Honey Wheat Bread- The BEST!

**NOTE:  This is my OLD recipe for bread.  It still works fine and makes bread that is just as delicious, but I never use it anymore since I started using the "New and Improved" recipe which is much simpler and faster.

Although I sell this bread at boutiques/craft shows, and to friends & neighbors, I do think it is very important for everyone to be able to make their own homemade bread. People have asked me if I give out my recipe and I always say yes. I've also given classes and am willing to give a class to anyone who wants to learn. (Except the week before a craft show, lol!)

So, enjoy! And, as always, feel free to email me any questions you have and definitely let me know if you try the recipe. I'd love to know how it goes!

Sarah McKay’s Honey Whole Wheat Bread
Sponge Recipe-Makes 6 loaves with 1 hour of work and 1 hour in the oven

Blend:
9 cups whole wheat flour (I use Hard White Winter)
2/3 cup wheat gluten
2 ½ Tbs yeast

Then add:
6 1/3 cups very warm water (can use 6 cups in more humid weather)

Blend 1 minute. Turn off mixer and cover for 12 minutes to sponge. Should rise to about double.

After sponging, add:
½ cup oil
½ cup honey
1 ½ Tbs salt

Run mixer, then add:
6-7+ cups flour, 1 cup at a time. (If making ½ wheat, ½ white bread, use white flour at this step.) Flour should be added JUST until the dough starts to pull away from or clean the side of the bowl. It will probably look more wet than you are used to. This is the trickiest part! Don’t worry, you will learn with experience when you have added enough flour. Also, the dough will become stickier as it kneads so get it to where you want it and add just a tiny more. (If you can get this part down, you’ve got it made!) Knead for 10 minutes on power level 1 on your Bosch.

Check dough. If too sticky,add 1/4 cup wheat or white flour at a time until dough is not too sticky. If too stiff, drizzle warm water over it while kneading.

Preheat oven to warm/lowest setting, just for a minute, then turn it off.

With oiled hands, turn dough out onto oiled counter/plastic mat. (Pampered Chef sells a nice pastry mat I use for this step.) Divide and shape into 6 loaves. Do this by rolling out dough into a long, skinny, skateboard-like shape (about 6 inches wide by 20 inches long) and then rolling it up tightly, pinching the seams closed. Place in oiled 8” x 4” loaf pans (I use Pam).

Put into warm oven (make sure oven is off). Let rise for about 25 minutes or until the dough is about 1 to 1 ½ inches over the top of the pan. Leaving loaves in, turn oven on to 350 and bake for 30 minutes. Take out of pans immediately and put on a rack to cool completely before packaging.


To make rolls:
Use 1 loaf worth of dough. Roll out into a circle. Use a pizza cutter to cut 12 triangles (like you cut a pizza). Shape into croissant shapes by rolling up from biggest end to the point. OR shape into balls by rolling up from the point to the biggest end, then pull down & pinch at the bottom.

To make cinnamon swirl bread:
Roll out 1 loaf worth of dough into a long “skateboard” shape. About 7” wide & 24” long. Brush with about 1 Tbs melted butter, then generously sprinkle with cinnamon sugar (about 1 cup total). Roll up tightly and pinch all ends. It will probably break open somewhere, but it just makes it look more rustic!

There are so many things you can make with this recipe--breadsticks, pizza crust, dinner braids, dessert braids, round loaves, butterflake rolls, meat & cheese rolls... the list goes on! If you have any questions, or want more ideas, just email me at sar.mckay@yahoo.com.


Sarah's Tips:

- Start with ½ wheat, ½ white flours. Wheat flour is high in fiber and can be a bit shocking to your digestive system if you aren’t used to it.

- Divide recipe in half if doing by hand or using a Kitchenaid or other mixer besides Bosch. (Kitchenaid mixers can generally handle mixes with up to 7-8 cups flour. This recipe can use up to 18.)

- If using a Kitchenaid, start with a little less water so that you won’t need so much flour and it will still be able to fit in the bowl.

- Cinnamon Sugar= 8 cups sugar, 1 cup cinnamon. Make in a #10 can. (Or 2 cups sugar, ¼ cup cinnamon.)

- From beginning to end, this recipe takes me 2 hours or less. (I can crank out a LOT of bread during craft show weeks!)

- This bread freezes really well! Defrost by leaving it on the counter, still in the bag, until it is defrosted.

- Buy yeast, oil, honey, white flour, and wheat already in a bucket from Lehi Roller Mills at Costco.

- Invest in a good electric wheat grinder. K-Tech Kitchen Mill and Nutrimill are two good brands with excellent reviews. I have a K-Tech which does work great and is less expensive than the Nutrimil. However, if I had a little more money, I would buy the Nutrimill. It's a lot more user-friendly and I've heard it's quieter than the K-Tech which sounds like a jet taking off in your kitchen. See http://www.pleasanthillgrain.com/.

- Put your wheat grinder in another room while in use. Stay out of the room while it’s grinding to prevent damage to your hearing.

- 1 cup wheat = about 1.5 cups flour after grinding

- Store unused freshly ground flour in fridge or freezer if you won’t be using it within a week or so. Let it come to room temperature before using it, or warm in the microwave if you're in a hurry.

- Add blackstrap molasses, flax seeds, or other grains to the dough for extra nutrition.

- The Bosch store (in Sandy, UT) is the cheapest place around here that I have found for plastic bread bags. These loaves are slightly too big to keep in gallon ziplock bags unless you cut off a couple slices first. You can also just keep the bags that you buy bread in from the store.

- Buy a good bread knife! I have a Pampered Chef bread knife that I really like but I’m sure you can find good ones at many different stores. It will make a difference in the texture of the bread depending on what knife you use. I think that the nicer ones will make a more smooth slice, as opposed to the cheaper ones which will make a more rough slice.