I have had the idea that I was going to start making homemade bread for quite a while now. However, I never seem to get around to it. Buying bread seems so much easier, although it is not nearly as tasty and much more expensive. I’ve only made wheat bread one other time, and the recipe I used was not as good as I hoped. My husband has also made basic white bread, which was probably the single most addictive food I think I have ever had.
This recipe, adapted from my Better Homes and Gardens Cookbook was amazing though. It makes 2 loafs. I changed the recipe a little by adding olive oil and shelled hemp seeds for added nutrition. You can definitely leaves these ingredients out if you want. I kneaded the dough with my stand mixer and the dough attachment. That thing makes my life so much easier, I love my Kitchen Aid mixer. I used my oven as a proofer for the bread dough to rise. I got the idea from Average Betty and her wonderful whole wheat pizza dough recipe to put a hot bowl of water in my oven and use it as a proofer. I carefully watched the dough and checked it every thirty minutes. 3 hours went by and nothing happened. I thought, what have I done?! I thought to check the expiration date on the yeast packet in the kitchen trash. It said Feb 2011. I cleaned out my pantry last week and had found 2 packets of yeast that had fallen in the back of the pantry. I pulled them to the front so that I could use them first. Silly me, I didn’t think to check their expiration dates at the time. I thought, I am not throwing out this dough, there’s got to be a way to fix it. So, I just threw the dough back in the stand mixer bowl and added some of my fresh yeast. I kneaded it until it was well incorporated. I added some more hot water to the oven and came back to check it in thirty minutes. When I came back, the dough was starting to rise. Thank goodness, I fixed it. It took 2 hours for it to rise. Then about another hour to rise in the bread pans. I did forget about it though, and it got left in the bread pans for about 2 hours, so the top of the bread cracked. But it still tasted irresistible!
Yield: Serves 4
2 cups whole wheat flour
3 - 3 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1 package yeast
1 3/4 cups warm water
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
3 tablespoons butter
3 tablespoons olive oil
1/4 cup shelled hemp seeds
1/3 cup packed brown sugar
Combine water, yeast, salt and sugar in your mixing bowl. Mix until well combined, and yeast has dissolved in water.
Add to stand mixer. Add butter and olive oil. Add whole wheat flour and 3 cups of the white flour. Mix until combined. Add hemp seeds. Then knead the dough with the hook attachment for 8 - 10 minutes. Add more flour if necessary. The dough should clean the sides of the mixing bowl.
Shape the dough into a ball and place in a large greased bowl. Cover with plastic wrap and cover with a towel. Place in a warm area to proof like your oven with a bowl of hot water in it.
Let the dough rise for 1-2 hours, or until it doubles in size. Punch it down. Then cut the dough in half and stretch in an oblong shape. Role the dough up and place in bread pans. Let the dough rise again for about an hour, or until it doubles in size again.
Then preheat your oven to 375 degrees. Bake the bread for 35 - 40 minutes, or until it has browned and sounds hollow when tapped.
Immediately remove from bread pans and cool on a wire rack.
