DIY Family Recipe Book: Whole Wheat Bread

One of my favorite aspects of unschooling is the time I spend with the girls cooking in the kitchen. We have many family favorite recipes and this year I want to put at least 52 recipes into a Mohler Family Cookbook. The girls are excited and are going to help with the process!

This week we are baking whole wheat bread. This bread is incredible and Olivia can now make it by herself as well!

I think the best lesson my girls learned through watching me bake bread is that failure is not an option. I guess you could say my bread baking skills were sub-par! Believe me no one in my house thinks my bread should be fed to our chickens. Actually I have listened to arguments over who will get the last slice!

This bread is made two or three times a week at our home. I hope you enjoy it as much as we do.

Ingredients:

Whole Wheat Bread Flour

Molasses

Sugar

Yeast

Salt

Vegetable Oil

Warm Water

Step one:

• Add 3 ½ teaspoons of yeast, 2 tablespoons of molasses, ¼ cup sugar, 2 cups whole wheat bread flour, 1/3 cup oil, and 1 & 1/3 cup warm water into a mixing bowl.
• Using the paddle attachment mix together for 5 minutes.

• This will create a sponge. The sponge will need to be covered with a moist towel and allowed to rise for 60 minutes.

Step two:

• Add 1 teaspoon of salt and 1 ½ - 2 cups of whole wheat flour to the sponge. Mix using the dough hook for 10 minutes.

Your dough should form into a ball. If you are impatient like me, do NOT cheat and try to mix for 5 minutes, or even 8 minutes. You will get the best results if you truly allow the mixer to knead the dough for 10 minutes.

• Pre-heat your oven to 350 degrees.

Step three:

• Roll dough into a log and place into a large greased loaf pan. Let rise for 30 minutes.

Step four:

• Place loaf pan in the oven for 33 minutes. That is the magic number for my oven. J

Let bread cool on a cooling rack, or slice right into the warm bread and slather on the butter! Whatever floats your boat.

I hope you enjoy this recipe. It is a definite family favorite in our home.