Thursday, October 09, 2008

Honey Whole Wheat Bread


Another recipe from Kaye. My dad says this whole wheat bread tastes better than the stuff from Great Harvest. My mom and I felt like real pioneer women after making this bread for the first time. Kevin says this makes the best toast.

Kaye makes 4 loaves at a time in her Bosch. My Kitchen Aid will only fit the dough for 2 loaves, which is about the right amount for my family anyway.

Learning to make bread has been a process for me. It has always tasted good, but I had a hard time making it look pretty. I finally got a loaf I'm not embarrassed to post a picture of. I've decided the key for me is to not let it rise too long in the bread pan. I fold the dough before I put it in the pan, and then I have to tuck and roll under a little bit more to get the top nice and tight.

My most recent batch, the loaf I thought was going to look the best when I put them into the oven rose a little too much over the top of the pan, so that when it came out of the oven it was hanging over the edge just a little bit. This loaf I took a picture of didn't look as good when I put it in the pan. In fact, it didn't even fill the ends of the pan. But it filled out as it rose and baked and ended up looking the prettiest. I'd love to have you post your bread making tips and tricks in the comments.

Warning: Before you start making this bread, set out a stick of butter so it will be soft when the bread comes out of the oven. Because there's nothing better than some soft butter spread on a slice of bread hot out of the oven and you will be sad if you don't have any.

Into the Kitchen Aid (with the dough hook attachment):

2 3/4 c. warm water
2 Tbl. yeast
1/8 c. sugar (about - depending on your sweet tooth!)

Add:

1/4 c. oil
1/4 c. honey
1/4 loosely packed brown sugar
1 Tbl. salt
1 1/2 Tbl. lecithin (optional - powdered or liquid)
3 to 3 1/2 c. red wheat flour (2 c. wheat into the wheat grinder yields me 3 c. wheat flour)
3 c. white flour (or until the sides of the bowl are clean)

I use 7 - 7 1/2 c. of flour total.

Remove bowl and let rise 1 hour. Scrape down the sides and turn onto oiled counter.

Cut dough in half with sharp knife. Form into loaves and place in greased pans. Allow dough to rise 1 inch above bread pan.

Bake in preheated 350 degree oven for 30-35 minutes.

Originally posted 1/15/07 without picture

18 comments:

The White Clan said...

I am not a big wheat bread fan, unless, it is homemade. I just remember Cindy White's. Man it makes me hungry just thinking about it. So I maght have to try this, so I can atleast pretend to be healthy. :)

Anonymous said...

I learned LOADS of stuff from the Pantry Secrets ladies at the Stake Emergency Fair. One thing was if you are using fresh ground wheat, it will rise almost twice as fast because the wheat is warm. In fact the rise time for the bread they made was only 15 minutes. I guess I was always letting mine rise too long, and I too would get the over the edge stuff.
Another thing I learned was to not keep adding flour after you begin timing your kneading time. This flour will not have been stretched for the full amount of time and create problems. Instead of adding flour to the counter to shape or knead, only use PAM and spray the counter and your hands to shape the bread.

Anonymous said...

Me again. OK, just finished. Made half the dough into breadsticks, and the other half a loaf of bread. I got " you make the best bread in the whole world" by everyone in my house... Thanks Whitney!!

Sarah said...

THANK YOU FOR HAVING A KITCHEN AID!!!!!!

I swear every wheat bread recipe is for a Bosch! You're great!

It's supposed to be so stinkin' cold tomorrow, I might just bake some!

Whitney said...

Kacey, you can change around the amounts of wheat and white flour as long as your total amount of flour is the same. In fact, I've had people tell me to slowly build up the amount of wheat flour you use, so it doesn't make your family sick.

Amy, thanks for all the tips! I'm glad your family liked the bread. Hooray! I'd love to see the breadsticks. Did you top them with anything? Here's a question: how come some bread "needs" to be "kneaded" and other recipes (like this one) does not?

Good luck tomorrow, Sarah. Bake it, bake it, bake it...I'm cheering you on. And yes, 3 cheers for Kitchen Aid.

Anonymous said...

All the bread recipes need to be kneaded. Even this one. Your kitchen aid is just doing it for you. If it should be kneaded for about 8 minutes (which I did for this recipe)...don't keep adding flour while the mixer is on. If you do, you start timing after you added the last bit of flour you intend to add.
My bread sticks... I rolled out the dough on the counter, cut long strips and then twisted them and laid them on the cookie sheet. Then I sprayed with Butter flavored Pam and sprinkled parmesan cheese onto it. I would have taken a picture, but they were gone in five seconds flat. I'll have to do it again.

Whitney said...

Roll it out? Without adding more flour? Wasn't it too sticky? Maybe I'm not kneading it long enough in my Kitchen Aid with the dough hook. Going to try this. Maybe I will get a pretty loaf yet.

Anonymous said...

Yes, roll it out with only pam. It worked great. I knead in kitchen aid for 8 minutes. Its actually not sticky. Try it.

Laura said...

Quick question - do you have a wheat grinder? If so what kind? We are thinking about getting an electric one, but haven't decided which kind is the best - I have been doing my research, but was just wondering if you have any suggestions. Thanks!

MaRiN said...

Hi, I'm new to your blog and I love to cook. Your recipes look amazing, I'll definitely be giving them a try. Thanks for sharing.

Rhandi said...

I make homemade bread a lot but I have never added lecithin. I think I will make 50/50 bread tonight with lecithin. Do you think that your breads holds together better with it? What do you think the benefits are of using lecithin? Great recipe! Great blog! I just started a food blog, so I found yours browsing. Many thanks!

Whitney said...

Laura, I have my mother-in-law's hand me down mixer. It's small, but it's perfect for my needs. I've heard the Whispermill grinders are awesome though.

Rhandi, as I understand it, lecithin adds nutrition. I always add it, just because that's what the recipe calls for and it turns out delicious that way so I've never tried this recipe without it. Let me know how your 50/50 batch turns out! PS. Awesome blog! It looks great! I'll be sure to give some of your recipes a try.

Betty said...

Thank you for a fantastic recipe! Here's what I did differently: I did not use white flour, only freshly milled wheat. I also added 1/4 cup gluten and 1 1/2 tablespoon dough enhancer. I use a Bosch...

This bread has the perfect taste and texture!

Whitney said...

bberg97, what does the gluten and dough enhancer do to it? Did you double the recipe in your Bosch to make 4 loaves? Was the bread very heavy using all wheat flour? I mostly half the flour like that so it doesn't make my family sick from too much fiber. Glad you like it! I'd love to hear more about how yours turned out.

Alissa said...

Has anyone made this with the Gold Medeal whole wheat flour? I don't have a wheat grinder. I'm wondering if I did have one and had a courser grind if that would make the bread more like Great Harvest. Would the regular whole wheat flour be too fine? I'm anxious to try this recipe.

Alissa said...

Has anyone tried this with the regular whole wheat flour (like the Gold Medal brand) instead of grinding your own? I don't have a wheat grinder. I'm sure it would be better with fresh and more course wheat.

Alissa said...

I made your bread with the store bought wheat flour. It turned out great, especially considering it was my first real bread attempt. I only made 1/2 the recipe as I only had one bread pan. I wish I would've made the full recipe as 1/2 of the loaf is already gone. Thank you so much for sharing.

Anonymous said...

The bread was amazing!