A Deliciously Simple Recipe for Whole Wheat Bread

Quote du Jour
How can a nation be called great if its bread tastes like kleenex?

                                                                  ~ Julia Child

On a recent road trip

Look at the different languages on
these labels. It makes me happy
that our country exports such 
excellent products.

I stopped by Bob’s Red Mill in Milwaukie, Oregon to stock up on whole wheat flour and several other grains including ground flax seed. I had no idea that baking with freshly milled flour means more flavor!

Think and drive

Oil change

On the drive home, I got to thinking about deleting oil in my bread baking. Curious how replacing the processed oil with ground flax seed would affect the texture and flavor of my old whole wheat bread recipe, I tried it. Success, it's perfect!

Perfect texture! Oil? Who needs it?

Label‘tude

Manufacturers have blurred the meaning of “whole grain”: their meaning may be fuzzy, inaccurate and disingenuous, but the FDA (Food and Drug Administration, the organization that recently classified pizza as a vegetable) lets them get away with it.



Tired of being confused
I Stopped Buying Bread
To control ingredients and tweak flavors to suit family tastes, I make my own. At dinner, I serve fresh, warm, just baked bread. To top it off, the whole house smells of delicious baking bread!

This Whole Wheat Bread recipe
makes a 2 pound loaf of bread.

Keeping it ridiculously simple
I use a Bread Machine
It’s so easy; I bake a fresh loaf every other day. Left-overs turn into bread pudding or bread crumbs. To make bread crumbs, whirl any left-over stale bread in a food processor, put in a covered jar or Ziploc bag and freeze. Oh my goodness, thrifty!

No bread machine?
Knead-by-hand instructions are included, too
But, to incorporate fresh whole wheat bread into our daily diet, I keep it simple and use a bread machine. Believe me, I end up saving money. Below the recipe, check out my Whole-foods Plant-based Cooking Strategies.

Recipe Notes: No special flours or ingredients needed. Just layer the recipe ingredients, beginning with liquids first, topping off with the yeast. To keep the yeast from contacting the liquid too soon, make a “lake” in the flour, then put the yeast in the “lake”.

To keep liquid from interacting with
the yeast too soon, form a "lake"
at the top of the flour.

Place the yeast in the "lake" and,
ta dahhh, you've got bread machine
skills. Take a bow!

Whole, Plant-based & Awesome Recipe
Whole Wheat Bread
Bread Machine Recipe: 3 hours and 40 minutes
2 pound loaf

Snap bread pan in place - make sure the paddle is properly inserted.
Measure then add ingredients in this order. See Recipe Notes.

• 1 3/4 cup tap water
• 2 tablespoons ground flax seed
• 1/3 cup brown sugar, packed
• 2 teaspoons salt
• 4 2/3 cups whole wheat flour
• 1 tablespoon active dry yeast

Close the lid, select the Whole Wheat Bread setting and press start.

Knead by hand recipe: 3+ hours
1-9X5 loaf

Into a large bowl, measure, add, then mix together all the dry ingredients

• 2 tablespoons ground flax seed
• 1/3 cup brown sugar, packed
• 2 teaspoons salt
• 4 2/3 cups whole wheat flour
• 1 tablespoon active dry yeast

Add and stir

• 1 3/4 cup tap water

Turn onto a floured surface; knead until smooth and elastic, about 8-10 minutes. As needed, add additional 1 tablespoon increments of whole wheat flour if dough is too soft.

Place in a bowl coated with cooking spray, turning once to coat top. Cover with a damp cloth and let rise in a warm place until doubled, about 1 hour.

Punch dough down; shape into a loaf. Place in a 9-inch x 5-inch loaf pan coated with cooking spray. Cover and let rise until doubled, about 35-40 minutes.

Bake at 375° for 35-40 minutes, until golden brown. Turn loaf out of the pan to a wire rack to cool.

My food costs are low!
Whole-foods Plant-based Cooking Strategies: Bread
Eating whole plant-based foods does not mean extra work or money - just new habits and cooking strategies.

Making your own yeast bread saves money

Yeast

• buy in bulk at warehouse stores
• for less than $5, you’ll have enough for dozens of loaves (at least 50 loaves)
• store in a covered glass or metal container in the refrigerator

Flour: Bread Flour, All-Purpose Flour, whole wheat flour, etc.

• purchase 25+ lb bags at warehouse stores
• store in large covered glass or metal containers

Put appliances to work for you

Use a bread machine! 

Want to serve warm fresh bread at a meal? Use the Bread Machine Timer!

Decide when you want to serve the bread

• Snap the loaf pan and beater bar into place
• Layer ingredients according to machine’s directions
• Select the baking option (whole wheat, French, etc.)
• Set the timer based on when dinner will be served

Piggy endorsed! This is a great loaf of bread.