Hey Bread Makers! Can you share your favorite bread recipe (no machine here ;)

[Halcyon]

I am making a super simple loaf tonight from the simpledollar, but would love more ideas, particularly those with whole grains.

 

Thanks!

[alpidarkomama]

This is our everyday bread recipe:

 

4 cups whole wheat flour

4 cups white flour

2 cups oatmeal

1 cup bulgur, cracked wheat or other grain cereal (optional)

4 to 4-1/2 cups water

6 T. oil

1/4 cup sugar

1 T. salt

1 T. yeast

 

I combine all of that, let it rise until doubled, shape it in loaf pans (4 loaves, 1.5 pounds each), let it rise for an hour or so then bake it at 350 for about 40 minutes.

 

YUM!

[milovany]

I make my own flour -- is that an option? Here's my recipe:

 

Grind 8 cups of hard white or hard red wheat, 1 cup of millet and 1 cup of brown rice.

 

Put 1 Tblsp. salt, 2 Tblsp. dough enhancer (optional), 3 Tblsp yeast, 1/2 cup of oil and 1/2 cup of honey in a bowl. Add 5 cups hot water and 4-5 cups of flour. Mix well and then let sit for 15-20 minutes. Then add the rest of the flour cup by cup, stopping when it's cleaning the sides of the bowl. Err on the side of less flour but do get it to where it's cleaning sides of the bowl. I use a dough mixer machine for all this (not a bread machine). Knead to the right consistency for bread -- then divide into 5 loaves and bake. If sticky, use oil, not flour, on your hands and work surface.

 

Mmmmmm. I make five loaves -- the first two get eaten within an hour of coming out of the oven; the other 3 over the next couple of days.

[Halcyon]

Thank you! keep em coming :)

[Blueridge]

I love Marilyn's Famous Whole Wheat Bread Recipe and all the variations it can make:

http://articles.urbanhomemaker.com/index.php?article=243 (the variations)

 

http://articles.urbanhomemaker.com/index.php?page=index_v2&id=83&c=6 (the bread recipe, which is scaled both for 2 loaves by hand and a larger Bosch recipe)

Edited December 28, 2010 by Blueridge

[Tammyla]

No knead: Pesant Bread Recipe

• 1 packet dry yeast (or 2 1/2 tsp)

• 2 c. warm water

• 1 T. sugar

• 2 tsp sea salt regular is okay

• 4 c. flour

• Optional 1-2 tsp. fresh Rosemary

• Olive Oil, Corn meal, Melted butter and salt

Dissolve yeast in the warm water and sugar. (I like to buy yeast in a large package and then store it in a plastic container and keep in the freezer. It lasts forever. OR if you don’t make bread that often, just buy the yeast packets.) Add flour, salt, and 1-2 tsp Rosemary and stir until blended, do not Knead!! Cover and let rise for 1 hour or until double in size. Simply keep it in the mixer bowl and cover with a moist cloth to raise.

Remove dough. It will be sticky. I like to put butter or oil on my hands for taking out the dough and shaping it. Place it in 2 rounds on a cookie sheet lightly coated in oil and sprinkled with corn meal. OR you can place it on your silicone baking mat with no oil. Cover with a towel or greased plastic wrap. Then let it rise another hour.

Brush each round with melted butter and lightly sprinkle with salt , & rosemany if you are including it . Bake @ 425 for 10 minutes, then reduce temp to 375 for 15 minutes more.

[chickenpatty]

I have a no-knead whole wheat recipe on my food blog. It is really easy. You can substitute honey for the sugar. The dough/batter is very forgiving.

[kewb]

This is my staple:

2 1/2 cups warm water

1 1/2 T yeast

1/3 cup honey

3 Tbl oil

1 Tbl salt

4-6 cups whole wheat flour

1 cup oatmeal

4 Tbl vital wheat gluten

 

Dissolve yeast and honey in water. Let stand for 15 minutes.

Mix in remaining ingredients using only enough flour to make a soft and slightly sticky dough. Knead 10 minutes (I use my kitchenaid mixer).

Butter pans while kneading. Divide into 2 equal parts. Shape into loaves and place in bread pans. Let rise until double (approx 45 minutes). Bake at 350 for 30 minutes.

 

This recipe produces a nice dense bread. My dh, however, hates dense bread unless it is pumpernickel. So, I usually let it rise in the mixing bowl, punch it down and then divide in place in bread pans to do a second rise. This makes a lighter loaf.

 

Over the years I have tweaked with it. Sometimes I do a combo of less honey and some brown sugar. Sometimes I use replace a cup of wheat with rice flour, or barley flour, or whatever other grains I have on hand for milling.

[BikeBookBread]

Peter Reinhart's Struan is my favorite whole grain bread.

 

It can be different every time, and you just use whatever whole grains you have. Need to plan ahead, though, which is the case with most really great breads!

[Halcyon]

I have a no-knead whole wheat recipe on my food blog. It is really easy. You can substitute honey for the sugar. The dough/batter is very forgiving.

 

 

Oh this looks great! I am going ot make this today. Can you freeze the loaves once you've made them?

[Halcyon]

This is my staple:

2 1/2 cups warm water

1 1/2 T yeast

1/3 cup honey

3 Tbl oil

1 Tbl salt

4-6 cups whole wheat flour

1 cup oatmeal

4 Tbl vital wheat gluten

 

Dissolve yeast and honey in water. Let stand for 15 minutes.

Mix in remaining ingredients using only enough flour to make a soft and slightly sticky dough. Knead 10 minutes (I use my kitchenaid mixer).

Butter pans while kneading. Divide into 2 equal parts. Shape into loaves and place in bread pans. Let rise until double (approx 45 minutes). Bake at 350 for 30 minutes.

 

This recipe produces a nice dense bread. My dh, however, hates dense bread unless it is pumpernickel. So, I usually let it rise in the mixing bowl, punch it down and then divide in place in bread pans to do a second rise. This makes a lighter loaf.

 

Over the years I have tweaked with it. Sometimes I do a combo of less honey and some brown sugar. Sometimes I use replace a cup of wheat with rice flour, or barley flour, or whatever other grains I have on hand for milling.

 

What's vital wheat gluten and where can I find it? Thanks!

[Tylianna]

What's vital wheat gluten and where can I find it? Thanks!

 

I find it in the baking section of my grocery store. It was by the specialty flours, it came in a box about the size of a corn starch box. I don't recall the brand (arrow mill or arrow hill...?) but it was a light brown box. It is something that holds the flour together better and makes the bread have the chewy texture that we like :)

[kewb]

I buy mine in the grocery store in the aisle with all the flour. Bob's Red Mill is the brand I purchase. http://www.bobsredmill.com/vital-wheat-gluten.html