Holy Wheat Bread, Batman!!!

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Bread, glorious (homemade) bread

Making home-style, whole wheat bread by hand is easy.

As I got increasingly addicted to baking my own bread (particularly my favorite, sourdough), I experimented with different methods and ingredients. Some experiments weren’t successful. (Some were absolutely horrible.) This twist on James Beard’s original recipe (from Beard on Bread (the essential bread reference book) worked well. The original recipe requires only one rising. I give my wheat bread two risings instead of one. The result is moist, heavy bread that is good for sandwiches and tastes great toasted.

Making bread is a great way to spend a lazy Saturday and far easier than you think. This wheat bread is a great basic recipe for beginners.

You can quadruple this recipe with excellent results. If you decide to make larger batches this bread freezes well. Bag the bread while it’s still slightly warm; the bread will stay moister. If you want to want to start creating your own bread, here are some standard tips:

Don’t use any metallic bowls or utensils
Clean up as you cook
Always proof your yeast to make sure your bread will rise. In this recipe, you’ll use warm milk instead water.

In a small container put in a package of Fleishman’s active yeast (this is the brand I usually use).

Add 2 teaspoons of sugar.

To the yeast and sugar mixture, add ½ cup warm water.

Test the water on your wrist: it should be slight warmer than your wrist

The yeast is ready when its frothy on top, like a thick beer head.

Be patient. Making bread is not hard at all—waiting for it to rise, finish baking, and cool is.
Throw out the damn bread maker. Your hands are far better appliances. You don’t “knead” it. (Ouch!)

Ingredients

1 package active dry yeast
2 cups warm milk
2 tablespoons white sugar
1/4 cup melted butter
1 tablespoon salt
2-3 cups wheat flour
2-3 cups unbleached white flour

Heat the milk in a non-metallic bowl. When the milk is slightly warmer than your hand, add 1/2—cup of the warmed milk to the package of dry yeast and 2 tablespoons of sugar in small container to proof.

Place the remaining milk, melted butter, and salt in a bowl. (If you use a large enough saucepan, just add the salt and butter to the milk.)

Stir in the flour. Add one cup wheat flour, one cup unbleached flour, then another cup of wheat flour.

Add the proofed yeast to the mixture. Continue to add flour, alternating between the wheat and unbleached flour. Stir until the mixture is quite firm. Remove flour onto a counter or marble slab that is lightly floured.

Start kneading the bread. Continue to add alternating 1/2 cups of wheat and unbleached flour. If the dough is sticky, keep adding flour. Continue to knead the bread until the dough is smooth and does not stick to your hands. When the dough is ready, the result should look something like this:

Place the dough in a buttered bowl. Lightly cover the bowl with a towel, put the dough in a draft-free area. If your stove isn’t on, you can allow the dough to rise in the oven. Let the bread rise 1-1/2 to 2 hours. (I usually let my dough rise for two hours.)

When the dough doubles in volume, turn it back out on the floured surface. Deflate the dough: just punch it firmly two or three times. Knead it for about four or five minutes; then, put the dough back in the buttered bowl. Let it rise again for about 45 minutes-1 hour. Knead the dough for another three-four minutes.

Preheat the oven to 400° and butter two loaf pans well. Remove the dough from the bowl and shape it into two loaves. For a crustier loaf, light brush the loaves with egg whites or butter.

Bake in a 400° degree oven for approximately 40-45 minutes. Caution: Using bread pans can cause bread to burn if you’re not careful. Start checking the loaves after 30 minutes. When the top looks lightly brown, lightly rap your knuckles on the bread. If you hear a hollow sound, the bread is done.

If the bread burns, cut off the charred part and make croutons.

Take the bread out of the pans to cool, usually about 10 minutes. You can use a cooling rack if you want, but I usually just put them on the counter.

Enjoy!

After you get the hang of making this bread, you can start experimenting by adding different ingredients, such as: