100% Whole Wheat Bread

I been making bread for many years and it has taken me a long time to figure out how to make really great bread! The tricky thing is, you can't just give someone a recipe and it'll turn out perfectly. You have to understand how bread making works to know just the right amount of flour.  Plus it's the wheat that really makes a big difference. I was using red winter wheat for a long time and couldn't figure out why my loaves looked so different than Great Harvest Bread. I finally changed to Hard White Spring Wheat and it made all the difference!

Enjoy the journey as you try this recipe!

100% Whole Wheat Bread

Makes Six 8-inch loaves (For one loaf, see note*)

In Bosch mixing bowl, combine and mix on speed 1 until well blended:
(If you don't have a mixer, use a big bowl and a spoon)
6 cups hot tap water
2/3 cup oil
2/3 cup honey
2 Tbsp SAF instant yeast
4-6 freshly milled flour (Hard White Wheat, Spring usually)

Switch to speed 2:
(If you don't have a mixer, use the spoon until it gets too hard then use your clean hands.)
Add 2 Tbsp salt
Add slowly 6-10 cups whole wheat flour while kneading. Sprinkle in the last of the flour 1/4 cup at a time. Remember that whole wheat flour will absorb more moisture over time, so less is more. If you've made white bread, you're used to knowing it's done when the dough pulls away from the side, but for wheat bread, it still needs to be a little sticky. Put your clean finger on the dough and let go. If it gently sticks to your finger then the dough is finished. (The amount of flour varies based on the season and moisture in the air.)

Knead: on speed 2 for another 5 minutes (or knead with hands: fold in one side, push with the heel of your hand, then turn bowl 1/4 turn. Repeat many, many times!)

Prepare: Get six 8-in loaf pans and spray with non-stick spray or grease with oil/butter

Shape: Grab some dough with your hand and pinch (don't pull) off 1.5 lbs.  Slap the dough ball to release any air bubbles, then tuck under the edges to form a ball. Drop into the pan then tuck the edges down the sides to form the look of a loaf. Repeat for the rest of the loaves.

Rise: Cover with towel or individual bread bags and let rise about an hour, or until doubled in size.

Bake: Place in COLD oven then turn on oven to 350 degrees. Bake 30-35 minutes until tops are golden brown.  Once you take them out, push a knife down the sides for easy removal. Slide the bread out of the pan. Tap the bottom of the loaf, it should sound hollow. If not, put back in for a few more minutes.

*For one loaf use these measurements:
1 C water
2T oil
2T honey
1t yeast 1t salt
2-3 c flour

Breakfast Souffle

I did a breakfast meeting with my church this morning and made the following recipe. It was given to me by my Aunt. It was simple to make and quite tasty. This is great for a big gathering, and very filling.

Breakfast Souffle

12 eggs
4 c. cubed bread, about 8 slices (I used 1/2 a loaf of french bread)
1 lb. sausage, browned  (optional, I omitted since we served sausage separately)
1 tsp dried mustard (optional, but I think this is the secret ingredient that makes it good)
dash of ground pepper
1 Qt milk
4 C. grated cheddar cheese
1 tsp. salt

In a greased 9 x 13 pan, place cubed bread and grated cheese.  Mix eggs, milk, salt, pepper and dried mustard, and pour over the bread cubes.  Sprinkle browned sausage over the top, and refrigerate overnight.  Bake for 1 hour at 350 degrees.

Bread Pudding - French Toast Cake

I was given some left-over hard rolls from a party. I took them to feed to the ducks, but then figured I could try to make something out of it. This is what came out, bread pudding! I wasn't sure what texture bread pudding should be. This is really more like a cake than a pudding. My children called it "French Toast Cake."  I made it twice since we had so many rolls. The second time was for breakfast, it was good!


Bread Pudding - French Toast Cake

Ingredients:
Stale bread - Enough to fill a 9x13 pan (you can use white or wheat)
6 eggs
3 cups skim milk
1/2 cup succanat (you can use brown sugar if you don't have succanat)
4 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon clove
as needed vegetable oil spray

1. Break up the stale bread and spread into a sprayed 9x13 pan.  (If it's not stale enough, then leave out until crusty.)
2. Mix all other ingredients together
3. Drizzle mixture onto bread pieces and fold in so that all the bread has been soaked
4. Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes
5. Enjoy! This has an almost cake-like texture.

Carrot Cheddar Biscuits

I made up this recipe by looking at my drop biscuit recipe plus some recipes for corn bread and cheddar biscuits. I wanted a little bit of a corny taste but with carrots and cheddar as the main taste. They turned out delicious!

Carrot Cheddar Biscuits

1 1/2 c flour (I used whole wheat)
1/2 c corn flour (I used freshly ground popcorn, but you can use corn meal.)
2 t baking powder
1/2 t salt
1/4 t baking soda
1/4 t garlic powder
1 T chopped dried onions
1/3 c canola oil
almost 1 c milk
1 T vinegar
1 1/2 c grated carrots (chopped in food processor)
1/2 c grated cheddar cheese
1/8 c melted butter (optional)


1. Mix flours, baking powder, salt, soda, garlic powder, and dried onions together in a medium sized bowl.
2. Pour in canola oil and use pastry blender to mix into a wet sandy texture.
3. Put 1T vinegar in a measuring cup then pour milk to fill it to 1 cup. Add milk, vinegar, and carrots to bowl and fold in.
4. Add cheddar cheese and melted butter.
5. Drop onto a cookie sheet, makes 12 biscuits.
6. Bake in a preheated oven at 450 degrees for 18-20 minutes.

Drop Biscuits

These are fast, easy, & healthy. I make them "drop biscuit" style so I don't have to have the time or mess when rolling out the dough. The recipe can easily be doubled.


Drop Biscuits
2 cups whole wheat flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoons salt
1/4 teaspoons baking soda
1/3 cup oil/fat*
1 cup milk/liquid concoction**

1. Preheat oven to 450 degrees F. Grease cookie sheet.
2. In large mixing bowl combine flour, baking powder, salt & soda.
3. Add oil and milk and stir with spoon just until moistened.
4. Drop batter by tablespoonfuls onto cookie sheet.
5. Bake for 6-10 minutes or until lightly browned. (6 minutes is slightly undercooked but it makes them very good and moist. They can finish baking outside the oven while they stay on the hot pan for a few minutes.) Serve warm.  Makes about 12 biscuits.

* Use any kind of oil – canola, vegetable, olive, etc. OR You can use any kind of solid fat- butter, margarine, coconut oil. If using a solid then cut the fat into the dry mixture using a pastry blender (or two knives or forks) until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Then add milk.
** I say milk or liquid concoction because you can use whatever.  Buttermilk, half plain yogurt/half milk, 1T vinegar or lemon juice plus water/milk/zuchinni puree, whatever!

Notes:
1. You could also just do step #2 and make a homemade biscuit mix. When it comes time to make the biscuits just add the oil and milk then bake. Or use the baking mix to make waffles and pancakes.
2. When using whole wheat flour, you can let it rest for a few minutes after mixing to let the flour fully absorb liquids. If you replace with white flour, you may need to add a little more flour or decrease liquid.