Best Whole Wheat Bread EVER

Note: This is another transfer over from my family blog... original post here. Circa May 2012.

I made a batch of white bread late last night, and decided that I would try a recipe for wheat bread this morning. The recipe called for DOUGH ENHANCER, and for some reason I thought I had seen it before at the grocery store... so after getting the girls off to their FINAL DAY OF SEMINARY FOR THE YEAR, I headed to Safeway... then Walmart... then King Soopers (yes, 6am). No dough enhancer. I determined to make the bread anyway. I found the recipe here a long time ago, but had never taken the opportunity to make it, most likely due to my aversion to whole wheat bread ingrained in childhood from sack lunches with sandwiches made from small, dense, dark loaves. If they were tuna sandwiches, it was even worse. My mom was determined to feed her family healthily. She would grind wheat and bake bread weekly, I'd guess. I can vaguely remember conversation about how that "store-bought" Wonder-type sandwich bread was nothing but air. No nutritious value. "Wheat for man," she'd say. I certainly see her efforts were valiant and worthy, but at the time it just felt like torture.

But thanks to such an upbringing, I have a desire to feed my family healthier, too. I BUY wheat bread, I just don't eat it (unless I have to). And I'll admit to a twinge of guilt every time I put that white bread in my shopping cart.

Back to today. I was going to make wheat bread (from wheat I ground myself last night, even), and I was going to see if Shawni's recipe really WAS "the best home-made bread." Dough enhancer or not. I could always blame a less-than-successful attempt on that anyway.

One of my loaves turned out looking a little "funny" - certainly not Bake Sale worthy (which is why I was making a lot o' homemade bread in the first place) - so I decided to cut it open and give'r a try.

Oh. My. Stars.
Light, fluffy, de-lish. I wouldn't have believed it was 100% whole wheat had I not ground the wheat myself.


BEST WHOLE WHEAT BREAD EVER

Put into a small bowl* and let sit while you mix the rest of the ingredients:
2 Tbs. yeast
1/2 cup warm water (tap hot)
1 Tbs. sugar

(*Use something bigger than a 1-cup measure - mine foamed over the top, so my bread was most likely lacking a bit of leavening)

In mixer, combine:
5 cups warm water (tap hot again)
7 cups ground whole wheat flour

Mix.

Add:
2 Tbs. salt (you could reduce amount if you are watching your salt)
2/3 cup oil
2/3 cup honey (if you put the oil in the measuring cup first, then add the honey, it will come out all slick into the mixing bowl)
2 Tbs. vital wheat gluten
2 Tbs. dough enhancer (didn't have it, didn't use it... the bread still turned out awesome.)

Mix all together.

Add one more cup of wheat flour.

Add yeast mixture, and mix again.

Gradually add 3 to 5 more cups wheat flour until dough starts to pull away from the sides of the bowl (I used about 4-1/3 cups).

Knead for 10 minutes - either by hand or in the Bosch
(I think I've mentioned how much I love the $5 Bosch my mom found at her local DI years back and gifted to me. It isn't pretty -less so now that I've used for years - but it gets the job done. LOVE IT.)

Shape into 4 loaves of bread (I spray non-stick spray on my hands so it's not so sticky)

Put in well oiled bread pans. Let rise for 35 to 40 minutes or until almost doubled.

Bake at 350 degrees for 28 minutes.

Another thing I learned: Apparently bread rises faster/higher in glass baking pans. I didn't know. Now I do, and plan to purchase a few more glass pans in the future. When I have some extra dough. Haha.

Bake Sale bread (wheat AND white)... ready to go.

ENJOY!!

Cranberry-Orange Bread

This recipe originally came from here. I, however, did not have Chobani yogurt on hand, so I used Dannon Oikos 0% Fat Plain. Shhhhh.... don't tell.

I could eat this bread all day. Not too sweet, the crunch of nuts, and tanginess of fresh cranberries... yum-o!

The recipe calls for 3/4 c. orange juice. I decided to use some {oldish} cuties (clementines) that were starting to dry up a bit. I'm all for using what you have and trying not to waste. I knew nobody was going to eat those cuties (they hadn't been the yummiest from the get-go, which was disappointing), and figured baking with them was the perfect economical solution. You certainly could use delicious fresh, flavorful oranges, or even orange juice made from concentrate.

I used only the peel from a couple of the better looking cuties (clementines), then supplemented with McCormick dried orange peel.

I just have to say that I was baking at the perfect time of day. I love it when the sunlight shines into the kitchen, and loved how it was reflecting off of my bowl as I was mixing and snapping a few pics.

As I was grabbing a loaf pan, this little baby caught my eye. Remember the old Corningware? With the blue flowers? I inherited this {vintage} dish from my Grandma G, so I fondly thought of her as I baked.

(Can you see Jack lounging in the sunlight by the glass door? He was loving it, too.)

MY FAVORITE CRANBERRY BREAD

2 cups all-purpose flour
1-1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
3/4 cup plain Greek yogurt
1 cup sugar
1 large egg
3/4 cup orange juice
1 Tbs. orange zest (or dried orange peel... or a combination)
1-1/2 cups fresh whole cranberries
1/2 cup walnuts, roughly chopped

Whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and orange zest. Set aside.

In a large bowl, whisk together yogurt, sugar, egg, and orange juice. Stir in the flour mixture, then gently stir in cranberries and walnuts.

Put into a greased loaf pan and bake at 350 degrees until a toothpick inserted into center comes out clean, 50 to 60 minutes. Cool 10 minutes, then remove from pan to cool. Slice and serve.

Sooooo yummy.

