I made my first ever loaf of bread on Thursday, and I have two more loaves rising as I type this. I’m in love.
It’s taken me this long to make homemade bread because I was scared of it. Silly That Wife, scared of bread! After this experience I want to buy this book and bake all kinds of lovely loaves. If you are scared of bread too, get yourselves some yeast and some whole wheat flour and try this recipe out for yourself. Who knew bread could be made with so little effort in about 20 minutes. I’m going to try a 100% whole wheat recipe next.
Whole Wheat Loaf
Via Heart and Hearth
1 and 1/2 C whole wheat flour
1 and 1/3 C all-purpose flour
2 t caster sugar
1/2 t salt
1 and 3/4 t instant dried yeast
1 T canola oil
1 C warm water
1. Mix the flours, sugar, salt and yeast in a large bowl. Add the oil and gradually mix enough warm water to make the dough soft.
2. Knead well on a lightly floured surface for 10 minutes until the dough is elastic and smooth. Put in the greased loaf pan.
3. Cover the pan loosely with oiled cling film and leave in a warm place to rise for 45 minutes or until dough reaches just above the top of the tin.
4. Remove the clingfilm and bake in a preheated oven, 400F for 25 minutes (small loaf). Check after 15 minutes and cover with foil if overbrowning.
5. Holding the loaf pan with oven gloves, loosen bread with pallete knife. Transfer to wire rack to cool.
Because I love using my camera you guys so much, I have step-by-step pictures for you today!
At first I didn’t think I could make this recipe without going to the grocery store, because I didn’t have any caster sugar. Actually I didn’t even know what caster sugar was. A quick google search said caster sugar is just really fine sugar, and that I could make it by grinding up regular sugar in my food processor.
Kind of like powdered sugar, but not. I’m going to have to make a bigger batch for my new daily bread cooking habit.
I put all of the dry ingredients in together (flour, sugar, salt, yeast), and mixed them up. My yeast is Red Star Quick Rise Highly Active yeas, and it took me forever to decide if I should add the yeast with the dry ingredients or dissolve it directly in the liquids. The bread turned out delicious, so I assume that adding it in with the dry was the right call.
Then I added in the oil, and the warm water. Make sure your water isn’t too hot, or you will kill the yeast.
After my mixer had bucked around for a few minutes, I dumped out a big ball of dough that looks like this onto a lightly (is this light? I have no idea, it looks kind of heavy to me) floured surface.
I kneaded for about 10 minutes. Probably a little bit less because I am out of shape and kneading is kind of tiring for me. Anyone have any tips for the best way to knead? After the dough felt elastic and my hands felt nice and smooth, I put my loaf into a greased pan. I got these pans for $2.50 at a thift store. Sweet deal huh?
The instructions said to cover with oiled saran wrap, but I didn’t feel like doing that so I covered it with this cloth instead. Again, the bread was delicious so I assume there is nothing wrong with this.
I let the bread rise until it was level with the rim of the pan.
I put it in the oven for about 30 minutes (checking every 5 minutes after it has been in for about 20), and look what came out when I turned the pan upside-down!
My still life composition skills leave something to be desired, but I’m still in love with this photo because it reminds me how delicious this bread is with apricot jam on top. I only have to wait one more hour to be eating this all over again.
March 7th, 2009 on 3:39 pm
Looks lovely, with a really nice browning on the crust. We really need to get some loaf pans so my hubby can get back to making bread. I had some crazy idea that someone would get them for us for our wedding.
He made some tasty cheese biscuits last night but there’s nothing quite like home made bread.
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March 7th, 2009 on 4:24 pm
Good job spreading the word that bread is easy to make… and you did it with a fairly complicated recipe.
Have you made Italian bread? It’s like magic. Three ingredients. Unbelievable.
If you’re looking for a good bread recipe book and don’t mind going ecumenical, I highly recommend The Secrets of Jesuit Bread Baking, by Brother Rick Curry. My copy is all dog-eared and scribbled on and stained.
Maybe I should throw some dough together right now…
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March 7th, 2009 on 4:44 pm
Yum! I’ll try this recipe tomorrow. I just made whole wheat pizza dough for the first time last week and this recipe is pretty similar.
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March 7th, 2009 on 5:10 pm
I made some bread before- and it is funny how temperamental instant yeast can be.
Anyhow- I think you can activate yeast in several different ways- either by adding it with the dry ingredients, or by proofing it first. ;o)
http://www.homemade-pizza-made-easy.com/activate-yeast.html
I spent some nice time online watching youtube video’s of how other people made bread. Highly enjoyable before making your own creations- mainly because I was worried about the bread rising- knowing how yeast can be so picky.
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March 7th, 2009 on 5:13 pm
oh sorry- I meant to send this link instead. Bad me… but then I remembered I had these other ones too… so here are a couple…
http://www.stephenwilliamson.com/Hobbies/bakin.htm
http://www.joyofbaking.com/Yeast.html
Enjoy!
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March 7th, 2009 on 5:50 pm
That bread and jam looks yummy. I’ve made bread using a machine and by hand - when it comes to whole wheat it’s always a bit more stressful to me for some reason. I wish I made my own bread more!
