Whole Wheat Bread {Step-by-Step}
Check out this step-by-step picture tutorial on simple whole wheat bread making to become a master bread maker in your own home.
I get a lot of questions regarding yeast and baking bread. A lot. It can be tricky to know when to stop adding flour, how long to knead, what yeast to use, etc, especially when you are just starting down the bread making road.
A few years ago, I wrote up a tutorial on yeast which answers many of those questions. However, I have yet to do a step-by-step picture tutorial on simple bread making. Enter today’s post!
Several years ago I transitioned to making all of our bread. Not only has it saved us money but we have come to far prefer the taste of homemade bread to storebought.
Even if you aren’t up to making all of your bread, conquering a loaf of bread for special occasions or an occasional indulgence is surely worth it! And I promise, it isn’t hard. In my carb-centered world, there is nothing more divine than a piece of warm, homemade bread fresh out of the oven slathered with butter.
A few notes:
1) For the purposes of the step-by-step instructions below, I am using Darcy’s Whole Wheat Bread recipe from this whole wheat bread post. That post has several recipes but I almost exclusively use Darcy’s recipe.
2) I have a Bosch mixer which is pictured in the instructions below and which I use to make all of my breads/rolls. You might need to tailor each bread recipe you try to the size of your stand mixer (or the size of the motor in the mixer) or to what you can accomplish by hand. The pictures below are a simple guideline to follow – adapt according to your equipment or lack of.
3) I grind my own wheat flour (with the Wolfgang Grain Mill) when I make bread although you can definitely use storebought wheat flour. I prefer hard white wheat over hard red wheat for it’s delicate texture and flavor but either can be used. Here are a few informative posts I did on wheat (varieties, where to buy) and wheat grinding (different wheat grinders on the market with lots of reviews). When using freshly ground wheat flour, you will need to add more cups of flour than if using flour that has settled in a bag, since the flour is more aerated and fluffy from being freshly ground. That is a minor issue since I harp on the fact that when making yeast doughs the flour amount given in the recipe should be a guideline only – the real test is the look and feel of the dough.
4) Just to restate from an earlier post, I use these bread pans and once the bread is cooled, I package it in these lovely bread bags with the plastic bag clips from IKEA and freeze until we are ready to eat.
5) As always, please let me know if you have any questions! I hope this tutorial is helpful for those of you wanting to conquer the art of bread making.
Click here for a printable PDF version of the picture tutorial.
Update 4/2015: If you have issues with your bread rising pretty well in the pans but deflating a bit in the oven, you might consider changing the way you shape your dough. I’ve included a video below with a quick 2-minute tutorial on how I shape my bread dough these days. I used to do it as pictured in the post above (and I know it works for many of you so I’m leaving the pictures as is) but over the last several months, my bread hasn’t risen well in the oven and I’ve realized it needs a tighter loaf. So I simplified how I shape it by pressing it in my hands into a much tighter loaf. I’ve indicated this in the comments but many of you wanted a visual so here you go. I literally grabbed the video camera in the middle of making bread when I remembered you asked for this – and so please don’t mind the quirky editing and my little sidekick.
LuAnn’s Whole Wheat Bread {With my Adaptations}
Ingredients
- 5 ½ cups warm water
- ½ cup sugar
- ½ cup oil
- 2 tablespoons instant yeast
- 2 tablespoons salt
- 2 tablespoons vital wheat gluten
- 2 tablespoons nonfat dry milk
- 2 cups (284 g) white flour
- 8-10 cups (1136 to 1420 g) whole wheat flour
Instructions
- Lightly spray bread pans with cooking spray and set aside.
- Mix the water, sugar, oil, yeast, salt, gluten and dry milk together in the bowl of an electric mixer or by hand. Add the white flour and mix well.
- Continue adding the whole wheat flour until the dough cleans the sides of the bowl and the dough is soft but not overly sticky.
- Knead for 10 minutes until a soft, smooth dough has formed. Using oil or cooking spray to grease your hands and countertops, form the dough into 4 loaves.
