I have had several requests for this recipe which I use every week to make our family's bread.  Once I became committed to making our bread, it became just another thing that gets done almost mindlessly.  I have a K-tech mill to grind our wheat, and a Bosch mixer that can mix up this large batch of dough and knead it to perfection.  These tools really do the work for me, and have paid for themselves times over.  It takes probably 1 -1/2 to 2 hours from start to finish, but that includes the rising time and  the baking of the bread.  The time for the actual hard work is really not more than 30 minutes or so.  I do this once or twice a week, but most of the time only once a week.  The flour I have leftover after making the bread I put directly in the freezer and use it then to make quick breads, cookies, gravy, biscuits, etc. - anything that requires flour.  One of the things I want to do is learn how to make sour dough starter and sour dough bread.  Perhaps this year?  If anyone has any questions about this recipe, please feel free to e-mail me at csread07@yahoo.com!

10 - 12  cups freshly ground whole wheat flour (hard white winter wheat or hard red winter wheat)

4 1/2 cups warm water

1 heaping tablespoon of yeast (use the same amt, maybe slightly less  when making two loaves)

1 1/2 tablespoons sea salt

2 sticks butter, melted

1/4 to 1/3 cup raw honey

 

I use a large glass batter bowl to warm up the 4 1/2 cups water in the microwave (for 2 minutes, 20 seconds).  While that is warming, I melt the 2 sticks of butter in a saucepan on the stove.   Then I start grinding my wheat (which takes about 5 minutes).  When the water is warmed, I stir the honey into the water and then stir in the yeast.  I let that yeast mixture "sponge" for about 5 minutes.  Once it gets bubbly, and the butter is melted (but not too hot), I pour the butter into the yeast mixture.  Then in my large mixing bowl, I pour the liquid in and add to it a cup of flour with the sea salt mixed in.  I turn the mixer on (with the dough hook).  At this point, if you have any flaxseed, you can grind a cup full of flax and immediately pour that into the dough mixture.  This is one ingredient I forgot to add to the list that I use, but you don't have to have it.  I stop the mixture everytime I add more flour.  If you are doing this all by hand, you start with a big mixing bowl and add the liquid first, then the flour 1 or 2 cups at a time.  Keep mixing or stirring and when the dough gets into a good chunk or ball, then you can turn it out onto a floured board.  I keep mixing with the dough hook until I can touch the dough and it won't stick to my fingers.  The general rule for properly activating the gluten by kneading is to knead the dough 7 to 10 minutes.  Then I grease my bread pans with butter, and then divide up the dough into 4 loaves and shape them smoothly and place them in the pans. ( I don't let the dough rise in a big bowl first.)  I put the pans on the stove and cover them with a flour-sack towel.  I turn the oven on to 375 degrees.  I let the bread loaves rise for about an hour, sometimes less.  When the dough is risen nicely just above the level of the bread pan, I place them into the oven for 25 minutes.  On the last 5 minutes, I usually switch the top and bottom loaves, so that they will brown evenly on the bottom and top of the loaves.

As soon as you get the bread out of the oven, you will want to flip the loaves out of the bread pans and let them cool on a wire rack.

I hope you have success with this recipe and I hope it is not too confusing!

HAPPY NEW YEAR EVERYONE!

Chris