Sunday, February 6, 2011

Honey Whole Wheat Bread

* This is a re-post of a recipe I originally posted in April 2010... I've just updated it to use a healthy oil and updated the instructions to add a little more detail.* 

I have made this bread many times in the last year.  For awhile there, I was making it weekly.  Then I got into sourdough and other breads, so it has been quite a while since I've made this.  I decided to re-visit it this morning and bake a couple loaves.  I switched out the canola oil for a healthy oil (coconut oil), but otherwise this was a great recipe.  It turned out just as delicious with the coconut oil, too.  This is seriously such a soft, yummy bread and is our overall favorite bread. 

I'd like to do some more testing with this recipe since it's our favorite.  I want to try soaking the grains.  I will update and re-post if I'm successful in the coming weeks. 

* Here is the original post.*
I tried out a new bread recipe a couple of weeks ago and made it again this morning. I just haven't gotten around to posting the recipe yet. This comes from Two Peas and Their Pod and it is sooooo good! This is by far our favorite bread so far... and will be our "regular" bread for awhile now. This makes a great sandwich bread. And it is so simple to make. I really liked that it has all whole wheat flour. So many recipes seem to just have partial whole wheat flour in addition to the highly processed all-purpose or bread flour. But not this recipe! Anyway, like I said, this is a delicious bread. This makes 2 loaves, which is nice because you can either freeze the second loaf, or present it as a gift to someone. Perfect!

Honey Whole Wheat Bread

3 cups whole wheat flour
1 T vital wheat gluten
2 packets of yeast (or 4 1/2 teaspoons)
2 1/2 cups warm water

In a large mixing bowl (preferably a KitchenAid), add the 3 cups flour, wheat gluten, and yeast. Stir. Add in warm water and stir until combined. Let sit for 10 minutes.

1/3 cup coconut oil
1/3 cup honey
1 1/2 T lemon juice
1 T sea salt
3 1/2-4 cups whole wheat flour

Mix the oil, honey, lemon juice, and salt in a small bowl. Add to flour mixture after the 10 minutes. Mix until combined. Add in the additional flour and mix.  I usually switch to my dough hook when I'm adding this flour.  Add in the first 3 cups of flour first, continue to mix.  Then, add in about 1/4 cup of flour at a time until the dough is no longer sticking to the bowl.  You don't want the dough to be too wet so that it sticks to the bowl or your hands.  Dough that is too wet makes a dense bread.  You don't want it to be too dry, either... else you'll get dry bread.  If you stop adding flour once the dough is pulling away from the sides of the bowl, you'll end up with a perfect loaf of bread... not dense, not dry, but moist and soft and airy. 

Next, knead the dough for ten minutes with the dough hook. When it is done divide the dough into two loaves. Make sure they are even. Shape them into loaf form. Place the dough into 2 loaf pans that have been sprayed with cooking spray. Cover with a clean towel and let rise for 30 minutes.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. After the loaves have risen, bake them for 30 minutes. They should be golden brown. Let cool before slicing, if you can wait. You can freeze one of the loaves if you wish.

This post is re-posted as part of Monday Mania at Healthy Home Economist and Tuesday Twister at GNOWFGLINS.

3 comments:

Amy North said...

So here's a question-- could you make this recipe without the honey and lemon juice and have it still work? I know it probably wouldn't taste nearly as good, but honey is a bit pricey, and that's a LOT of honey for one recipe. Or would sugar work instead? Thanks Sara! I love this blog! :)

The Voogts said...

So glad you posted this! I've been wanting to make 100% ww bread...especially now ;) And I've been wanting to try using vital wheat gluten to improve texture. But I can't find it at Meijer. I've had it on my grocery list for over a month now :P Where did you find it? I'm hoping maybe I'll find it at one of the other stores I visit this week. I can't find coconut oil at Meijer anymore either. Very annoying.

Sara said...

Amy, I'm sure you could omit the honey and lemon juice and still have the bread rise and cook properly. It would change the taste, but if you increased the sugar a bit, it'd keep it somewhat sweet, I'd think.

Mary, as I was posting this last night, I thought of you mentioning your new food goals. :) I think I actually bought this vital wheat gluten at Meijer if I remember correctly. It's Hodgson Mill brand. I remember needing it for another bread recipe a few months back and not being able to get to Whole Foods to pick some up. I've bought it at Whole Foods in the past. But I'm pretty sure I actually did find this at Meijer. Back in January, maybe? Its been awhile now. I keep it in the fridge so it stays fresh this long, too.