Update: I recently learned that hard wheat has enough gluten in it to hold bread together it just needs to be activated. Lemon juice does that! So if you don't have any Vital Wheat Gluten you don't really need it just try some lemon juice to help activate the gluten already in it! We have tried it and it works great! We have also substituted the honey for agave and it gave it a little lighter flavor I kind of liked it better although it's good either way!
As far as just regular simple bread dough goes I just love this recipe! I have tried some "other food storage" bread recipes and they tasted more like cardboard. I pretty much use this dough for EVERYTHING; Fry bread, (known as scones where I grew up;) rolls, soup bowls, cinnamon rolls, doughnuts, pull apart bread, pizza dough, pretzels, and of course BREAD. You name it we have tried it with this recipe! Again I just love how versatile it is.
Oh and by the way my daughter is now 13 and is usually the one who makes this dough up she enjoys doing it and says if I get a bread mixer she won't use it. She makes amazing perfect dough every time. (she says the secret is to not use too much flour if it gets sticky while kneading just oil your hands with a little olive oil) She has taught her 11 year old brother how to make it too! Maybe I don't need that bread mixer after all! ;) My next goal it to take this recipe and try it with other grains!
I love this bread recipe! It makes great bread bowls, yummy cinnamon rolls, and wonderful bread. It's very fool proof! I have never been a good bread maker but this turns out great every time. My 11 year old daughter made it yesterday with very little help from me. The picture is of the bread she made it turned out GREAT! She said she wants to make it again WITHOUT my help!
As far as just regular simple bread dough goes I just love this recipe! I have tried some "other food storage" bread recipes and they tasted more like cardboard. I pretty much use this dough for EVERYTHING; Fry bread, (known as scones where I grew up;) rolls, soup bowls, cinnamon rolls, doughnuts, pull apart bread, pizza dough, pretzels, and of course BREAD. You name it we have tried it with this recipe! Again I just love how versatile it is.
Oh and by the way my daughter is now 13 and is usually the one who makes this dough up she enjoys doing it and says if I get a bread mixer she won't use it. She makes amazing perfect dough every time. (she says the secret is to not use too much flour if it gets sticky while kneading just oil your hands with a little olive oil) She has taught her 11 year old brother how to make it too! Maybe I don't need that bread mixer after all! ;) My next goal it to take this recipe and try it with other grains!
I love this bread recipe! It makes great bread bowls, yummy cinnamon rolls, and wonderful bread. It's very fool proof! I have never been a good bread maker but this turns out great every time. My 11 year old daughter made it yesterday with very little help from me. The picture is of the bread she made it turned out GREAT! She said she wants to make it again WITHOUT my help!
Best Yet Whole Wheat BreadHand Method: Yep I still don't have a mixer ;) (yields 2 loaves)
1/3 Cup honey or agave
1/3 Cup honey or agave
1/3 Cup extra virgin olive oil
2 1/2 Cup Warm Water
1 1/2 Tablespoons Yeast
1 Tablespoon Real Salt
6-7 Cups Fresh Ground Whole Wheat Flour (I used hard white wheat)
1 1/2 Tablespoons Vital Wheat Gluten OR 1-2 Tablespoons Lemon Juice
Combine the warm water, yeast, and 2 Cups of fresh whole wheat flour in a large mixing bowl. Allow to sponge for 15 minutes. Add the honey, oil, Vital Wheat Gluten, salt and 4-5 Cups additional flour until the dough begins to clean the sides of the mixing bowl. Do not allow the dough to get too stiff (too dry). Dough should be smooth and elastic. It is a common mistake for the beginning bakers to add too much flour.
Knead the bread by hand 7-10 minutes or until it is very smooth, elastic, and small bubbles or blisters appear beneath the surface of the dough. If you are kneading by hand, be sure to add the minimum amount of flour to keep the dough soft and pliable by using a tsp of oil on your hands and kneading surface.
Form the dough into 2 loaves and put in greased loaf pans or 5-6 loaves balls if making bread bowls and place on cookie sheet. Allow to rise in a slightly warmed oven or other warm place until doubled in size (about 30-60 minutes).
Bake loaves for 25-30 minutes in a 350 degree oven. Bread is cooked through when it sounds hollow when tapped on the bottom, and when the top and sides are a golden brown color.
Knead the bread by hand 7-10 minutes or until it is very smooth, elastic, and small bubbles or blisters appear beneath the surface of the dough. If you are kneading by hand, be sure to add the minimum amount of flour to keep the dough soft and pliable by using a tsp of oil on your hands and kneading surface.
