Rolling In The Dough

By Angie Sullivan Do you think that making fresh homemade whole wheat bread is out of your reach? Think again! With a few simple tips and this straightforward recipe, you’ll soon be rolling in the dough! If you are like me, homemade bread is one of the most intimidating things about food storage. For those of you who grew up making bread, this may seem a little ridiculous to you, but there was a time when I was mortified of yeast. It’s true! Any recipe that called for yeast, and kneading, and heaven forbid, “rising”, was seemingly out of my reach and usually sent me out to buy the store-made equivalent. Then, one day I decided it had been long enough, and I began to “rise” to the occasion! A few internet searches and several botched loaves later, I found a recipe that works for me every time. It’s simple, requires only a handful of ingredients, and makes a whopping 6 loaves. (After all, who wants to put all that effort into making bread if you can’t send a loaf over to your neighbors and then bask in their praise?) I wish I could credit someone with this recipe, because I’m sure they deserve the glory, but I simply wrote the recipe on a grocery list scrap paper many years ago and it has been in my recipe index ever since: 6 cups hot tap water 3 Tablespoons yeast 2/3 cup oil 2/3 cup honey 2 Tablespoons salt 3 Tablespoons Dough Enhancer 16-20 Cups Whole Wheat Flour I use my Bosch Universal Mixer for this recipe, but it can be done by hand. Obviously, you’ll be doing a lot of kneading if you do it by hand and it will take more time, but the results will be worth the effort! Begin by combining the 6 cups of hot tap water with 3 Tablespoons of yeast and only 2 cups of the whole wheat flour. Mix and allow to “sponge” for 15 minutes. If your yeast is good, the mixture should be foamy and smelling “yeasty”. At this point, go ahead and add all the additional ingredients except the remainder of the flour. I always add my oil first, so the honey will not stick to the measuring cup. I use Dough Enhancer to help make the loaves lighter and fluffier. Once all the ingredients are in the mixer, you can begin adding the flour, one cup at a time. One of the biggest mistakes first time bakers make is adding too much flour. The dough should not stick to your finger if you poke it, but it should not be dry either. The fresher the flour, the less time spent kneading the dough. It usually takes 15 minutes or so in the Bosch at speed 1. You know the dough is ready when you can stretch the dough between your hands and it doesn’t break immediately. You should almost be able to create a “window” in your dough. This is very easy to recognize with white flour, but it is a little harder to see with wheat. Just make sure your dough allows you to stretch it a few inches without breaking and you should be fine. Once you’ve finished the kneading process, divide the dough into 6 sections. Take each section and shape into an oval mound. I like to pull the dough from the top and gather it at the bottom so the top is smooth and finished looking. Now lay your loaves in your greased bread pans and allow it to rise. I accomplish this by turning my oven on to warm. Then I turn the oven off and put the loaves in. I let them rise until double in size, this takes about 30 minutes. Once they are finished rising, I simply turn the oven to 350 degrees and allow them to bake about 25 minutes. Keep an eye on the bread and enjoy the delicious aroma that will be wafting into the kitchen. The bread should be lightly browned and when thumped they should produce a hollow sound. Allow your bread to cool on racks for several minutes, and then slice and serve! I’m sure you can imagine the aroma and almost taste that tender bread! Go on, it won’t be as hard as you think. Just follow these simple instructions and before you know it, you’ll be rolling in the dough!