Homemade Bread for Everyone!

Hello there! Renée here, ready to teach you all the ins and outs of bread-making! Before we get started you should drop everything you know about what you think making homemade bread looks like. Yes, there is wheat grinding in the morning, no, it does not look like me attached to a crank whilst wearing a bonnet (Insert laugh here).

About nine years ago our family made an investment in quite the extraordinary machine. It actually grinds the wheat berries up for you! All in, like, minutes! Sure it sounds like a small jet engine is going off in your kitchen, but seriously, the result from grinding your own wheat is, dare I say, HEAVENLY! I'm not even kidding! You ready for this? Let's get to it!

First, you get your wheat berries ready. Not sure what wheat berries even look like? Let me hook you up with a visual.

Aren't they beautiful? Now don't you worry if you don't have any wheat berries, or even wheat flour in your cupboard. You still can totally jump on this bread train. Lucky for the entire universe, this recipe and tutorial can be used with just about any flour you choose. I just happen to prefer freshly ground wheat. (Of course, I will fill you in on any changes if you are using all-purpose flour, or any type of flour.)

For the bread you will need:
2C hot water
1/3C oil
1/3C honey (any sweetener will do)
1T Yeast
2t salt
3-4T wheat gluten (only if using whole wheat flour, and even then, not entirely necessary)
6ish C flour

Once you command this machine to grind your berries into a magically soft and fluffy flour it will look like this masterpiece below. You can definitely run your fingers through this flour and feel it. Go on, you know you want to!

About this time, your children may or may not run into the kitchen with great excitement because mom is making bread and, believe me, fresh, warm bread is waaaayyy better than store bought!

 

Now that you have established that there will in fact be fresh bread in a couple of hours, let's get started with the mixing! 

First, you are going to combine 1/2C of hot water (just about the temp you'd like for a nice bath) with 1T yeast, 1/3 oil, and 1/3C honey, or any sweetener you choose (sugar, molasses, etc.) 

*For these next few steps you can use your kitchen mixer, or, if you want a mega arm workout, you can mix it with a wooden spoon in a plain bowl. Both will produce wonderful results!

Let this mixture sit for about ten minutes. You will notice your yeast starting to grow and become frothy. I love this part! Once your yeast gets all nice and airy you can start adding in the rest of the ingredients. Add the remaining 1.5C water, 2t salt, 3-4T wheat gluten(only if using wheat flour), and mix in about three to four cups of the flour. Once this mixture starts to look like the picture below you will want to stick your dough hook on and mix in the remaining flour (about two cups).

 

You should notice your dough start to pull from the sides on the bowl, about this time I like to finish kneading by hand. Of course you could let the mixer do this part, (takes about five additional minutes from the time it starts to pull from the sides) but I think my bread turns out better when I can feel for myself when it's come to that perfectly soft stage it needs to be. If kneading by hand, don't be afraid to really flip and flop it about. You'll want to push it flat with the heel of your hand and then fold it back over, repeating this process until you have formed a nice and smooth ball of dough.

 

Don't worry if you don't get the entire six cups worked into your ball of dough. You should have a smooth ball formed when done with the kneading process. Just like a baby's bottom, it should be nice and soft to the touch.

Now we are going to place this ball in an oiled bowl (large enough to allow for doubling). Roll your dough around just enough to get a nice little touch of oil on the whole surface. Cover with a light towel and allow it to double in size. This step usually takes about an hour, but the time fluctuates depending on the temperature in your kitchen.

 

Once your dough has doubled, you get to punch it in and let it rise again. So sad, but totally worth it!

After you have punched the dough down divide the dough in half and work each piece into a small loaf. Place each one in a buttered and floured bread pan to rise again. If you want your bread to look even fancier this is when you would take a knife and make three slits across the top. Cover with a light towel and let rise for about an hour and a half, or until doubled.

It should look like this when done rising. The top of the bread is just about an inch over the top of the bread pan. In the summertime it will grow even higher! Just be careful, the higher it grows, the more sensitive I have found it to be with my steps.

Once you have your bread all ready to go, you want to turn the over on 325 degrees and bake for 35 minutes. Do not preheat the oven!

Remember to rub butter all over the top once you've taken it out of the oven! That step is essential! I mean, how can you have fresh baked bread without butter?

Here's how. YOU CAN'T!

 

If you want an even more decadent treat, mix up one stick of softened butter with one block cream cheese, add some honey and enjoy the heck out of it spread all over your bread slices! You're welcome!

I hope you have success with this bread recipe! If you don't, you can totally come to my house for a taste test and tutorial where I will force you to eat an entire loaf with me. This loaf will be covered in honey butter, garlic butter, or cheese. Lots of cheese! You will never be the same! In a good way, of course! LOL

Happy bread making!


Renée