100% Whole Wheat Bread

Hallelujah, this is a day I will forever remember! After many tries and failures at making 100% Whole Wheat Bread, I finally found a recipe that works for me! I'm so happy I could dance! I was so proud of my bread; I had to take a photo (is that vain?).

Awhile back, my Mom gave me a big bucket of wheat berries and so I went out to the garage where I keep the grinder (it's a messy job) and ground enough flour to make 6 loaves of bread (that's a lot of flour if you're wondering!). Then I came back in the house and began throwing ingredients into my Bosch. (For our wedding, my family gave Ben and me the Bosch Universal Mixer. They are the greatest mixers in the world! The Bosch comes with a blender, plastic bowl, dough hook, whips, splash ring, & cover. It does the kneading of my bread for me and cuts my time making bread or any other baking in half!) To my utter surprise, my bread came out of the oven looking...well, normal! I called Ben and told him it looked like storybook bread! :) He soon was at the front door for a sample right out of the oven!

If you are like me and love homemade bread, try this recipe out! If you don't have a mixer, then simply follow the instructions below for kneading by hand or visit the website where I found the recipe for some other great tips & recipes. Let me know how it goes!

100% Whole Wheat Bread
Large Mixer Method: (yields 5-6 loaves)

2/3 C honey
2/3 C oil (I used virgin coconut oil)
6 C warm water
3 TB Yeast
1 1/2 - 2 TB salt
16-20 C fresh whole wheat flour
3 TB vital gluten (buy at any health food store)

Combine the warm water, yeast, and 2 Cups of fresh whole wheat flour in a large mixing bowl. Allow to sponge for 15 minutes. Add the honey, oil, dough enhancer, salt and 4-5 C (12-16 C if using the Mix N Blend or Bosch) additional flour until the dough begins to clean the sides of the mixing bowl. Do not allow the dough to get too stiff (too dry). Dough should be smooth and elastic. It is a common mistake for the beginning bakers to add too much flour.

Knead the bread by hand 7-10 minutes or until it is very smooth, elastic, and small bubbles or blisters appear beneath the surface of the dough. Six to ten minutes of kneading by electric mixer (Use speed 1 on the Bosch Universal, and use speed 4 on the Mix n Blend - or use the Auto-Knead function) should be sufficient to develop the gluten if you are using fresh flour. If you are kneading by hand, be sure to add the minimum amount of flour to keep the dough soft and pliable by using a tsp of oil on your hands and kneading surface. Form the dough into 2 loaves if using the hand method or 5-6 loaves if using the Mix N Blend or Bosch Universal method. Place the dough into greased loaf pans. Allow to rise in a slightly warmed oven or other warm place until doubled in size (about 30-60 minutes).

Bake loaves for 25-30 minutes in a 350 degree oven. Bread is cooked through when it sounds hollow when tapped on the bottom, and when the top and sides are a golden brown color. Enjoy!