home made whole wheat bread

[Nightingale]

I want to start making our bread...I'd like to stop buying "100% Whole Wheat Bread" that has HFCS in it, or to not have that in it I would have to pay $5 a loaf. So, my mom gave me her bread maker and I tired it out today. The loaf was like 4-5 inches long, w hich the bread machine book says is normal for whole wheat bread. It's so not worth it to me (the cost of ingredients, etc) to have that small of a loaf.

I tried looking online for recipes, but none were 100% whole wheat. Anyone have any recipes? Not for bread machine, just for me to make. Or, if you have tips for the bread machine to make it turn out differently.

[hey mommy]

No recipes, but I buy the Sarah Lee 100% whole wheat bread that is made w/honey instead of HFCS. Tastes wonderful and you can get it at Walmart for $2.00 or $2.50

[BeckaBlue]

we use Nature's Own sugar free, has no hfcs, or any corn at all

[heartofjoy]

FWIW Nature's Own WW bread is made with brown sugar and honey, no HFCS. It's $2 a loaf where I live.

Here's my bread recipe. I soak the flour for 12-24 hours to improve nutrition and digestion. It also makes the loaf lighter, more like store-bought, and it keeps longer. I'll put the regular recipe at the bottom if that would be easier. The best part about making 3 loaves at a time is that you can freeze what you won't use right away, and then you don't have to bake as often.

Whole Wheat Bread (makes 3+ loaves)

4 cups water
2 tbs organic apple cider vinegar
10 cup whole wheat flour (I use hard white wheat instead of hard red wheat)

STEP 1: Mix water with vinegar. Add flour and mix thoroughly. Let stand for 12-24 hours. I usually do this the day I run out of bread, and then the next day I bake.

STEP 2: Add to the soaked flour:

1 cup water
2 tbs sea salt
2 tbs yeast
3 tbs gluten
1/2 - 3/4 cup raw honey
1/2 cup olive oil

I have the soaking flour in my heavy duty mixer, so I just dump the rest of the ingredients in and let it mix it together. It's like mixing oil and water at first, but eventually it mixes together. If you are making it by hand, mix the ingredients together first, then pour into the bowl with the soaked flour and mix by hand until you are able to knead.

STEP 3: Once it's mixed together, start adding more flour. If you are using a mixer, you know you've added enough flour when the dough cleans the sides of the bowl. If you are hand kneading, just add a little flour at a time to keep it from getting sticky. You don't want to add so much flour that it becomes dry. If you think you've added enough, but you need to keep kneading, spray some oil on your hands to keep the dough from sticking. You will probably need to add between 2-4 more cups of flour.

STEP 4: Once you've added the flour, knead the dough for about 8 minutes. In a mixer, 8 minutes on high...or by hand for 8 minutes. The more you knead, the higher your loaf will rise.

STEP 5: Let dough sit, covered, in an oiled bowl until doubled. About 1-2 hours. The warmer your ingredients (and room temp), the faster the dough will rise. Supposedly, the slower it rises, the more flavorful the bread.

STEP 6: Punch down dough and shape into three loaves. Place loaves in greased loaf pans. Fill pans about 1/2 to 3/4 full. When loaves peek over the tops of the pans (about 15-25 minutes), they are ready.

STEP 7: Place in a preheated 375 degree oven. Bake for 25-35 minutes. I usually turn mine around after 25 minutes so they brown evenly. Let cool for 5 minutes, then remove from pans. Let cool on wire racks for at least 20 minutes before cutting. The loaves freeze well.

To make without soaking, mix

5 cups water
2 tbs sea salt
1/2 cup olive oil
10 cups whole wheat flour (I use hard white wheat instead of hard red wheat)
2 tbs yeast
3 tbs gluten
1/2 - 3/4 cup raw honey

Proceed with STEP 3 above.

[CakeLady]

I make my own. I grind my own wheat and then make it....I usually get 5-10 loaves (depending on what size I make) and I know it costs a fraction of store bought and tastes a lot better.

I use a Bosch mixer and bake my bread in the oven.... :grin

[Elwing]

I always use King Arthur flour and I've adapted the 100% whole wheat bread recipe on the back of their whole wheat bag and used either molasses or maple syrup (you can also use honey, but I don't tolerate Honey very well).

I also used this recipe on their website:

http://www.kingarthurflour.com/recipes/getrecipe.php?id=R548

Wheat gluten helps a lot to make the bread rise better and be less dense.

[Punkie]

We really like this one :)
http://articles.urbanhomemaker.com/index.php?page=index_v2&id=83&c=6

[Jillian]

:popcorn

[RealLifeMama]

FWIW Nature's Own WW bread is made with brown sugar and honey, no HFCS. It's $2 a loaf where I live.


This is the kind we buy, because it is the only ones I have seen that has no HFCS in it that is a commercially produced bread, but I really dislike the texture, much too soft and foamy/spongey. It is like eating bitter wonder bread or something to me.
I have tried making my own before, several times, and have had only good luck with the sourdough bread that is in the LLL Whole Foods for the Whole World cookbook. But couldn't keep my starter up and haven't made that in a couple years. Still, the bread was really light, but not foamy or spongey, and tasted really good.