homemade whole wheat bread

i ♥ homemade bread :)

my beautiful, and very talented sister, Melissa

offered to show me how to make some! isn't that so nice?!

yeah, she pretty much knows everything...

she homeschools her four kids

and bakes bread

and people think we're twins.

so, yeah, pretty much i could go on and on about her...

but i'll save it for another post ;)

we're talking about bread, remember?

she was kind enough to invite us {when i say us, i mean me}

for an on location photo shoot tutorial!

she has a great wheat grinder. {i'm jealous.} i used hard red winter wheat.

she also let me use her KitchenAid mixer.

{i don't have one. so i was a little excited.}

look how nicely it rose!

we each made a loaf and some rolls.

didn't it come out beautifully?!

i can't get enough!

the crust is nice and thin; the bread is soft and light.

beautifully cut and ready to eat...

toasted with turkey and havarti cheese, some mustard and green leaf lettuce. mmmm!

wanna make some?

preheat your oven to 350°F. it won't be long and you'll have fresh, homemade bread :)

small batch                            large batch
{2 loaves}                                               {4 loaves}

2 1/4 c. hot water                                     4 1/2 c. hot water

1/4 c. honey                                             3/4 c. honey
{try spraying the measuring cup first ~ the honey will come right out.}

                        stir together with whisk

1 1/2 Tbsp yeast                                       8 tsp. yeast

                        stir together with whisk

3 1/2 c. wheat flour                                    7 c. wheat flour

                        stir together with whisk

1/4 c. oil {i used vegetable oil.}                  1/2 c. oil

2 tsp. salt {sea salt is fine too.}                   4 tsp salt

                        whisk until sticky {about 7 min.}

                             change to hook.

 keep adding flour until it pulls from the sides and bottom of the bowl.

                     {i added 3-4 cups more}

          remove hook and bowl from mixer.

cover dough in bowl with towel and let it rise

   {it will double in size- see photo above.}

   you can either let it rise once and be done

                            OR 

 punch it down once it's risen and let it rise a second time.

{i let mine rise once. it didn't take long either- you'll need to watch it closely.}

                        shape into loaves

  {for thinner crust, roll the dough on oiled surface while shaping.}

          
               and place in greased pans.

{if you're doing rolls, place dough on counter or cutting board and

  use a 1/4 measuring cup ~ they'll be the perfect size}

      bake for 25 minutes and enjoy!