Here is a very delicious entirely Whole Wheat bread recipe that I wanted to throw out there for all you bakers.  Kid tested and loved!!! I have had this recipe hanging inside my cupboard door for years.  It was given to me by my friend Gina M.  I used to mix this recipe in my Bosch Universal Mixer, recently deceased.  Both Francesca and I make this by hand though and found it very easy, so go ahead and give it a try.

The wheat is freshly ground within a day, hours and usually minutes before using, which  makes a huge difference in flavor.  I use the Prairie Gold Wheat Berries out of Wheat Montana.  Wal-Mart carries it around here……..but I buy mine from our local CLNF Co-op buying club.    The original recipe from Gina calls for 1 whole cup of honey but we don’t like our bread sweet so only put in 3/4 cup of the honey.  Let your taste decide but honey should not be replaced with any other sweetener in this recipe.  Also you must use butter.  If you make your own butter at home, you can use the buttermilk in this recipe in place of the milk and it does taste really delicious as well.

HONEY WHOLE WHEAT BREAD RECIPE

Whole Wheat Flour    (Mine used a 2# 2.5 oz. coffee can of wheat yesterday.  Approximately 12 cups, start with 10 and keep adding until the right consistency, even if you go over what I suggest.    This was a bit sticky on my hands as I kneaded and rolled it around, but don’t over do the flour or it will be dry.  Whole wheat breads always need to be handled differently than all white flour breads.)

1  1/2 cups of potato flakes

3/4  cup of honey (no less but up to 1 cup if you like)

4 eggs

2  1/2 Tablespoons Salt (maximum)

3 cups warm milk

1 cup melted butter

1/4  cup of yeast  (very level)

2  cups of warm water

Dissolve 1/4 cup yeast in 2 cups of warm water and set aside to proof.

In a large mixing bowl mix well the potato flakes, honey, eggs, salt, melted butter and warm milk.  If the yeast proofed out well, add the yeast/water to this mixture and mix it up.  Slowly keep adding and mixing the wheat flour.  Start with a bunch and watch until it looks like the right consistency to knead by hand.  Turn it out on the table and grease your hands with lard and add flour if needed.  I do not knead it very long. The dough is going to be a bit sticky but don’t worry it will rise nicely and actually dry out a bit.   If you have a Bosch mixer or some other brand, mix on #2 Speed for 6 to 10 min.   After the dough is mixed well, place in a bowl and let rise for at least 25 min or until it looks doubled in size, in a warm place with no drafts.

Grease your trays or bread pans and form into either bread loaves or buns.  I prefer buns.  Let them rise at least an hour, you judge……….then preheat the oven to 400 degrees and bake.  My buns take 15 min. until medium-brown color in my gas oven.  If you are going to bake this I assume you know how to judge your own oven:)  Pan loaves will take longer.  Just keep an eye and nose out.  This is well worth the effort.  This wheat bread is  soft and does not taste wheaty. 

If you want to try this recipe out and don’t want to purchase potato flakes, try your own mashed potatoes maybe starting with a cup and a half.  For your first several times, I would try the flakes, it’s up to you!

From the Wheat Montana Web site I quote:

“This, Hard White Spring Wheat, is the wheat that started a revolution in bread baking. Since we first started selling Prairie Gold® in 1988, thousands of home, specialty and commercial bakers have discovered the unique characteristics of this grain. Its naturally golden color makes 100% whole-wheat baked foods that are lighter and sweeter. It is excellent in all bread recipes, cookies, piecrusts and more”.

I started to write this post last week, (lambing keeps us out of here:) and since then we have become overwhelmed with eggs and so I have been working on a version of the Ciabatta Bread that uses at least 10 eggs!!  I just finished a batch today and it has already received raving reviews from my gang.  Technically it is not even Ciabatta but since I used that as my base, I still call it that.   I may post that eventually after I get it exactly the way I would like it.

Have a great Good Friday, Holy Saturday and Easter.  Hope some of you are able to get potatoes in today as is our tradition.  We already have planted a bunch of potaotes  a few weeks ago.  We’ve got until 3:00 p.m. at which time we have veneration of the cross at St. Leo.