(FYI: tomorrow I’m posting about our food storage system - hopefully I make some sense!)
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March 7th, 2009 on 6:00 pm
Yum, it looks so good!
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March 7th, 2009 on 6:25 pm
Seriously you are amazing. I love your photography. Our newborn photographer was Skye Johansen. I wish you still lived in Provo and could give me a photoshop tutorial. I seriously get a little frustrated, but it’s a learning process..right?
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March 7th, 2009 on 7:53 pm
The bread looks delish! Any idea on the nutritional content? I am less than three months until our wedding, so I’ve been avoiding any “indulgent” carbs… But I think I will try making my own bread come June, because you make it look so easy!
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March 7th, 2009 on 8:54 pm
i love bread.
seriously, i love bread more then I love some people.
your loaves look delicious…
wait.
that sounds wrong.
oh well.
i can’t wait until july when i will have my very own kitchen to make homemade bread in.
i’m going to drench it in honey.
yum.
thanks for the recipe!
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March 7th, 2009 on 9:03 pm
That is making me want to throw a loaf together in the bread maker right this instant. Congrats on discovery the joys of freshly baked bread
Isn’t it divine?
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March 8th, 2009 on 12:58 pm
That looks delicious! And yummm… apricot jam…
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March 8th, 2009 on 1:46 pm
I love bread and that look amazing. You’re absolutely right, you don’t need to use oiled saran wrap, you can use a cloth. I’ve heard that it’s better to use a damp cloth, but I’ve also used a dry cloth.
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March 8th, 2009 on 7:11 pm
I’ve always wanted to try making homemade bread- you make it look easy
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March 8th, 2009 on 8:38 pm
I used to make bread all the time when I lived with 3 other people who would eat it - but now it’s just me and the fiance, so I limit my breadmaking.
The best thing I recommend to stretch your breadmaking budget is to go to Costco and pick up a 2lb bag of yeast - I think I got mine for $2. Considering that is the price of those little packets of yeast at the grocery store, you only have to make 6 loaves to break even.
Just a warning - Joy of Cooking recommends against making 100% whole wheat bread because it can come out really tough (and I agree) so I usually make at least a cup of the whole wheat flour unbleached white flour.
I’ve made bread my mixing the yeast with the dry ingredients and with the wet, and by putting saran wrap or a towel over the dough - there really isn’t a wrong way to make bread!
I’m excited to try this recipe, because I’ve been looking for a basic bread dough.
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Jenna Reply:
March 10th, 2009 at 10:32 am
Thanks for the tip! Yeast is the most expensive part of bread and it’s great to know I can get it for less!
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March 9th, 2009 on 9:33 am
I think the pictures are lovely!
I was just thinking, how does that girl take such perfect photos of pre-kneaded dough and not totally gross-up her camera?
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Jenna Reply:
March 9th, 2009 at 10:07 am
Haha, it’s really tough actually. I’m going to burn my food sometime soon because it always takes me a few minutes to get just the right photo (and I always have to wash my hands before I pick up the camera!)
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March 9th, 2009 on 9:37 am
it looks great! next time i go grocery shopping I’m getting whole wheat flour and trying it! I make french bread all the time - it’s a family tradition, usually called “lynn’s bread: (my stepmom) but now my friends and coworkers are starting to talk about “emily’s bread”! but i’ve always wanted to make something more suitable for sandwiches and such, thanks jenna.
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March 9th, 2009 on 10:22 am
I love bread making. I think it’s because I’m French and I’m always disappointed with those breads that have no crust or such a soft one that it’s a disappointment to me.
We have a Cuisinart bread machine at home and I love it. We never buy bread pretty much.
My favorite one uses a mix of bread flour, white unbleached and whole wheat. To which I add flax seeds, sunflower seeds and some wheat bran. Yum.
You should try a banana bread too, it’s like a cake.
Oh and a wonderful recipe I love: the no knead bread. http://www.nytimes.com/2006/11/08/dining/081mrex.html
As long as you like a crispy crust.
I always use a piece of cloth to cover my bread, the important thing is to put it in a warm place where the temperature won’t change (closed room or else). Yeast is sensitive to that.
Also for most breads either you do a mix of flour, something sweet, warm water and yeast ahead of time.
Or else you add the yeast at the last minute with the dry ingredients (that’s the case with our bread machine).
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Jenna Reply:
March 10th, 2009 at 10:33 am
Thanks Cecy! I need to find a time when I can make these 18 hour breads I’ve been seeing.
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March 12th, 2009 on 12:32 am
Hi Jenna! Thank you, for trying out this bread and thank you for the step by step pictures. I’m so very happy you like it! I’m also a newbie yeast baker and I’m so glad to find someone who had conquered yeast baking
I’m posting a recipe for a slightly bigger loaf, same taste but looks “prettier” because the dough rose above the rim of the baking pan.
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March 12th, 2009 on 10:39 am
This made me think of home. My mom making bread and it rising in the kitchen. I think it is time I start making our own bread also. Thanks for the recipe. And the step by step pictures!
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