Our Staple Fresh Bread Recipe

How are you doing today?  I'll bet you'd be doing even better if your house was filled with the smell of freshly baked bread.  We practically inhale this stuff.  Who needs to stop long enough to chew? 

I am currently using the honey version and working on a lower sugar/honey version.  But even with the current sugar content, you can't go wrong with this.  Freshly ground grains are very nutritious.  I grind my grains with a Nutrimill grain mill, and knead the dough with a Zojirushi bread maker.  I have had both for years and can recommend them highly.  The Zojirushi bread maker is heavy duty enough to handle kneading fresh grains without any problems.  Our family has grown, though, and now I need to expand into a Bosch mixer which will knead 5 loaves at a time.  The equipment is a bit spendy, but they are heavy duty and will last for years and years.  I justified the expense by looking at what we don't have to spend on doctor visits.

Angela’s Fresh Whole Wheat Bread-- my staple daily bread

Store bought wheat flour is much denser than fresh ground hard white spring wheat, so I would probably use 1/2 white flour and 1/2 wheat if I couldn't grind my grains.  Regular sugar and salt would work fine.  

2 cups milk of choice

2 eggs

7 cups freshly ground hard white spring wheat flour (7 1/4 cups if using honey)

1/2 cup cane juice sugar or honey

2 tsp sea salt

1 stick butter (no substitutes)

5 tsp yeast

I just put all this in my bread maker in the order given, putting the salt on one side, the sugar on the other and the yeast in a small well in the middle.  If I am using honey, that goes in with the liquids.   My bread maker has a dough function, which is what I use, then I shape it into 2 stainless steel bread pans.  I let it rise until about double (about 30 minutes) then I pop it into a preheated oven at 350 F for 29 minutes.  Yep, it is exact.  You would have to experiment with your oven/pans to get your exact time, but we make it often enough at our house to have it down to a science.  You could easily knead this with your mixer so long as it is strong enough.  

I also use this dough for rolls, cinnamon bread or rolls, or any time I need a dough for a slightly sweeter recipe.  When I want a more italian or french style bread I use a different recipe.

Enjoy,

Angela