Kathleen's Whole Wheat Bread

Submitted by Kathleen Moffett

Mix together:

12 heaping cups hard-white(Golden 86) whole wheat flour

7 heaping cups hard-red spring whole wheat flour

¼ cup whole grain soy flour

½ cup ground flax seeds

4 heaping tsp sea salt (evaporated)

1 Tbsp dry yeast

Then mix evenly into above flour mixture:

1½ cup oil (safflower - cold/expeller pressed or substitute unsalted butter)

½ - ¾ cup honey

In a separate quart size container:

2 cups warm water (105° - 110°, do not exceed 115°)

2 tsp honey

2 Tbsp dry yeast

Sprinkle yeast into water/honey mixture and stir until yeast is dissolved. Let proof until froth raises 1” above quart mark (at least doubling). Pour proofed yeast mixture plus 2 more quarts of warm water into flour mixture. Knead until gluten strands start to develop. Let dough rest 1 hour. Then knead dough until smooth and elastic. (If kneading by machine, divide dough into manageable portions and knead 4-7 minutes until dough pulls away from side of bowl and is smooth and elastic. Knead pieces back together by hand.) Place into bowl, smooth side up, and lightly oil exposed dough surface.

Cover with linen towel (if dry day, cover with plastic between layers of linen towels) and place in warm, draft free area and let raise until doubled. When raised, start preheating oven. Punch down dough and divide into six portions. Flatten single portions and roll into loaf shape, tucking ends under and placing seam side down into greased loaf pan (large). (dough should fill half of pan). With a pastry brush or your fingers, lightly brush on exposed tops an egg and water mixture to seal loaves.

Place near or on stove and let raise to only 1¾ times its size (not quite doubled). Bake at 350° for 30 minutes. (May need to turn loaves half way through baking to insure even baking.) Pull from oven and immediately dump out onto cooling rack, standing loaves on their sides.

(Makes 7 - 10 large loaves)

TO MAKE MULTI-GRAIN BREAD:

Add at the dry ingredient stage of the above recipe:

¼ cup Whole millet

1 cup Rolled oats

1 cup Rolled wheat
2 cups Kamut flour

Add at the Oil/Butter&Honey stage of the above recipe:

½ cup cracked-Kamut or cracked-wheat berries soaked in 1½ cups boiling water (let set 1 hour)

Types of Wheat

Hard Red Winter 

Wide range of protein, making it an excellent bread wheat with superior milling and baking characteristics.  Good for bread, rolls, and all-purpose flour.

Hard Red Spring

Contains the highest percentage of protein, making it an excellent bread wheat with superior milling and baking characteristics.

Soft Red Winter

Relatively low in protein content, good milling and baking characteristics. Used for flat breads, cakes, pastries, and crackers.
 

Hard White

Closely related to red wheat (except for color genes), this wheat has a milder, sweeter flavor, equal in fiber and similar milling and baking properties. Used mainly in yeast breads, hard rolls, bulgur, tortillas and oriental noodles.

Soft White

Low in protein. Good for cakes, crackers, cookies, pastries, quick breads, muffins and snack foods.

Durum

The hardest of all wheat. High in protein. Used to make semolina flour for pasta.

Tips When Using Whole Wheat

 • Use 2 tablespoons less per cup of flour when substituting whole wheat for refined flours in your recipes.

• Lower oven temperature by 25° when baking with whole wheat (also when baking with honey).

• Watch baking times closely (often 5-10 minutes less than recipe calls for). Do not over bake whole wheat products, as it tends to dry them out quickly.

 
• Freeze baked goods immediately after cooling to stop the drying out process (absorption of moisture and oils into the bran).

• When first introducing whole wheat into your diet, start by replacing half of your refined flour in your recipe, working up to 100% whole wheat in a 3-6 month period.

• For lighter and airy baked goods(non-yeast) use a higher ratio of soft white wheat in your recipes.

• Increase leavening agents (soda by, baking powder and yeast double) to compensate for the

heavier flour that are from whole grains.