My mom is such a baker, and I love to bake as well. But I have always been hesitant to try baking loaves of bread. Honestly, it is the yeast that has intimidated me…although I’m not really sure why. Fresh, homemade bread is the best, and I love knowing what goes into what my family is eating. And making pizza dough has warmed me up to trying my hand at it.
So, this weekend while the boys were playing with Matt, I did it. I found a super simple recipe that I had to tweak a little, because I didn’t have dry milk powder. But it was a success!!! And my family loved it, which is the BEST part!!! And my neighbor, Ermgard, who is from Germany gave me the BEST compliment!!! She said it tasted like fresh European bread…and if you’ve ever been to Europe, you know that is awesome!!!
Here is the recipe and the instructions. I posted lots of pictures, because I find that is helpful when I try something new.
Ingredients
4 cups whole wheat flour, divided
1 tablespoon of salt
2 (1/4 ounce) envelopes active dry yeast
2 cups milk
1 cup cold water
1/2 cup honey
2 tablespoons butter
2 to 3 cups all-purpose flour
1. Beat 3 cups whole wheat flour, salt and yeast at low speed with a heavy-duty stand mixer until combined.
2. Bring 2 cups of milk to a low boil over medium heat, being careful to stir continually and not let it burn. After it begins to boil, add honey and butter, stirring until butter melts. Remove from heat, and stir in 1 cup cold water. (Thermometer should read about 120 degrees, but honestly I don’t even use the thermometer…)
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| milk, honey butter mixture |
3. Add honey mixture to flour mixture, beating at low speed 1 minute. Increase speed to medium, and beat 2 more minutes. Gradually add remaining 1 cup wheat flour and enough all-purpose flour to make a soft dough.
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| before final flour added |
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| final sticky dough |
4. Turn dough out onto a well-floured surface, and knead until smooth and elastic (about 5 minutes). (I actually just use my dough hook in my electric mixer and let it knead it for me!) Place in a well-greased bowl, turning to grease top. Cover and let rise in a warm place (85 degrees), free from drafts, 1 hour or until doubled in bulk. My microwave is the perfect place for this.
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| oiled and ready to rise |
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| Yeast worked!!! After one hour of rising |
5. Punch dough down, and divide into 2 equal portions. Roll each portion into a 15×10 inch rectangle. Roll each up; jelly-roll fashion, beginning with short side. Fold ends under, and place each roll, seam side down, in a 9×5 inch loafpan.
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| rolled and ready for pan |
6. Cover and let rise in a warm place, free from drafts, 45 minutes or until dough is doubled in bulk.
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| before rising for 40 minutes |
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| ready for the oven! |
7. Bake at 375 degrees for 40 to 45 minutes, shielding with aluminum foil after 25 minutes to prevent excessive browning.
Makes 2 loaves.
Believe it or not, I didn’t get an after picture…But it looks a lot like these, only darker!!!
This bread is so good though!!! It’s not sweet, and the boys love it!!! I absolutely love that I know what’s in it. It’s free of preservatives, but it really lasts for a while. I have had the current loaf for one week, and it is still fresh and very tasty.
So, if you haven’t tried your own homemade bread, this is a great place to start!