- Place the loaves into the bread pans and cover with lightly greased plastic wrap. Let them rise until the dough has risen about 1 1/2 inches above the top of the bread pan.
- Place the bread pans carefully in a cold oven. Turn the oven on to 350 degrees and bake for 38 minutes.
- Remove from the oven and turn out the bread onto a wire rack. Let cool completely before placing in bags to put in the freezer.
Well, today I’m trying Round 2 using this tutorial. I’ve been around the whole wheat bread block many times, in search of the perfect recipe, so was super excited to try yours, with the lovely tutorial.
I don’t know if it’s because I live in the currently very drippy Pacific NW, but after adding the full amount of flour, I still had soup – not just sticky, but soup. Trying a half batch to start, I used 2/3 Bob’s Red Mill WW Pastry Flour (white wheat) and 1/3 Bob’s WW Flour (red wheat), and everything else exactly. I just couldn’t leave it as soup, so added roughly 3 cups additional flour until it even remotely resembled bread. Of course, I got lead loaves. Rose great, but lead.
So today, I did the whole recipe, and still had soup after kneading and adding 1 cup additional WW white (used 90% ww white this time). Trying to be faithful, I poured it out onto my countertop, but just couldn’t put that into the loaves. So, I kneaded in about 2 cups AP flour until I could at least make a solid-ish form. Used a bit more flour to help form them, and now they’re rising. Here’s hoping they turn out! Don’t know what the issue is with me/my home/environment/curse!
But thanks so much for the great recipes and tutorials!
Hi Melanie – I’m sorry this bread hasn’t turned out that well for you. How did round 2 turn out after baking? Just remember that the flour amount in the recipe is just a guideline. There are times (depending on where I live – humid vs. dry, etc) that I am adding upwards of 6-8 extra cups of flour to the recipe. I think based on what others have said that the flour amount is too low in the recipe, anyway, but either way, don’t rely too much on the actual number of cups of flour – go instead based on the feel of the dough. I agree, you can’t form soupy bread dough into loaves so I think you are doing the right thing by adding extra flour…but perhaps you need to let it knead longer once that extra flour is added, that way you don’t end up with really dense loaves. Let me know how the second round turns out. I’m confident we can get fabulous bread coming out of your oven!
What kind of oil do you use? You are awesome, as always!
Hi Michelle – I use canola oil.
One more quick question. I went on the link to get the bread pans and they are out of stock. On the page it said newer version of the bread pan is available. I know you love these pans so I want to make sure these newer ones are basically the same. Here is the link;
http://www.amazon.com/Chicago-Metallic-Commercial-Traditional-Uncoated/dp/B003YKGRKU/ref=dp_ob_title_kitchen
Hey Mel, we don’t eat a lot of bread in our house (I’m sure if it is home made we will eat a lot more) so I am wanting to cut the recipe down. How would I go about that? Do you just cut it in half? Including the amount of yeast? Since this makes 5 loaves, seems like the recipe can’t be cut in half. I would love to be able to start making all our own bread!
Hi Bri – yes, you can easily cut the bread recipes in half. My friend, Darcy, who gave me her bread recipe (the one I used in the picture tutorial) actually makes six loaves out of that batch, so if you want to halve it, try making three. It all depends on how dense you like your bread. I make one fewer loaves so my bread is slightly more dense. Also, the new link you sent for the bread pans looks exactly like the ones that I have. I’m not sure why the different link – maybe an updated pan – but they look exactly the same! In fact, I’m going to update the link in my post. Thanks!
Hi Melanie, from your tutorial, it looks like you bake your loaves on the lowest position in the oven, do you like this better than the middle position ?
Karen – actually, it looks like from the picture it is the lowest level, but actually it is the middle level of my oven – I remove the top rack so the loaves brown more evenly but I definitely recommend the middle level of the oven rather than the lower level. I think the loaves might burn that way, don’t you?
