Wednesday, April 25, 2012

Easy whole wheat sandwhich bread

For this recipe you only need your hands to 
hold the wooden spoon. 
Trust me. 
Now relax and keep reading...


***scroll down for recipe***

I am not a food junkie, nor a "granola" kind of person (nothing wrong if you are),
 but I like real food.
By real, I mean the least processed. 
Hard White Wheat that I buy in bulk (50lb)
I want to be able to read the ingredients on a food label, 
you know, things like milk, flour, sugar, butter...and so on.
Unfortunately even organic food can have ingredients 
I can't read out loud, and organic does not necessarily means NOT processed.

One of the things I wanted for a long time was a grain mill. 
I knew I needed something that got the job done fast and that needed to last a long(er) time. 
Those qualifications meant paying a higher price for a quality small appliance, but that would pay off in the long run anyway. I kept looking, comparing prices and hoping the right deal would come along.
A couple of months passed, until I found this
 Wonder Mill on Amazon. 

Used, like new condition. 
I had a gift card for Amazon and my out of pocket was going to be $50, compared to $240+. 
Not too shabby!
I jumped on the deal and order it right away. A week passed, and I received the package in the mail. 
I was SO excited. I plugged it in, and nothing. Did not make any noise, nothing. Dead. I was furious sad to say the least! 
Called the seller and he apologized and
sent me in the mail a BRAND NEW Wonder Mill.
Now that $50 was the best money I have ever spent! 
This bad boy comes with a lifetime warranty!
It has been almost 2 years since I bought my Wonder Mill, and I have to say I have grinded 100lb +- of wheat. 


That equals a lot of bread, pizza, pasta and bakery products.

Ok, on to this sandwich bread recipe.

I have tried numerous bread recipes and have come to love and perfect two of those.
This one is for an all American sandwich bread, 
the soft kind!

Ingredients
3 ½ cups whole wheat flour
1 teaspoons salt
1 Tb active dry yeast
2 cups warm water
2 Tablespoons agave syrup or maple syrup


Makes one large loaf.
If you double the recipe bake it in 3 pans to prevent overflowing


Directions


In a large mixing bowl whisk together the whole wheat flour, salt, and yeast.




Add the water and maple syrup to the bowl, and mix with a wooden spoon until smooth (a couple of minutes). 

 The dough should be wet and sticky!



Cover the bowl with a plastic bag and let it rise about 1 hour. 




(I use shower caps, that I buy for $1 -pack of 15- at the $tree)



Mix the dough again with the wooden spoon for 30 seconds, and allow it to rise once more, covered, at room temperature for another hour.

Preheat oven to 350°F. Stir the dough one last time and pour it in lightly oiled loaf pan.  





Let sit covered with a plastic bag for about 30 minutes leaving room under the plastic bag so the dough can rise.



This dough has a high water content, so put a cookie sheet under the loaf pan, in case it spills over. During baking, the dough will rise a little more.

Bake for 45 minutes.



Remove the bread from the loaf pan after it has cooled off a bit, and wait until completely cool before slicing.



I know, It's painful since your kitchen is now smelling like a bakery!


Now you can finally touch your bread and eat it!






I usually double this recipe and slice one loaf to put in the freezer to use later on.
Happy baking!




Stay frugal,


Daniela

Linking to The Kings Court IV
Savvy Southern Style
Thrifty101
At the picket fence
My Favorite Finds
The Frugal Girls






4 comments:

Kelly said...

Well aren't you clever?! Making your very own sandwich bread. I'm impressed beyond words! What I'm most impressed with is that you literally started from the raw grain to make the flour. Your bread looks delicious! I wish I could just reach through the computer and grab a piece. It would even be good heated with butter on it as a side of bread with dinner. Using shower caps is a great idea too. You can wash them out and reuse them.

Carrie @ My Favorite Finds said...

That's super cool. I love bread, but I've never made my own sandwich bread. Thanks for sharing at Must Try Monday!

Liz @ Quirky Vistas said...

I want some, I want some, I want some! Good for you grinding your own wheat. What a great idea to take it from scratch, completely! This looks so good I'm thinking I will give it a try. I love bread. Fresh warm bread and butter! Nice job!
Liz

Kim said...

I made this with red fife flour today and it is a huge hit. Thank you Sooooo much. this will be a regular product in our household, especially for the kids lunches!