Whole Wheat Bread Happiness

It has taken me a long time to make the kind of whole wheat bread I can be happy with.   I love being assured of fresh, natural and quality ingredients resulting in bread so tasty it could be dessert, yet  going above and beyond with  life giving nutrients.  You can make a good bread too, with a few valuable secrets. 

 For this recipe you will need to grind approximately 12 cups of wheat.

Yield: 4 large loaves (4X8) or 6 smaller loaf pans

6 cups warm water  (115-120 degrees)

2 1/2 Tablespoons instant yeast (I use SAF)

3/4 cup raw or local honey if available

     Heat water in microwave.  Make sure of proper temperature (too hot kills yeast).  Pour water in large mixing bowl, sprinkle in yeast and add honey; stir and let rest 3-5 minutes until yeast activates and becomes bubbly. 

ADD:

8 cups fresh ground whole wheat flour. 

     Stir until smooth.  This is the SPONGE.  Cover and let rest for 15-20 minutes.

Now ADD:

1 cup canola oil

2 Tablespoons salt, I usually use sea salt

 2/3 cup vital wheat gluten powder  (store in fridge)

 OR 2-3 Tablespoons dough enhancer

8-10 cups more whole wheat flour

    Whether using a bread mixer, or stirring with a wooden spoon and then kneading, follow these rules:  Add flour at 1- 2 cup increments, stirring well.   I never measure the amount of flour, instead I watch how the dough begins to leave sides of bowl; keep adding small amounts of flour until dough is pliable to hold without sticking to your hands.  Too little flour will make your loaves fall after rising; too much will make the loaves  dry.  So keep a watch and add just enough flour until the dough is non sticky.  Knead dough 5 minutes by hand, or 3- 5 minutes in bread mixer.  Over kneading whole wheat dough may result in loaves that won't rise as well.

     Divide dough into 4 parts, let rest 5 minutes.  Now roll and fold each piece inward on all sides, punching with fingers into the center, shaping into a loaf. Pinch together folded edges and place each loaf into a well sprayed loaf pan.  Cover loaves with plastic wrap to keep moist while rising and place loaves in room temperature. 

     Don't rush the rise.  Let the dough do it's slow rise.  With this ONE rise, (actually the 2nd, because of the sponge) whole wheat bread will have a better chance for a lofty, lighter loaf.  Let rise until double; about 45 minutes-1 hour.  Too warm (and fast) of a rise will cause loaves to be dense at the bottom and crumbly at the top.

     How to know when it's risen enough:  push finger 1/4 " into a corner of one loaf.  If a dent remains, it's time to bake. Be careful not to let it over rise.

BAKING:

Start with a high temperature of 400 degrees; bake 10 minutes.  This sets yeast cells and prevents loaves from rising higher while baking, causing air pockets in the crust. Decrease oven to 350 degrees and bake 20 minutes more.  For best results, make sure there is space between loaf pans in the oven so that heat can circulate evenly between loaves.

COOLING:

 Within 5 minutes, remove bread from loaf pans and place on cooking rack.

STORING:

Fresh whole wheat bread does not last long sitting in your bread drawer.  If you are not going to use it within 24 hours, slice it up, place in plastic bags; store in freezer.  Refrigerators do something to the texture and flavor of your bread.  After the bread cools and "cures" for a couple of hours, slice if desired and freeze it. This is a great strategy for making sandwiches in the morning when you're hoping they stay fresh til lunch time.

OTHER HELPS:

*Buy wheat, store wheat, rotate wheat, eat wheat.  Remember the story of Joseph in Egypt?  If we were to ever get into a drought situation where we could not plant food to grow, wheat would save us. It can even be sprouted for greens.  The fact that it has proteins makes it an ideally balanced food.  D&C 89

*Invest in a quality wheat grinder.  Ground wheat will lose it's optimal benefits if not used within a day or two. So grinding at the time of use is crucial to getting the full benefits of the protein in the wheat.. 

*The quality of the wheat used is very important.  Rotating wheat storage helps because older wheat will not taste the best, nor will it rise like you want.  Better off saving old wheat for the chickens. 

*I like using white wheat as it more consistently makes a soft loaf of bread.  Sometimes I have obtained wheat grown in the community where I live.  Fresh wheat like this is always great to try, the flavors often quite delicious and because it is so fresh, it bakes up fantastic.

*Protein content in wheat varies.  When shopping around, look for a content of 16-20% protein.

*It takes a little more yeast for whole wheat bread;  the instant yeast works best.  Proofing in water with the honey makes it work even better.

*Buy and store ingredients (in bulk) for bread making:  oil, yeast (store in freezer, and after opening in a sealed container in the fridge.  After being in the fridge for a while, it will also go flat, so beware), salt and honey.  Honey will keep indefinitely.

*Don't give up on wheat in our "gluten intolerant" world.  Keep studying and finding ways to make wheat work for you.  Experiment with butter, coconut oil, sour dough starters, etc.