This is Heather's favorite whole wheat bread recipe from The Urban Homemaker. Enjoy!
(instructions are given for using a Bosch/large mixer and by hand)
Add 6 cups warm water to your Bosch mixer
Melt coconut oil to make 2/3 cup - add to the mixer
Add 2/3 cup honey
then 3 Tbsp. yeast (I recommend SAF)
Then start grinding. You'll need between 16 and 18 cups of flour, depending on which flours you use and the humidity. You can also use pre-ground flour from the store. It's your bread. Do it how you want!
Add 2 Tbsp. sea salt
1/3 to 1/2 c. vital gluten*
Jog it on "M" for a few seconds to get it slightly mixed, then go to Speed 2 for 6 to 10 minutes. Kiss your mixer then go read a book while it does all the hard work for you.
At this point you can bake it, but I like to let it rise once, then punch it down, put it in pans and let it rise again.
Bake at 350 degrees for 25 minutes. This makes 4 to 6 loaves, depending on the size of pans you use. You can also make rolls, hamburger buns, etc with the dough.
To grind I follow this crazy method: I add in a bunch of white hard wheat (I use a Whisper Mill). Once it's ground I measure 8 cups into the Bosch. Whatever is left over I put in a gallon size baggie to freeze. Then I grind some kamut (I just throw a bunch in). I measure out a few cups into the Bosch and throw the rest in the SAME baggie as the wheat. I grind something else, use some for the bread then put the rest in the SAME baggie as the wheat and kamut. I use this "mystery flour" for making pancakes, muffins, waffles, whatever. Or bread. Sometimes I have no idea what kind of flour is in my baked goods, but I know it's whole grain and I know it's fresh. (If you don't use the flour right away, it should be stored in the fridge or freezer).
Add 6 cups warm water to your Bosch mixer
Melt coconut oil to make 2/3 cup - add to the mixer
Add 2/3 cup honey
then 3 Tbsp. yeast (I recommend SAF)
Then start grinding. You'll need between 16 and 18 cups of flour, depending on which flours you use and the humidity. You can also use pre-ground flour from the store. It's your bread. Do it how you want!
Add 2 Tbsp. sea salt
1/3 to 1/2 c. vital gluten*
Jog it on "M" for a few seconds to get it slightly mixed, then go to Speed 2 for 6 to 10 minutes. Kiss your mixer then go read a book while it does all the hard work for you.
At this point you can bake it, but I like to let it rise once, then punch it down, put it in pans and let it rise again.
Bake at 350 degrees for 25 minutes. This makes 4 to 6 loaves, depending on the size of pans you use. You can also make rolls, hamburger buns, etc with the dough.
To grind I follow this crazy method: I add in a bunch of white hard wheat (I use a Whisper Mill). Once it's ground I measure 8 cups into the Bosch. Whatever is left over I put in a gallon size baggie to freeze. Then I grind some kamut (I just throw a bunch in). I measure out a few cups into the Bosch and throw the rest in the SAME baggie as the wheat. I grind something else, use some for the bread then put the rest in the SAME baggie as the wheat and kamut. I use this "mystery flour" for making pancakes, muffins, waffles, whatever. Or bread. Sometimes I have no idea what kind of flour is in my baked goods, but I know it's whole grain and I know it's fresh. (If you don't use the flour right away, it should be stored in the fridge or freezer).
I love to mix and match flours. I regularly use white hard wheat, kamut, spelt, barley, amaranth, millet, flax, brown rice and quinoa for bread. It's a tricky balance since some of those are non-gluten flours. Sometimes you can use them as an "extra", like yesterday I made bread using the normal amount of flour but added a cup of amaranth (not ground into flour) to give it a "crunch". I have found that I can add about 2 cups of non-gluten flour and have the bread turn out just fine.
I grind the quinoa, flax, millet, and amaranth in my Blendtec. They are too small to grind in my Whisper Mill.
I grind the quinoa, flax, millet, and amaranth in my Blendtec. They are too small to grind in my Whisper Mill.
To make this without a Bosch....
First of all, you probably want to halve the recipe unless you have big strong muscles, or a husband who will knead for you, or a bunch of kids you can recruit for cheap labor.
Add the yeast and honey to the water and let sit for a few minutes. When it's all foamy, add the oil and a few cups of flour at a time. Keep stirring and adding flour until you've added it all. Add the salt and gluten with the last of the flour. Feel free to dump the bread onto a floured counter at this point and knead it like crazy (you can use oil, water or flour to keep your hands from getting super sticky). There are many wonderful ways to knead bread, but I just push it around, smack it a few times, pick it up and drop it, let my kids smoosh it, all sorts of things. You just want to keep it moving for about 10 minutes, until it's smooth and shiny with little bubbles near the surface. You can either 'pan' it at this point and bake it, or put it in a large bowl and let it rise for about 30 minutes. Then punch it down, form it into loaves and let it rise again. Bake as directed above.
Here's the recipe without all my commentary.
6 cups warm water
2/3 cup oil (I prefer coconut)
2/3 cup honey
3 Tbsp. yeast
16-18 cups whole wheat flour (or a mixture of flours)
2 Tbsp. sea salt
1/3 to 1/2 cup gluten*
Here's the recipe without all my commentary.
6 cups warm water
2/3 cup oil (I prefer coconut)
2/3 cup honey
3 Tbsp. yeast
16-18 cups whole wheat flour (or a mixture of flours)
2 Tbsp. sea salt
1/3 to 1/2 cup gluten*
*I have had great success using 3 Tbsp. of lemon juice instead of gluten. I have also used only 3 Tbsp. of gluten and had the bread turn out just fine.
Written by Heather @ Penny-wise
I have been using the Urban Homemaker's bread recipefor years. It's very good and you can do a lot with it. One of our favorite things to do with it is to add rasins, nuts and cinnamon to it. We also like to add cheese and onions too! Yum!
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