Monday, May 21, 2012

Wheat Bread

Now that I am back I have been baking and cooking up a storm and my house just smells wonderful everyday.  My husband comes home and looks forward to the "next" great meal.  

The more I look at the way Americans eat the more I want to make things in my own kitchen over buying them; IE processed foods.  It only takes a bit of time and a bit of fore thought and you can know what you are eating.

Over the past few weeks I have been looking more & more at what my husband & I eat.  We shop mostly in the outer ring of the market (and if we do buy something in the aisles it is organic).  We have planted our first garden and cannot wait to reap the "fruits of our labor" in a few months.  But mostly I have been looking to making more things home-made and less store bought.

One thing we eat a lot of ... or a loaf of a week is bread.  So I thought to myself why not make bread and if I make enough of it, I can freeze it.  I love toast.  Yes it is a strange thing to love but it is one of my favorite things to eat, and since I eat toast everyday with breakfast, bread is a perfect thing to make home made in place of processes bread. There are so many recipes for bread on the web you can get very over-whelmed by them.  The one I used came from All Recipes and was very easy to make. 

This is what I did

Wheat Bread 
3 cups of warm water
2 packages of dry active yeast
1/3 cup of honey
5 cups of bread flour
3 tablespoons of melted butter
1/3 cup of honey
1 tablespoon of salt
3 1/2 cups of whole wheat flour
2 tablespoons melted butter

In a large bowl, mix warm water, yeast, and 1/3 cup honey. Add 5 cups white bread flour, and stir to combine. Let set for 30 minutes, or until big and bubbly.

Mix in 3 tablespoons melted butter, 1/3 cup honey, and salt. Stir in 2 cups whole wheat flour. Flour a flat surface and knead with whole wheat flour until not real sticky - just pulling away from the counter, but still sticky to touch. This may take an additional 2 to 4 cups of whole wheat flour. Place in a greased bowl, turning once to coat the surface of the dough. Cover with a dishtowel. Let rise in a warm place until doubled. 

Punch down, and divide into 3 loaves. Place in greased 9 x 5 inch loaf pans, and allow to rise until dough has topped the pans by one inch. 

Bake at 350 degrees F (175 degrees C) for 25 to 30 minutes; do not over bake. Lightly brush the tops of loaves with 2 tablespoons melted butter or margarine when done to prevent crust from getting hard. Cool completely and serve. 




Now that I have started to make my own bread I cannot go to the store and buy bread, it just is not the same.Yes it takes a bit of time and a bit of work but in the end it is so worth it to make your own bread.

YUM!!!

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