Whole Wheat Bread

There is nothing like the fresh smell of homemade bread baking in the oven! So let’s get started!!

Start with grinding your whole wheat I used about 12-13 cups of wheat berries to have enough wheat to make this recipe!

In your bread mixer combine:
2/3 cup oil (I use 1/3 each of olive and safflower oil)
2/3 cup honey
1 tab. sea salt
5 cups warm water

With mixer on med speed, add to it:
About 8 cups of  wheat flour
3 tab. yeast
Vitamin C powder (this is optional, but it’s a natural preservative, so it helps to add it)

Let rest for about 5 minutes. Mixture will begin to look bubbly (like pictured above). This helps to “activate” the yeast.

While mixer is running, add:
2 tab lemon juice (this is also optional but  helps to enhance the natural gluten in the wheat)
About 10-11 cups of wheat flour

Note: Depending on the humidity of the day and how fresh ground your wheat is and how exact your measurement of water is, the amount of wheat flour you need will vary a little. The rule of thumb I learned was to add the wheat a little at a time until dough pulls away from the side of the bowl (like pictured above).

When you’ve added the remainder of your wheat flour, kneed the dough for 2-3 minutes on med/high speed, or the “kneed” setting on your mixer.

Depending on your size pan, divide dough into 5 or 6 sections ( I used a large bread pan so I did 5). Tuck the sides of each section of dough under and pinch together at the bottom. Place in a greased bread pan. Cover (I use plastic wrap, but you can also use paper towels) and let rise for a half hour, or until about double in size.

Gently remove cover and carefully (so that bread does not fall) place in a preheated 350 degree oven. Bake for about 30 minutes (if your oven bakes really hot, you may want to check them a few minutes early).

Remove from pans and let cool on a wire wrack. I like to brush the tops with butter before they are cooled, as this keeps the top crust nice and moist. Enjoy!!

This recipe was part of the recipes I post on the Grain Mill Challenge