I def need to up my bread skills. I don’t do too well with dough yet. I need to go through some of yor tuturials and master that next 🙂
I’ve cooked with both residential and commercial convection ovens. While a convection oven does cook hotter and faster than a regular oven, if you have a newer residential convection oven there’s probably a built-in adjustment to the temperature. For example if I turn on my mother’s convection oven with a temperature of 350 degrees it will automatically adjust the temperature down; the digital display reflects the lower temperature and I don’t have to do anything. Models vary however so you should check your manual or manufacters website. I’ve also seen people remodel their kitchens and put in a commerical oven and well, I’ve gotta say that if this is your situation you cannot depend on automatic temperature adjustments or a gentle blower. A commerical convection oven is MUCH different than a residential oven. It’ll be a workhorse but you’ll need to spend some time getting used to it. The first time I used a commerical convection oven I made cornmeal muffins and the blower blew over the muffin tops so they all looked like ski slopes; high only on the opposite side of the blower. I don’t have a convection oven and have more experience cooking with traditional gas heat but if I had one I would start using it, trying my favorite recipes and noting the differences, if any, and get used to cooking only with convection because it will cook your food faster and more evenly because of the circulated heat. I think the only thing you would need to make sure of is that you are setting your kitchen timer for less time that what the recipe states. For a 10 min cookie, I would check at 7 min. Just imagine your next Thanksgiving when you get to take the turkey out an hour early 🙂 Good luck.
Thanks for the wealth of knowledge, Amy!
This is SO helpful! I just cannot seem to make bread. I’m determined to learn how to make bread, but whenever I try, something goes wrong and I swear I’ll never try bread making again! I’ve had friends give me recipes they love and tell me tips, but what I’ve been needing all this time was someone to show me each little step! I think I definitely overflour, and I know I didn’t knead long enough. I just have a small kitchenaid, so maybe I’ll start with a half batch.
One question: what size/brand bread pans do you use?
Hi Melanie – above the recipe, I linked to the bread pans I use. They are chicago metallic and I buy them on amazon.com. I think they officially measure 8 1/2-inches by 4 1/2-inches.
probably a dumb question… BUT Im askin anyway 🙂
We just moved into a new house with a gas oven/stove. im in 5 burner heaven! And the oven can be used for convection cooking. Is it better to bake bread with convection or regular baking? Or is convection better for more than one loaf?
Hi Megan – congrats on your new awesome stove/oven! As for the convection oven, I have no idea since I’ve never baked with convection. You’ll probably have to experiment and bake both ways unless someone more knowledgeable than I can chime in and help.
So I am a new follower of (what I call and tell everyone about) the best recipe website ever. I was talking to a friend of mine at the first of the year and told her my new years resolution was to make more from scratch meals for my family. She told me about this website and I have been loving it ever since. It’s good to have a fellow lover of bread making with awesome recipes to boot. So….thank you so much for all the yummy recipes! I have to share my most favorite roll recipe ever with you because I think that you will love it!
Easy Potato Rolls
2/3 c. sugar
2/3 c. shortening
1 c. mashed potatoes(I mix up some potato pearls)
2 ½ tsp. salt
2 eggs
2 packages yeast
1 1/3 c. warm water
6-6 ½ c. flour
In a large bowl, cream shortening and sugar. Add potatoes, salt and eggs mix again. In small bowl, dissolve yeast in 2/3 cup of warm water; add to creamed mixture. Beat in 2 cups flour and remaining water. Add enough remaining flour to form a soft dough. Shape into a ball. Do not knead. Place in a greased bowl. Let raise till doubled about 30 minutes. Grease a cookie sheep and roll into balls and place on cookie sheet. Cover with greased saran wrap. Let raise till doubled. Bake at 375 for 18-20 minutes until the top is golden brown.
Thanks for all the great recipes!
Thank you for the tutorial! It’s a goal of mine to make 100% of our family’s bread in the near future. I’m partly there now but need all the help I can get. Can I just say for the record… If your husband is a workaholic like mine, a picture of bread just out of the oven texted to his phone will get him in the car 🙂 I’m just sayin. It works for me 🙂 I’ve also found that if said picture includes me slathering butter on warm bread he drives even faster.
