Whole Wheat Bread

May I get a hallelujah?! I have been working on perfecting wheat bread for three years and I think I have finally figured out how to get a soft, delicious wheat bread every time.

I don't even really know where to begin with wheat bread. I have learned that it is an art that takes perseverance to learn and master. We have eaten solely homemade bread for over two years. Sometimes it has been delicious and sometimes I feel tempted to throw it to the ducks. I have tried several recipes and I was always looking for the fix-all. After many flops and some pretty dense bread loafs, I present to you the all mighty wheat bread!

Let me share just a few tips.

:: Kneading wheat bread dough for 10 minutes or more is key. It allows the gluten to develop which will make it soft and delectable.

:: There is such thing as too much oil and honey. I believe this is why I have not had consistent success with recipes. I thought, "Hey, what's good is better if there is more, right?" Nope. My hypothesis is that it was making my bread too dense and difficult for it to rise.

:: Instead of doing a full double rise recipe, I prefer to allow some of the flour to rise with the rest of the ingredients for about 20 minutes and then do a full 10 minute knead and then let the bread rise fully in the pans.

:: If using a Kitchen Aid, initially mix the majority of flour in with a spatula or wooden spoon. Using the kneading hook doubles the time it takes to make the dough. I have a love/hate relationship with the Kitchen Aid as a dough kneader.

I have no words. It's just beautiful. 

Whole Wheat Bread

I have a 5.5 quart industrial Kitchen Aid. Before merrily jumping into this recipe, please know what your mixer can handle. Specifications for my mixer are found in the instruction booklet. I'm sure Google knows the answer as well. 

Also, I freshly grind my wheat. I think this makes a difference in the longevity of my bread. It will stay soft and mostly moist for longer. Store bought, pre-ground wheat results in a drier bread, but it is still good and edible. I am currently into using white hard wheat berries and soft white wheat berries. I do about a 2:1 ratio of hard to soft. Don't let this scare you - if you now feel overwhelmed, go buy pre-ground wheat at the super market and proceed.

Yields: 2 - 8 X 4 X 2.5 inch loaf pans

2 C warm water
1 tbsp active dry yeast
3 tbsp vital wheat gluten with vitamin C (Hodgson Mill can be found at Walmart)
3 tbsp oil
3 tbsp honey

6 - 7 C whole wheat flour
(This is an approximation for flour. You may use more, maybe less. The cup amount you use will depend upon if your wheat is freshly ground or store bought. Freshly ground tends to be lighter and more airy. You want your bread to come together and it generally does clear the side of the bowl while mixing once enough flour has been added.)
2 tsp salt

In the bowl of a stand mixer add water, yeast, gluten, oil, and honey as well as 1 1/2 C wheat flour. Mix with the cookie paddle (or by hand with a spoon) until everything is well combined. Remove the cookie paddle, cover the bowl and let it sit for 20 minutes.

Put on the dough hook attachment. Add salt and 2 more cups of wheat flour and begin mixing. (I suggest if you are using a Kitchen Aid to mix the dough with a spoon or spatula before putting the dough hook on. It will cut your mixing time in half.) Add remaining flour 1/2 C at a time while kneading for 10 minutes. Give the dough time to come together (it will start to pull in a stringy way - gluten is developing) and try not to over flour your dough. It should pull away from the sides, but the sides may not be completely clear and clean. Sometimes it takes more than 7 cups.

When you take a piece of your dough, you should be able to roll it around to easily unstick it from your fingers and then it should hold its form.

Divide dough into two balls, press flat into a rectangle a little longer than the length of your pan and twice as wide as your pan. Starting on the long end, roll the dough - jelly roll style - and tuck in the ends. Place in a greased loaf pan and cover with towel or greased plastic wrap.

Let rise until about 1 inch above pan. Place in cold oven and turn oven to 375 F. Bake for 25 minutes, turn the oven off and let sit for 5 more minutes in oven. Remove from oven and let cool for 5 minutes. Remove to cooling rack to cool completely before putting in bags.

[Take a deep breath and do it! If you want to make great whole wheat bread at home, you can! It will take practice to get a feel for the dough, especially if you are not used to working with yeast doughs. But it is totally worth it!]

Adapted from Mel's Kitchen Cafe - Darcy's Recipe and Mom's recipe.

Blueberry Lemon Bread

The first time I made this bread, I licked the beater (yes, I eat raw eggs in the form of sugary bliss) and I knew that I must share this recipe. It is simple and straight forward. We had a quite a stock of blueberries that we had picked earlier this summer and I needed a creative outlet to use them up. This recipe was mentioned by a friend and knowing that I had tried it before at another friend's house, I was excited to try it myself.  (Rest assured, these blueberries had now been frozen so don't feel pressured to run out and buy fresh berries. Frozen work fantastically!)

