Here we are, the very first post! I’m so excited to share my food journey with you all and I hope you find this blog informative, helpful, amusing… something like that? I’m brand new to all of this blogging and website and social media stuff so this will be a work in progress. We’ll figure it out together, okay? Whew, I hoped you’d say yes.
Well I am the ultimate newbie to all this online technology stuff, I’m not new to spending time in the kitchen. I’ve got 4 kids and a hubby of almost 13 years so let’s just say I’ve spent a lot. of. time. in. the. kitchen. I’ve learned some things, you know? Early on in our marriage it dawned on me that as an adult I was now responsible for producing food to eat 3+ times a day. Everyday. I figured if it was up to me, why not make that food the tastiest most enjoyable stuff I could dream of? And the rest is history. Now I’d like to share what I’ve learned along the way – all my best tips and recipes and troubleshooting and resources. It’s coming your way soon so hold tight!
For my inaugural post I figured I’d share something with you I make at least once a week. 100% Whole Wheat Bread with a Bread Machine shortcut. This is my go to bread recipe – bread for toast, sandwiches, dipping in soup, drenching in butter and devouring hot out of the oven, etc. It’s kinda magical because it’s 100% Whole Wheat (you can even substitute sprouted flour), but it is so light and airy and soft and fluffy you would never guess it. The dough is made in the bread machine which makes this recipe so easy and hands off I feel like a fountain of productivity everytime I make it. It’s then baked into 2 loaf pans for that perfect loaf shape – raise your hand if you hate the shape of a bread machine pan loaf? Yup, same here.
Wholesome, easy, delicious? That is always my goal. Here we go!
If you try this recipe make sure to leave me a comment and let me know how it went, I’d love to know! Also if you have any feedback, questions, or ideas go ahead and leave those below also. Talk to you soon!
100% Whole Wheat Bread
Ingredients
- 2 tbsp butter room temperature
- 2 tbsp honey unpasturized
- 2 tsp salt kosher or pink Himalayan
- 2 cups water warm
- 4 2/3 cups whole wheat flour or sprouted spelt flour
- 2 tsp bread machine yeast or instant yeast (it's the same thing!)
Instructions
- Add ingredients in the order listed. Ensure the bread machine paddle is in the upright position before adding the ingredients. A friend of mine (shoutout to Sarah!) taught me to put the honey and butter beside the paddle to encourage it to stay upright whilst adding the ingredients - genius!
- Make a little well in the flour with your teaspoon for the yeast. We don't want it mixing with the liquid just yet.
- Secure the pan in the bread machine and set it to the Dough Cycle. Mine is 1hr30 minutes and it kneads the dough and keeps it warm for the first rise. When the timer dings your dough should be doming out of the top of the pan. If not, you will want to wait a little longer until it has fully doubled in size. If you do not have a bread machine you can knead your read with a dough hook attachment in a stand mixer or by hand until smooth and elastic and cover and rise until doubled in size.
- Dump out your dough onto a floured work surface and punch it down. Let it rest for about 10 minutes (this is supposed to let the yeast evenly distribute again). Meanwhile, grease 2 loaf pans with butter. After 10 minutes, roll your dough out into a big long rectangle (about 18" long and 8" high).
- Roll up the dough lengthwise as if you were making cinnamon buns and cut down the middle to make 2 loaves. Forming the loaves this way helps eliminate air bubbles and makes for a nice even rise.
- Place the loaves seam side down into the greased pans. Cover with a tea towel and let rise until doubled in size. I like to place mine in the oven and set it to the bread proof function (170F). You do not want to rush this step, make sure your loaves are the size you want them before you move onto baking them as they will not rise much more in the oven. If you put flat dense loaves in to bake, you will get flat dense loaves out of the oven.... Wait for the nice tall billowy rise you're looking for! This usually takes me 1.5-2hours but I live in a cold climate so it may be less for you.
- Remove the loaves from the oven and preheat your oven to 350F. Bake the loaves for 30 minutes until nicely browned on top. Set the pans on a baking rack too cool. Butter the tops of the loaves (I just slide a butter knife through some butter and spread it over the tops, it melts nicely from the heat of the bread).
- After about 10 minutes, run a butter knife around the perimeter of the pan to loosen the bread and then tip out onto the cooling rack and cool completely. Store in an airtight bag or container. I like to freeze one loaf and keep one on the counter, we go through it pretty fast! If you think you'll take longer to go through the loaves I'd suggest either pre-slicing it and freezing it so you can take it out one slice at a time or keeping the loaf in the fridge for a longer shelf life. A fresh loaf will last a few days on the counter and at least a week in the fridge, several months in the freezer.
Featured in This Post:
This post includes affiliate links, meaning I made a small commission at no extra cost to you, should you decide to click through the links and purchase anything. These are my honest opinions and I would never recommend anything to you I didn’t absolutely love and use on a regular basis. Hope you find these lists helpful!
Breadman Professional Breadmaker – This has been my breadmaker for over 4 years and I love it, I use it every week! It is programmable up to 15 hours in advance, makes up to a 2lb loaf, and has 14 cooking functions which cover pretty much anything you’d want to do with a breadmaker (there’s even a jam function)! I love it for making my whole wheat bread, but it’s also handy for making dough for cinnamon buns and french bread, completely hands off! I’m really pleased with the quality and durability of this machine thus far.
Hi, this is a comment.
To get started with moderating, editing, and deleting comments, please visit the Comments screen in the dashboard.
Commenter avatars come from Gravatar.
Oh my goodness! I have been baking for 50 years and have never made 100% ww bread. I ve avoided it because I was afraid it would just sit there and not rise then taste like a brick. I took a chance on this one because I was in a hurry and can t just jump in the car and go to the store anymore. Wow, was I surprised! Rose like a charm, like any I ve made before with a mix of white and ww flours. Soft and lovely! I made it in my 20 year old Sunbeam. Slowly rose and I thought oh oh, and had to get a spatula and finish mixing it, then left the machine to finish up. But it is gorgeous, soft, tasty and just perfect. Highly recommend for bread machine. Welcome to my table! Here you ll find me cooking up the world from my tiny Vermont kitchen. Follow along for traditional recipes from around the globe, as well as some of my own special creations.
So glad to hear it! This bread is so wonderfully fluffy and soft, it boggles my mind as well!!!
I every time spent my half an hour to read this weblog’s articles all the time along with a mug of coffee.