Yes, makes great sense! Thank you for getting back to me. I’m going to make it today 🙂 I’ll let you know how it turns out. Thanks again, and have a great day!
I have been loyal to my bread recipe for nearly three years, but I may have to deviate this weekend when I bake again. Your bread looked so light for wheat bread – my kids would love their bread to be “white”.
Regarding the discussion of letting bread rise in the oven – I don’t rise mine at all on the countertop. I preheat my oven to 170 degrees and put my loaves in the oven for 20 minutes. Then I turn up the oven (without opening the oven door) to 350 and bake another 25 minutes. You may have to alter that based on your oven and bread recipe but it saves me a lot of time, which we can all use.
First of all, I LOVE your website! It has become my new “go-to” place for any cooking ideas/questions I might have. This bread recipe looks great and I can’t wait to give it a try. Can you tell me what, exactly, vital wheat gluten is? And just how important it is? Can I only order it online or would I be able to find it in a grocery store? Thanks!
Hi Lindsey – vital wheat gluten is a natural protein found in the endosperm of the wheat berry. It is harvested and processed to become gluten flour. From what I’ve read and learned about it, basically it helps retain the gas and steam from baking and gives more volume to the baked bread. I order mine online because I usually can find a code or way to get free shipping and I just love King Arthur Flour (although I’ve also ordered Bob’s Red Mill gluten on amazon.com and it is free shipping). But in a pinch, I can usually find it in my local grocery stores by the flour.
I LOVED this post Melanie! I would really like to transition to making all of our bread, and this is just more motivation!
This is fantastic, Melanie! I especially liked seeing your dough during the process of kneading. Very informative!
How do you get such perfect slices? I love your recipes!
Hi Susan – I just use a serrated knife and cut carefully, especially if I know I’m going to be taking a picture. Trust me, my kids sandwich slices don’t look this perfect.
Wow this looks delicious! I might just have to give it a try sometime. Your tutorial is helpful too, love to see it all broken down like that.
Mel – this is amazing. I started making my own bread about a year ago and stopped buying bread from the store. I still need to try your recipe. Maybe I’ll send you mine too. But I think I’ve read this post 3 times, I think I am still over flouring my dough just a tad, but I’m determined to get it perfect. Thanks so much for these wonderful tips and pictures, it’s really SO helpful!
Thanks Mel.
I use a Kitchen Aid stand mixer. I used to add flour, about a tablespoon at a time, just until the dough came un-stuck from the bowl. When I would remove it and knead it by hand, the dough was very tough.
Now I take it out sticky and knead in extra flour by hand until I feel that the texture seems right (which is a rather uneducated guess for me).
I once made an Emmer loaf, and I kneaded in more and more and more and more flour until I finally gave up and decided that no amount of flour was going to cure it. This boule didn’t hold its shape at all. It flattened into a pancake while baking on my preheated pizza stone.
Do you have any idea what I do (or don’t do) that controls how many air bubbles are in my crumb? I usually get a really even crumb with no air bubbles {except for the occasional really big bubble at the top]. Is that a desirable crumb texture?
I made a sourdough boule today and I kneaded it more by hand than normal (with the same amount of pressure), and I added a little less flour. No giant air pocket at the top. 🙂
JenB – crumb texture is really an individual preference. Whenever I make bread with a biga or overnight starter, the crumb has nice, airy holes, like an artisan bread. For whole wheat bread, like in this post, I prefer the crumb more dense. Light…but not overly airy. I’m not sure what really contributes to that. I have a feeling kneading is part of that, as well as rising time. There are so many factors with bread making that you kind of have to play around with it to get the result that you really like. Glad your sourdough boule turned out so well today!
