Homemade wheat bread

One of the best parts of winter is homemade bread! This is our basic wheat bread recipe, the one we make every week. Sometimes with variation, sometimes just plain.

Homemade Wheat Bread

 

3 cups warm water

2 T. sugar

2 T. yeast (NOT rapid rise)

1 cup warm milk

3 T. Canola oil

1/4 cup sorghum ( can use molasses or honey if you prefer)

6 cups whole wheat flour (my favorite it Prairie Gold, any wheat flour made from white wheat will work)

2 tsp. salt

1 1/2--2 cups all-purpose white flour

 

Warm water to 110* ( to test without a thermometer ,you should be able to comfortably stand water touched to your little finger or wrist, but it should feel quite warm)

 In very large bowl or stand mixer bowl, combine 1 cup of warm water with the sugar and yeast, let sit for five minutes or till yeast is foamy, Add remaining warm water and milk, oil, sorghum and three cups of wheat flour, beat with a large spoon, or dough hook, until all flour is incorporated, add remaining three cups of wheat flour and continue to beat till smooth and elastic, will still be quite soft and sticky, add white flour in half cup increments until you can easily knead the dough by hand with out it sticking to you but it is still very soft,  form into a smooth ball and let raise covered about half and hour or till it has doubled in size.

Turn out onto a floured surface and knead with floured hands  a few times, just to smooth out, divide into fourths and shape into a loaf shape, place in well greased loaf pans and cover, raise again about 15-20 minutes till loafs are nicely puffed up. Bake at 350* for 25-30 minutes till lightly browned.

Remove from oven and immediately take out of pans and cool on a wire rack.

Wonderful warm and buttered right from the oven (one loaf never makes it to the ‘cool’ point!)

 

Delicious with soup as is or toasted or grilled for breakfast!

Second Rise-ready for the oven

To make cinnamon swirl bread. Make recipe exactly as above until you divide into fourths then:

 Gently  roll each fourth out till it is a rectangle  slightly longer than the length of your loaf pan and about half as wide as it is long, sprinkle cinnamon sugar down center , spread out evenly and tightly roll up starting on a long side, then fold each short end under to seal ends and place in loaf pan with seam on the bottom ,  raise and cook as above.

 I use 1/4 cup sugar and 1/2 T. cinnamon per loaf.

Cinnamon Swirl wheat bread