Parker House Rolls a la Bobby Flay

I love these rolls.

Thank you, Bobby Flay.

PARKER HOUSE ROLLS A LA BOBBY FLAY

Ingredients:
1-1/2 cups milk
1 stick butter, cut into pieces, plus more for brushing
1/2 cup sugar
1 pkg. active dry yeast (I used 1 Tbs.)
1/2 cup warm water
3 large eggs, lightly beaten
1-1/2 tsp. salt
6 cups all-purpose flour

Directions:
Place milk in a small saucepan and bring to a simmer. Remove from heat, then stir in the butter and sugar and let cool. (I placed the milk and butter in the microwave until the butter was melted, then stirred in the sugar and let cool.) Dissolve yeast in warm water and let sit until foamy. Combine milk mixture, eggs, yeast, salt, and 1/2 of the flour in a mixer with the dough attachment (I used my KitchenAid) and mix until smooth. Add remaining flour, 1/2 cup at a time, and stir until a smooth ball forms.

Remove from the bowl and knead by hand on a floured surface for about 5 minutes. Place in a greased bowl, cover, and let rise in a warm place until doubled, about 1 hour. On a floured surface, punch down the dough and shape as desired. Place on a parchment-lined baking sheet; cover again and let rise until doubled, about 30 to 40 minutes.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Bake for about 20 minutes or until golden brown. Remove from oven and brush with melted butter before serving.

I tried shaping the rolls (pictured above) using a technique by Alex Guarnaschelli I saw in a Food Network magazine. I like it! Here is a link if you're interested (slide 11-17).

(If you go to the Bobby Flay link there is a video of him making rolls, and after watching I have concluded that he has no idea how to shape rolls.)

Bread Bowls

This was my first attempt EVER at making bread bowls.  They turned out so awesome, I will never purchase them again.  Unless I don't have the time to make them ;-)  Recipe adapted from here.

Bread Bowls

2 (.25 oz) pkgs. active dry yeast (I buy in bulk, so I used a kitchen scale to measure)
2-1/2 cups warm water (110 degrees)
2 tsp. salt
2 Tbs. vegetable oil
7 cups flour (I used a little less)
1 Tbs. cornmeal
1 egg white
1 Tbs. water

In a large bowl, dissolve yeast in warm water.  Let stand until creamy, about 10 minutes.  Add salt, oil and 4 cups flour to the yeast mixture; beat well.  Stir in the remaining flour, 1/2 cup at a time.  When the dough has pulled together, turn it out onto a lightly floured surface and knead until smooth and elastic, about 6 minutes.  *Note: I mixed and kneaded using my Bosch mixer.

Lightly oil a large bowl, place the dough in the bowl and turn to coat with oil.  Cover with plastic wrap sprayed with nonstick spray and let rise in a warm place until doubled in bulk (my oven has a Proof setting - love it), about 40 minutes.

Punch dough down, and divide into 8 equal portions.   Shape each portion into a 4" round loaf.  Place loaves on lightly greased baking sheets sprinkled with cornmeal.  *Note: I doubled the batch, then measured my dough into 8 oz. portions (larger than what is suggested here).  A double batch made 12 large bread bowls and one small.  I baked 4 bowls per sheet, and fit the small bowl on the final sheet with the 4 larger bowls.

Cover with plastic wrap sprayed with nonstick spray, and let rise in a warm place until doubled, about 35 minutes.

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.  In a small bowl, beat together egg white and 1 Tbs. water;  lightly brush loaves with egg wash, then bake in a preheated oven for 15 minutes (I baked them 20 minutes for their larger size).  Brush with remaining egg wash and bake 10 to 15 minutes more, or until golden and hollow-sounding when tapped.  Cool on wire racks.

To make bowls, cut a 1/2" slice from the top of the loaf; scoop out centers (nothing fancy, just use your fingers), leaving 3/4" thick shells.  Fill bread bowls with hot soup and serve immediately.  YUM!

Quick Mixer Bread

I thought I had lost this recipe the last time I wanted to make bread, so I figured I would get it posted, just in case I am ever in such a panic again.  This is a staple around here, not only for yummy home-made white bread, but for cinnamon rolls and scones.  I've only made it in a Bosch mixer (a very OLD Bosch mixer - but I'm not complaining!).  Mi mamita showed me how to make it years ago - I can't thank her enough.

(I was looking through my files for a picture of this delicious bread, and then noticed that it's on the blog header... along with the cinnamon rolls AND scones... all of which are made from this very recipe.  Check them out there!)

QUICK MIXER BREAD

Put into mixer:
7 cups flour
1 cup non-instant powdered milk (good use of food storage)
1 cube butter or margarine (I prefer butter), softened
1/2 cup sugar
1 to 1-1/2 Tbs. salt
2 Tbs. instant yeast (I have used regular yeast and it works great too)

Blend with whips in mixer.  Add six cups of warm water and two eggs all at once before turning on whips again.  Whip until batter is smooth.  Put in bread hook and turn on mixer again.  Add more flour until you have a good bread texture (9 to 10 cups).  Mix for 10 minutes.  Turn off mixer and cover for 15 minutes.  Put butter on counter (because I have tile countertops, I use a large plastic cutting board with a damp towel underneath) and divide dough into loaves and roll out with a rolling pin.  (I roll into a rectangle, then tightly roll up, pinch and tuck ends, and pinch the end of the roll, placing it on the bottom of the pan.)  You can cook two loaves in a cake pan (I use bread pans, and have discovered that glass pans work best).  Let raise for about an hour or until double in bulk.  Bake for 25 to 30 minutes at 350 degrees.  Enjoy!