I’m so glad you posted this. I’ve been working on my bread baking skillz with this very recipe. I use my kitchen aid with dough hook and I have found it just can’t manage a recipe of this size. To get good results I have to split my recipe in half and knead each half separately. I also let the dough rise an hour before I shape it. Maybe I’ll try skipping that step next time and see how it goes. The bread tastes so much better than store bought that I can hardly keep it in the house it is eaten so fast. For a laugh you should see the post my husband did on our blog about one batch of my bread. http://marielleshow.blogspot.com/2011/05/heaven.html
Oh Mel, You are a trip girl! I never know what you are going to show me next. Baking my own bread? I never even thought of it! Now I can’t wait to try it…one slight problem is that my hubby and I are both on WW and I am not sure how bread fits into our points 😉 I might just hold onto the recipe and pull it out when I make some delicious soup or lasagna this fall! Thanks for sharing this (and everything else). Blessings to you and your fam!
Wow, Melanie! That is some amazing tutorial- the best I have ever seen…EVER! I’ve been MIA for a few days (preparing for and cleaning up after my party), and look how busy you have been! I can’t wait to see what I’ve missed. This bread looks incredible…you make it look so easy! 🙂
Thanks for such a great step-by-step tutorial with pictures! This is such a great tool – I was able to check my progress with yours – how cool! I still am having problems though and can’t quite figure it out. My dough rose the first time in the bowl. After the dough was shaped and placed in pans, it “lost” its shape and looked less and less like a “loaf” of bread (it mainly just took on the shape of the pan – a flat rectangle). It also never rose a whole lot in the pans – a little perhaps, but after about 5 hours it never even got near the top of the pan, much less 2 inches above. I went ahead and baked it anyways (at this point it was 11:00pm and I was tired 🙂 ) and although it tasted great, it looked like a very un-appetizing “brick” of bread so-to-speak. Any guesses? I’m determined though to get this right- its my goal for the summer, to actually have one loaf come out perfectly, like the ones in your tutorial 🙂 Thanks again for such a helpful tutorial!!!
Hilary – are you using instant yeast? If so, the dough doesn’t need to rise in a bowl before shaping into loafs. After kneading, you can immediately shape it into the loaves. I’m not sure why your loaves had issues rising, to be honest. Sometimes dough that is under-floured (I know it’s confusing to reach that perfect balance between under and over-floured) won’t rise well because it doesn’t have enough structure to rise up. In fact, I made this whole wheat bread yesterday, like I have a million times, and was distracted while making it and significantly underfloured my dough but by the time I pulled it out on the counter I didn’t want to put it all back in the mixer and add more. My bread rose well in the loaf pans but fell once it went in the oven so the loaves were flattish on top. The bread was moist and delicious – just incredibly ugly. I know it happened because it needed a bit more flour to hold together. Do you think that could possibly have been the case with our dough? Don’t give up hope!
What happens if you over-flour your dough? Does it just get dense? Doesn’t too much moisture make it dense? How do I avoid getting one big air bubble just below the crust?
I’m working with sourdough starter (from scratch) right now, and I’m never sure how much to knead it or when to stop adding flour. I can’t knead it if it’s sticking to my fingers and counter top. For me, cooking spray just makes the dough sticky-er once it’s all kneaded into the dough. I wish I could have one in-person lesson with an experienced baker.
JenB – I’ve noticed mainly with overflouring that I get a really dry, crumbly loaf of bread and a lot of times, the loaves don’t rise well or quickly because there is too much flour. As for the air bubble, my theory on that (I’m sure there are more) is to really press down the bread while you are shaping it into loaves so that as you are rolling it up into a log, air doesn’t get trapped in between each roll. I’m not really familiar with sourdough so it might just be a stickier dough than non-sourdough breads, but I understand what you are saying about not being able to knead it if it is sticking everywhere. I think if that is truly the case, more flour is needed, gradually, until you can knead it without having monster dough fingers.
JenB – P.S. I have noticed when I make breads by hand and don’t use my Bosch mixer that it is much easier to overflour the dough because of the stickiness issue. I’ve always employed the cooking spray to help with the issue but it sounds like you haven’t had luck with that. Maybe someone else who makes their breads by hand can chime in and help us both out!
