Of all the baking and creating in the kitchen that I do, nothing makes me feel more satisfied and an urban homesteader than making fresh bread. Not the bread maker bread but the knead and shape it by hand bread that has been made for centuries before me. Now don’t get me wrong, I have a bread maker and have used it for years. It makes really great bread but I don’t get the satisfaction of feeling the dough in my hands and the knowledge that I have made bread and will nourish my family at meals.
My grandmother used to make bread by hand. She was maybe 5’1″ at best but when she kneaded bread it was powerful and perfect. She taught me how to make bread as a child and I still have fond memories of standing in her farmhouse kitchen at the table making bread. She would break me off a piece of her dough for me to knead and shape into a little round “loaf” (ok it was more of a bun size) and we would bake our loaves together in her stove. The smell of fresh bread still reminds me of her.
She made white bread and tried to give me her recipe once which I wrote down but it was more of a “until it looks right” kind of guide. I make white bread sometimes but prefer to make my own whole wheat bread that is a bit healthier for my boys. This recipe is a culmination of trial and error and recipe creation which has left me with this soft, light wheat bread which is easy to make. You can either knead it by hand or use a kitchen aid mixer with dough hook attachment to knead it for you.
Sprouted Wheat and Honey Bread
Ingredients
- 2 1/4 cups warm water
- 1/4 cup honey
- 1 1/2 tbsp yeast
- 2 tsp salt
- 1/4 cup grape seed oil
- 3 1/4 cup sprouted whole wheat flour
- 2 1/4 cup all purpose or bread flour
Instructions
- Combine the water and honey in a bowl and sprinkle the yeast over the top. Let sit for 5-15 minutes until the yeast becomes foamy.
- Add the salt and oil to the bowl liquid and mix lightly.
- Add the sprouted wheat flour and stir in until just combined
- Add the all purpose flour and either mix until a ball is formed with your hands or use the dough hook of a kitchen aid (or similar) stand mixer to combine and knead the dough.
- Turn out dough onto a surface and knead until dough is soft and elastic.
- Place in a greased bowl, oil top of dough lightly and cover with plastic wrap. Place in a draft free, warm area to rise. (I have a proof setting on my oven which works wonderfully for this). Let rise until double in size – about 1 hour.
- Punch down dough and divide evenly into 2. Shape into loaves and place in greased loaf pans. Cover the dough with a damp kitchen towel and place in a draft free, warm place until they have doubled in size – about an hour.
- Bake at 350 degrees for 40 minutes.
- Allow bread to cool 10 minutes in the pans then remove from the pans to a cooling rack. Brush the tops lightly with butter. Allow to cool completely prior to slicing.
Notes
40 min
Total Time
3 hr
