One of my favorite things to do is make bread for my family! It was one of the first things I learned to make when I was first married and I've continued making it ever since. I always use my bread machine to mix up the dough and then form it into a loaf pan myself (though when I was first married, I let the machine do it all from beginning to end). The machine makes it super easy!
I use freshly ground wheat flour. I now have a stone wheat grinder which I love, but when I was first married, I used an electric one and it worked great for bread. I usually do half hard white and half hard red wheat to give it that yummy wheat flavor. I buy my wheat online here, though Costco often has buckets of white wheat in store for a good price. I buy my wheat gluten in bulk online here. I don't currently use dough enhancer. We buy our honey in bulk locally; if you don't have honey, you can substitute sugar across 1:1.
Here is the recipe I use and love:
Whole Wheat Bread Recipe
1 ⅓ cup water
1 tsp salt
1 tbsp coconut oil OR 3 tbsp butter
1 heaping tbsp honey
3 to 3 ½ cups fresh ground wheat flour (level)
2 tbsp vital wheat gluten
1 tsp dough enhancer (optional)
1 tsp SAF instant yeast
Put ingredients in bread machine in order listed. You want the flour to cover the water so the yeast doesn't get wet until it starts mixing. Once it starts mixing, you want the dough to be sticky to the touch but formed into a ball.
I have a Zojirushi bread machine (I've found this brand of bread machine works best for this bread recipe). When I buy a new one or a new bread pan for it, I usually go to eBay, though my mom has gotten them at a good price at Kohl's before. I set my bread machine settings so that it preheats for 10 minutes, kneads the dough for 30 minutes, and then raises for an hour. If you let the machine bake it, you'd want to let it raise again for an additional 30 minutes and then bake for 30 minutes.
Form into a loaf and let raise 20-30 minutes until the loaf raises over the top of the bread pan. Bake at 350 for 30 minutes.
It is a super easy and yummy recipe! We love eating it straight out of the oven or for breakfast the next day if it lasts that long. I'm often making bread every day to keep up with my kids.
Do you make homemade bread? What is your favorite bread recipe? Let me know in the comments section!
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