What kind of scale are you using to weigh the dough and where did you get it? I have never known where to get one or what kind!! Thanks! MomStarr
Hi momstarr – I use a Salter kitchen scale. A very old, basic brand. I think I bought it at Bed, Bath and Beyond over eight years ago. There are a lot of brands out there. Cook’s Illustrated recommends this one, in case that helps narrow down your search.
I tried for a year to get perfect wheat bread results. I got pretty close, but I can see now from your helpful pics that I had been adding too much flour apparently. I haven’t made homemade read for a few months now, but was just thinking yesterday that I needed to get in the groove of making it again. Perfect timing for the helpful post. Thanks!
Excellent tutorial, and so useful. So many people are scared of making their own bread, and it’s nice to have somewhere to go to reduce those fears. Thank you!
So, I love to make bread! But have never seem someone shape their loaves the way you do – I can’t wait to try that !
What a great tutorial. So thorough. I’m going to try to adapt your recipe to make just three loaves, since that’s all my mixer can hold.
I make all our bread, and I would LOVE to do it five loaves at a time. If only I had a bosch!
Do you really measure each loaf piece every time? You are so meticulous. I am also sloppy about shaping my loaves–they still look lovely, but not Mel-perfect!
Thank you for this tutorial Mel, it’s just what I’ve been needing. I was never sure on just how much flour to add. I cant wait to try your method of rolling the dough, your loaves are beautiful, my baked loaves always have that mushroon top, I let it rise about 1 inch above the pan, sometimes a little less. I always thought over rising was my problem, now I’ll see if shaping differently will help. Any thoughts? I live in central Wi, we have a lot of country stores here, operated by local Mennonites, they carry the wheat berries also.
Karen – thanks for the tip on the wheat berries. I should look for similar stores in my area. As for the mushroom top – I’m not really sure! It might be because there is too much bread in one pan (loaves are too large). They might over rise in the oven because of that but it’s just a guess. Let me know if shaping them differently makes a difference. Good luck!
Thanks for sharing this. I have a Bosch mixer, but I don’t have any pans or other tools. Is it possible to half your recipes- to see how it goes for me? If so, would it make two or three loaves? I would like to start, but don’t want to over-extend myself and Thanks!
Kirstin – sure, I think you could halve the recipe just fine.
Oh just FYI I make dough in my kitchen aid mixer with the dough hook all the time and it works great! I’m excited to try your recipe in it!
Hi Melanie!
I need to bring a salad or pasta dish for a baby shower and I was wondering if you would give me a recommendation. What is your favorite thing to bring? I really trust your expertise! Thanks so much!
Love the recipe and the awesome step by step photos! I love your site. Thanks for another great post!
I am so excited about this! I have been afraid to try making my own whole wheat bread loaves, but I think I have enough experience with rolls and other doughs, that it is time to try this! I’ll let you know how it goes. Thanks for all the time you spent putting this post together!
Yes…this is the recipe I’ve been using with my Bosch mixer for the last 40 years! Early on I discovered the benefits of adding the gluten…people are amazed that such light loaves result using all whole wheat flour…I also use a 1/2 C ice cream scoop(food server available at restaurant supply stores) to measure out the oil and honey…no scraping out measuring cups…thanks for the great tutorial.
I make bread all the time and love to make it as well as eat it. I haven’t tried a new recipe in years though, and true I like my recipe, I love to try new things. I am looking very forward to trying this one. I have one question. You said you put your bread in a cold oven. Do you then turn the oven to 350 bake and time from the moment you put the bread in, or do you wait until the light goes off (indicting the oven is hot enough) and start timing from there? Anyway, thank you for posting this. It does make it easy to follow and exciting to try. I have loved your site and thank you for all the work you put into it! 🙂
Hi Mary – I put the bread in a cold oven, close the oven door, set the oven to 350 and set the timer for 32 minutes (you’ll want to judge the exact time yourself based on your own oven since each oven bakes at slightly different temperatures). So the bread is in the oven through the preheating period – 32 minutes total…from cold oven to finished bread. Make sense?