The batter, all whipped up, is heavenly in and of itself. And the bread is simply divine. It is sweet enough to be desirable, but not so sweet that you feel like you probably shouldn't have eaten it. The crust is a bit crisp, while the inside is light and soft. The touch of a lemon glaze on top puts the bread into the irresistible category. The combination of blueberries and lemon are the tangy delight that your taste buds have been hoping for all night.

So just go try it.

Also, I promise I make things besides blueberry bread type things. I just can't help that they are so good!

Blueberry Lemon Bread

Yield: 1 - 8 x 4 x 2.5 inch loaf pan

Bread
2 C flour
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt

1/2 C butter at room temperature
1 C sugar
1/2 C milk
1 1/2 C blueberries (fresh or frozen)
2 large eggs

Lemon glaze
1/3 C sugar
1/4 C lemon juice

Preheat oven to 350 F. Grease your loaf pan.

In a mixing bowl beat butter and 1 C sugar until well blended. Add eggs one at a time, beating until light and creamy.

Mix flour, baking powder, and salt together in separate bowl and add to the creamy mixture alternating with the milk.

Gently stir in blueberries.

Bake 1 hour 5 minutes, or until the bread no longer jiggles when you give it a little shake. You can also do the tooth pick test. The crust will brown.

Prepare lemon glaze. I suggest heating up the lemon juice in the microwave or over the stove so the sugar will dissolve.

Let cool in loaf pan for 10 minutes. Remove from pan and place on rack. Poke with holes on top and sides and coat with lemon glaze.

Cool completely (if you want it to retain loaf shape).

Recipe received from Emily S., though Katherine W. and Amy H were also mentioned upon receipt

Bodacious Blueberry Muffins

It is my mission to share the best things I know in life with others. These muffins are near to the best thing, so I had to share! I like a good muffin in the morning. I always have. When I was in 5th or 6th grade I would make a box of Jiffy blueberry muffins before I went to school as often as our supply would allow. I have to admit, I love the little purple sugar ball blueberries in those muffin mixes. Mmm. They were so good.

Times have changed, though. I don't always have the muffin mix in my pantry, (and, truth be told, they may not be the best muffins in the world) so sometimes I have to improvise. A little internet searching along with a few additional personal preferences have lead me to these babies! They are delightful, my friend, and so so simple to make. In fact, if you just skip down to the recipe, I won't be offended because you really should try to make them as soon as possible. You can have them out of the oven for an after-school snack before I can say "Bob's your uncle"!

Anyway, a secret to much of our breakfast making is the usage of self-rising flour. My dear Erik served a mission in Argentina and learned about the glorious self-rising stuff and he has been pretty insistent throughout our marriage that we have some on hand. I grew up with Bisquick and it took me a while to be persuaded, but alas, I am convinced (mostly because of cost). 

So here's the thing, for smaller batches of things that are bready like coffee cake, waffles, pancakes, biscuits and muffins, SRF is just the ticket if you don't really like to follow a precise recipe (as in you don't like to measure salt and baking powder). For Erik, it allows a measure of good tasting creativity in the kitchen, which is exactly what he prefers - no recipes for him. I, personally, follow recipes, but I still find it quite convenient to use SRF every now and again and these muffins are such an instance. 

If you aren't convinced that SRF is for you, that's ok. I have added the actual baking powder and salt measurements at the bottom. But by the time you are done reading my blog and you witness the plethora of ways to make delicious food with SRF, I am sure you will skip over to Kroger and by some for yourself!

Blueberry Muffins

Yield: ~ 9 bodacious muffins

1 1/2 C self-rising flour*
1/2 C sugar

1/3 C oil
1 egg
1/3 C - 1/2 C milk
1 tsp vanilla

1 C fresh or frozen blueberries (or raspberries or blackberries or all 3)

Preheat oven to 400 F. Line muffin tin with 9 muffin liners or grease the tin well.

In a mixing bowl mix self-rising flour and sugar.

In a measuring cup that measures at least 1 C add oil, egg, vanilla, and enough milk so that it fills 1 cup. Mix these ingredients together with a fork.

Add wet ingredients to the dry ingredients in the mixing bowl and scoop and fold until only a few small patches of flour remain. Add the fruit and fold in, completing the mixing process of the flour as well.

Scoop into muffin tins. Each muffin tin should be full.

Sprinkle the top with sugar because it makes them ohhh sooooo delicious and beautiful.

Bake for 15-20 minutes until the tops are golden brown and a toothpick comes out clean.

Enjoy, enjoy, enjoy!

Adapted from inspiredtaste.net

*If you do not have self-rising flour, then do not fret! You can add 2 tsp of baking powder and 1/2 tsp of salt to the dry ingredients.