Form the dough into 2 loaves and put in greased loaf pans or 5-6 loaves balls if making bread bowls and place on cookie sheet. Allow to rise in a slightly warmed oven or other warm place until doubled in size (about 30-60 minutes).
Bake loaves for 25-30 minutes in a 350 degree oven. Bread is cooked through when it sounds hollow when tapped on the bottom, and when the top and sides are a golden brown color.
This Bread Recipe is VERSATILE! Use it to make cinnamon rolls, pizza, bread sticks, and more.
In the recipe, there's no dough enhancer, but in the instructions there is. How much, if any, do you put in?
ReplyDeleteI want my sister to make this bread bowl for me. What is Real Salt?
ReplyDeleteReal Salt is a type of sea salt. Real Salt is the brand name!
ReplyDeleteOh sorry, dough enhancer is the wheat gluten. I will change that on the recipe. Thanks!
ReplyDeleteLisa, I'm sure you could scale this recipe back and make it in a breadmaker. It may take a little playing with. If you breadmaker makes a pretty good size loaf I would probably start with just cutting the recipe in half and see how that works.
ReplyDeletePS I have Real Salt now. :) :)
ReplyDeleteI've put this in a breadmaker. :)
ReplyDeleteHey thanks Denise that's good to know. Also I hope you enjoy "Real" Salt! ;)
ReplyDeleteWhat kind of yeast do you use here? Instant or dry active? Since I already have dough enhancer (2yr supply), I'm going to try it instead of vital wheat gluten. I'll let you know how it turns out. I would also like your opinion on the healthiness of my dough enhancer. Ingr: Whey, soy lecithin, Tofu, Citric Acid, Sea salt, Corn starch, Enriched wheat flour, dry yeast.
ReplyDeleteI usually use SAF instant yeast or Red Star both seem to work good. The dough enhancer should work just fine in fact I have known people to add both the gluten and the dough enhancer. My opinion of the ingredients is that if I had a two year supply of it and it only takes a few Tablespoons per 2 loaves of bread and it makes yummy bread I would probably use it. But since I don't have a two year supply and the gluten seems to do the job I prefer it because the jury is still out on some of the ingredients in the dough enhancer! ;)
ReplyDeleteI just found your blog the other day. I love it! I was browsing and found your bread recipe here. I am currently obsessed with bread making :) I am curious what the dimensions of your bread pans are. In my experience that affects the end result because of the 4 loaf pans I have, 3 are slightly different dimensions.
ReplyDeleteThanks! I can't wait to make your bread!
Linda
Linda I used Pampered Chef Storeware bread pans. They are 6 cups in volume. I hope that helps. My recipe makes the 2 loaves pictured in those pans! Hope that helps!
ReplyDeleteI decided to double the recipe and discovered that it is almost identical to the one I've been using for years. The techniques, however, are different and make such a better loaf! I am ecstatic to have bread that is lighter, softer, and spongier than ever before.
ReplyDeleteBecause your recipe has hand mix instructions, I was able to use it to teach my cousin how to make bread, who doesn't have a mixer.
Also, I used 1 Tbsp of Dough Enhancer instead of 1.5 Tbsp of gluten with NO PROBLEMS.
Once, I was out of honey and substituted agave with no problems!
I use this recipe (with honey and gluten) for our daily bread. My family loves it and they aren't happy if I happen to run out and have to buy store bought stuff til I can make it again! :)
ReplyDeleteBTW, this is very similar to the recipe that my mom has made for as long as I can remember.
This is the same recipe that I use. I just love it for everything , too. I have tried other grains such as spelt and kamut with this recipe. If you use kamut, I wouldn't use more than half kamut to half regular whole wheat flour, but you can use a little more than half with the spelt. If you use ALL kamut the loaves are very soft. Since kamut is so expensive, you can have a great tasting loaf with just half the kamut flour.
ReplyDeleteI gotta get me a bread maker like yours. I suppose in a few years...I'll have one, maybe she can take lessons from Missy. The only problem is they only last through about 10 years of bread makin' and then they're off to conquer the world...one loaf at a time. Maybe I should have Missy teach ME how to make 'em! :)
ReplyDeleteLove you...hope you are well!!!
I love this recipe! This past week I made hamburger buns. I rolled out the dough and used a cup to cut it into circles and baked on a cookie sheet for about 13 minutes. They were so light and even my husband didn't mind them, which is saying a lot!
ReplyDeleteThis is the only recipe that I use, thank you so much!