That is alot more sticky than I have ever done it! I think I will try it! The bread looks like it turned out great!
Would using a stand up mixer, such as a Kitchenaide work the same way? I have the bread hook for it, just dont know whether it would come out the same in the Kitchenaide, or whether it would be worth it to invest in a Bosch mixer.
Randie – I don’t have a kitchenaid so I can’t tell you yes or no but I have friends that make bread in their kitchenaid mixers. However, I have also had at least three friends burn out the motors in their kitchenaids making bread – so the size of the motor makes a difference. You don’t want to overload the mixer. I’m a little biased in favor of the almighty Bosch but it isn’t always practical to go and drop hundreds of dollars on a new mixer so perhaps try a half batch of bread in your kitchenaid first to see how it fares.
Wow this is almost exactly the recipe I inherited from my grandmother and I use a Bosch–perfect for bread!
This is a great tutorial! I love watching the step by step process of bread baking ~ you did a great job! Picture 11 is where people get the most confused. They see a sticky blob and want to add more flour…you didn’t and instead, let the dough knead for 7 minutes. Doesn’t look like a sticky glob anymore, does it? Patience, practice, and touch are all key in making a perfect loaf. Well done!
Mel, that is absolutely perfect looking bread. It looks – and I bet tastes – 10X better than anything you’d buy from the store. Thanks for sharing! I especially love your step-by-step photos, too. I’m sure that it took a lot of time and effort to document this process!
What a great tutorial! So helpful. I love your website so much! Never had a bad recipe from it…
I love that you are using what looks like a Bosch mixer. About 5 years ago I attended a Relief Society class where a friend taught us to make bread and rolls with a Bosch mixer. Since that’s what I had at home- I felt much more confident going home and making it myself because I knew what it should look like at each of the different stages because we were using the same mixer! Since then, I have made bread and rolls hundreds of times and I love it! It’s become one of the “things” that I am known for. Thanks for the posts- I check out your blog everyday for new recipes.
I can’t even begin to tell you how happy I am that you posted this. I was determined to make my own bread for my family also, so I used your recipe and I know I added too much flour because I had no idea how sticky it really was suppose to be. The bread is yummy but extremely dense, so thank you thank you!
This is an awesome tutorial! In Darcy’s wheat bread recipe could you substitute lemon juice for the vitamin C pill, and how much would you use?
Katie – I’ve never subbed lemon juice but have seen it used in other recipes. I’d say a tablespoon, perhaps?
Thank you so much for this post! My husband gave me a Blendtec Blender last week for my birthday, and I’ve read that it can be used to grind wheat in small quantities. I’ve checked everywhere I can think of locally, and can’t find anyone that sells hard white wheat berries. Do you buy yours locally, or order them online? Do you have any thoughts on soaking the wheat after it’s been ground? I’m a little confused on whether or not soaking is necessary. One last question 🙂 Do you grind a bunch of wheat and store in the freezer, or do you only grind what you need at the moment?
Whitney – believe it or not, I’ve found hard white wheat berries at Walmart just in the last couple of months. I live in Wisconsin so I don’t know if they are carrying them at all stores but they are on the very bottom shelf below the flour. When I can’t buy them there, I try to stock up when I make my semi-annual trips to the LDS (The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints) Home Storage Centers (which is open to members of the LDS faith and non-members). You can find storehouse locations here. I drive three or four hours to get to one but buy a lot of wheat when I go.
WOW! Mel, you’re amazing. This looks incredibly easy to follow, and very inspiring. Thank you for taking the time to put this together. I can’t wait to try it when I get back the States in August. You bread loaves look PERFECT!
A friend told me about your website a few months ago when I always raved about her recipes. She said most of them came from your website. I have made several and have liked all of them. I never knew you milled your own flour or made your own bread until I read your post today. I bought a grain mill about a year ago and really like the taste of the bread and feel like my family is getting more nutritious bread. I look forward to going thru all your bread recipes and learning new tips.
Thanks for the step by step tutorial.