Wednesday, September 1, 2010

Mom's Whole Wheat Bread


I learned my love of from-scratch cooking from my mom.  When my sister and I were little, she used to make the most delicious whole wheat bread.  And, as little kids, my sister and I ate it without complaint -- even the crust.


I've found other bread recipes that I like, but this is one that I LOVE.  My mom pulled it out from the family recipe box a few weeks ago and made a loaf -- ever since then it has been making it as our weekly sandwich bread.


This bread is versatile -- I've made it in the bread machine {simply dump all the ingredients in based on the order suggested by the manufacturer; use the wheat setting and presto, you have bread}, made it by hand, and made it using my kitchen aid mixer!  It's worked wonderfully all three ways.


Soft.  Moist.  Chewy.

Yum.


Thanks, Mom, for pulling this recipe out!

Mom's Whole Wheat Bread - Mom
{Print Recipe}

Yields 2 large loaves


4 C white wheat flour
3 C red wheat (or "regular") whole wheat flour
3 tsp. salt
1/3 C honey
2 1/4 tsp. yeast
2 3/4 C warm water
1/4 C olive oil
*You may wish to add 1/4 C wheat gluten to the dough

To make the bread without a bread machine, begin by mixing the warm water and yeast together in a large bowl.  I used the bowl of my kitchen aid mixer.  Allow these ingredients to sit together for 2-3 minutes.

Then, add in the honey, salt and olive oil.

Next, slowly add the flour while you stir (or, while your mixer stirs).  Mix until all the flour is incorporated.

Knead for 5 minutes, until dough is smooth and elastic.  If you knead by hand, you may need to add a little more flour to prevent the dough from being sticky.  I used my mixer and didn't need to add any more flour.

Cover, and allow the bread to rise for about 1 hour (or until doubled).

Punch the dough down and then shape in to loaves.

Place the loaves in a lightly greased loaf pan, and cover.

Allow them to rise again for 30 minutes - 1 hour.

Then, bake at 375 for 30-35 minutes until crust is lightly browned and bread sounds hollow when lightly tapped.

Enjoy!



If you make it in the bread machine, you'll need to cut the recipe in half!

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This recipe is linked to:

17 comments:

  1. Ahhhhhh....I love a good bread recipe! - even better when it comes from a family member....:-)

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  2. I CANNOT wait to try this! I've been wanting to make bread for sandwiches and this looks like what I've been looking for!
    WOOHOO!

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  3. There really is not better bread then homemade. I can smell it baking right now!!

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  4. I will have to try this one. I love using my Kitchen Aid mixer to knead. Do you use the dough hook the whole time (even for mixing)?

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  5. @ Theresa,

    Yes, I use the dough hook the entire time. Hope you enjoy the bread!

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  6. This looks delicious. The secret ingredient must be the honey!

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  7. I'm impressed that you can use 100% whole wheat and yet not add any extra gluten. I'll have to try it!

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  8. OOOOH!! Looks so delicious! I love bread and I am going to be making some of this soon.

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  9. Wow, this looks wonderful. My goal has been to quit buying store bought bread and make my own, but I haven't found the perfect recipe...yet. I am definitely going to try this. I do have an unusual question. Why do you sometimes use white and red whole wheat not just all white whole wheat? Is it because the white whole wheat usually costs more? I love your recipes and if I need a recipe for something, I check out your site BEFORE doing a google search!!!

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  10. @ Julia -- Thanks for your comment!

    I mix white wheat and red wheat because I often don't add extra gluten to make the bread less dense. I find that a combination of the two helps to make the bread less dense.

    I love white wheat, but it is more expensive... but I also love the taste and crunch of red wheat. I guess I use both just because I like it :)

    You could likely make this recipe with all white wheat -- which would be great, especially for little ones!

    Hope that helps!

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  11. I love how simple this recipe is!!! I'm going to try it in my bread maker. :)

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  12. If I make this in my bread maker, should I cut the recipe in half? Since it makes 2 regular loaves, it sounds like it might overflow in the bread maker. And you said you've done it both ways, so I wanted to check before I made it. I won't be making it tonight, though because I have to first get more wheat flour (both kinds) I'm almost all out!

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  13. I made this yesterday. Substituting regular white flour for half since that is all I had. YUM!! It was delicious. Do you mind if I feature it on my blog. Giving you all the credit of course. The only problem is it is so good I can't stop eating it!!

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  14. I haven't made homemade bread in way too long. Love it. We used to use the bread machine every day, but then it died and I haven't replaced it. I'll have to give this recipe a try. Especially if it's good for sandwiches!

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  15. I've been on a mission to stop buying store bought bread and I've tried several 100% whole-wheat recipes, but I haven't quite found the right one yet. I'm going to have to try yours because it looks yummy! Thanks for sharing!

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  16. I just made this recipe for the first time (by hand actually b/c my KA stuff was in the dishwasher at the time!) and I'm very impressed!

    This IS the perfect whole-wheat sandwich bread. IMO, it's the perfect replacement for store-bought whole-wheat sandwich bread, which I've discovered is hard to find with a 100% whole-wheat recipe.

    I can now end my search for sandwich bread.

    Thanks so much for sharing the recipe!

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  17. This looks like a great whole wheat recipe. I've been looking for a less dense sandwich bread recipe. Thanks for sharing and great blog!

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Thanks for stopping by! I'd love to hear from you; especially how you're finding JOY in your kitchen.

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