100% Whole Wheat Bread – Homemade

I decided to make my own bread today.  After flipping through recipes I found one that I thought would be good.  I was looking for a recipe with the least amount of animal products and processed products.  And since this was my first real go at making bread (I cook, I don’t bake…at least not yet), I wanted to stay in the “simple” range.  I found a recipe and tweaked it to fit what I was looking for.  So here it is.

100% Whole Wheat Bread

Makes 1 loaf

INGREDIENTS

1 cup warm water

1 tbsp almond milk

3 tbsp olive oil

2 tbsp honey

2 tbsp organic sugar

1 tsp salt

3 cups wheat flour

2 tsp instant active dry yeast

1. Combine first 6 ingredients (using only 2 tbsp of the olive oil reserving the rest for later) in a large mixing bowl; stir.

2. Add flour and yeast, and knead until dough is smooth and elastic, about 10-15 minutes if kneading by hand or 2-4 minutes if using a mixer. Grease a bowl with 1/2 tbsp olive oil and place the dough in the bowl, turning once to grease top. Cover with a clean towel and let rise in a warm area until doubled, about 40 minutes.

Dough ball ready to rise

3. Punch dough down; knead for a few minutes until smooth and then form into a loaf. Grease a loaf pan with 1/2 tbsp olive oil and place the dough in the loaf pan and cover. Let rise in a warm place until almost doubled in size, about 30 minutes.

4. Bake at 350 degrees for 30-35 minutes. If loaf starts browning too soon, lightly lay a piece of foil on top of the loaf to prevent too much darkening.

Fresh baked bread resting

5. Remove bread from oven and allow to rest in pan for a few minutes. Remove to a wire rack and cover with a cloth. Slice and enjoy while still warm! Leftover bread can be stored in an airtight bag or frozen until needed.

100% Whole Wheat Bread

My bread stayed fresh for almost a week without freezing or placing it in the fridge.  My husband liked it (that means it must have been good!) and my co-workers liked it as well.  I think I still have a little tweaking to do for my taste, but I tend to be over critical.  🙂

This took me about 2 hours and most of that time was spent doing other things while I waited for the bread to rise and bake.  Making this recipe was surprisingly easy and something I could easily do every week or two to avoid consuming preservatives and chemicals found in store bought bread.

I have to admit, I like having control over what I put in my body.

Please try this recipe and let me know what you think!  🙂  Enjoy!

Look at that beautiful loaf of bread!