don't have to crush them) Or you can use 1 tablespoon lemon juice or white vinegar. This acts as a dough enhancer
- 6 1/2 cups of very warm water
- 2/3 cups of oil
- 2/3 cups of honey or sugar
- 2 tablespoons of salt
Instructions
- 1. In a large bowl or mixer (I use my Bosch mixer), mix together 5 cups of whole wheat four, yeast, vital wheat gluten and Vitamin C (or lemon juice or vinegar). Add the warm water and mix well. Add the oil and honey (or sugar) and mix again.
- 2. Cover the bowl and let the mixture sit for 10 minutes. Add the salt and mix. add the remaining flour, I add about 5-6 cups and see where the bread is at that point you want it to be pulling away from the sides of the bowl forming a soft dough. You may not need to add all the flour, it needs to hold it's shape but can be slightly sticky.
- 3. Let the dough knead for 7 minutes in the stand mixer (or 15 minutes if you are doing it by hand). Form the dough into 5 loaves (with the pans I use I can only get 4 loaves out of this recipe so depending on the size of your bread pans you use you should get 4-5 loaves out of this recipe). Place the formed loaves into greased bread pans. Let rise until the bread is 2 inches above the top of the bread pan.
- 4. Bake at 350 degrees for 25 minutes (I like to put the bread in the oven when it's cold and then turn it on to 350, you don't have to do this it just helps it rise just a little more, if it's already risen enough just pre-heat the oven and put them in after it is warm). Bake the bread for 32 minutes. I hate doughy bread and sometimes whole wheat bread can be doughy so I always cook it on the browner side just to be sure it is cooked all the way through. ENJOY!
recipe source: melskitchencafe.com
This is hands down my favorite yeast. 
And here is the wheat grinder I use and love.
May 20, 2015 @ 10:16 am
Hi Deb! I make my own bread regularly, though not every week. I’m wondering what your best storage tips are for homemade bread. Do you just use plastic bags, or do you have a bread box? My bread is always really good the first day, pretty good the second day, and then it’s all downhill from there. Of course, your bread probably gets consumed a lot more quickly than my bread, as I have only got three small children right now. Anyway, any thoughts you have to share on homemade bread storage are appreciated!
May 21, 2015 @ 9:27 pm
Hi Sarah, I store my bread in bags, I use the bread bags that have twistie ties for the top. If you want I can send you a link so you can see a picture. I think you can get them about anywhere, I am pretty sure Wal-Mart sells them and I am sure you could get them off Amazon. I think I got mine at a Bosch store. Those work great for me and I re-use them, after I’ve used them 4-5 times then I’ll throw them away. I think the secret to keeping the bread fresh is to freeze it if you aren’t going to use it within a day or two. I freeze my extra loaves and then pull them out when we are almost finished with a loaf. I think this is the best way to keep the bread the freshest. You can throw them in the fridge too and this helps preserve them but I think they stay freshest when you freeze them. I hope that helps. I am so glad you are making your own bread, way to go!