It's only day three of Kevin being gone out of a reaaaally long two weeks and I'm already bored. So today I thought, why not make some bread? Real bread making (which I've never done before) is a long process (so I've heard) that will take up the majority of the day. Perfect.
I'm a carb-a-holic and I salivate over The Fresh Loaf, so I decided to jump in head first and try to make their recipe for Honey Whole Wheat Bread.
Honey Whole Wheat Bread - makes 2 loaves
- 1 lb whole wheat flour (about 3 cups)
- 12 oz hot water
- 8 ounces bread or all-purpose flour (about 1 cup)
- 1 5 oz can evaporated milk... or milk, or more water or soy if you are vegan (used semi skimmed evaporated milk)
- 1/3 cup honey
- 2 tsp salt
- 3 tsp instant yeast
- an additional 1/2-1 cup flour, as necessary, to achieve the desired consistency
Mix the hot water and whole wheat flour together in a bowl. Cover the bowl with plastic and set aside until around room temperature, at least 1 hour.
Add the milk, honey, salt, yeast, and bread flour to the original mixture and mix until well combined. Add additional flour and knead by hand or in a stand mixer until a tacky but not completely sticky dough is formed. Place the ball of dough in a well-oiled bowl, cover with plastic wrap, and set aside to rise for 60 to 90 minutes.
Divide the dough in two and shape the loaves. Place the loaves in greased bread pans, cover the pans loosely with plastic (I put them in a plastic bag), and set aside to rise again for 90 minutes.
During the final 30 minutes of rising, preheat the oven to 425 degrees. Place the pans into the oven and immediately reduce the oven temperature to 375 degrees. Bake for approximately 45 to 55 minutes, rotating the pans once so that they brown evenly, until the internal temperature of the loaves is around 190 degrees and the bottom of the loaf sounds hollow when tapped.
Divide the dough in two and shape the loaves. Place the loaves in greased bread pans, cover the pans loosely with plastic (I put them in a plastic bag), and set aside to rise again for 90 minutes.
During the final 30 minutes of rising, preheat the oven to 425 degrees. Place the pans into the oven and immediately reduce the oven temperature to 375 degrees. Bake for approximately 45 to 55 minutes, rotating the pans once so that they brown evenly, until the internal temperature of the loaves is around 190 degrees and the bottom of the loaf sounds hollow when tapped.
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Can I be a little proud of myself? I feel like this is a huge step in learning how to cook/bake. I wish it had risen more because the slices aren't that big.. I'm assuming letting it rise longer before splitting the dough would help. I still can't believe I made bread without it being a huge disaster! Without the help of a machine, might I add. And it's pretty darn tasty too. I'm going to save one loaf for Kevin (in the freezer, I think?) and try and not eat the rest in one sitting.
Thanks for the recipe, I made it yesterday and it's delicious. I think that it will rise more if you add the yeast to the wheat flour before you add the hot water to it, as hot water activates the yeast.
ReplyDeleteI'm glad you liked it!
ReplyDeleteWhat kind of yeast were you using? With instant yeast, I was under the impression that as soon as you mix it with anything wet, it would activate. Whereas, active dry yeast needs the hot water to activate. I could definitely be wrong as I'm just learning to cook/bake.
I will definitely try what you suggested the next time I make this. :)
No clue. It's the only kind I can find in the grocery and my French doesn't extend to reading yeast packets :)
ReplyDelete