recipe: whole wheat bread...

My husband and I love to make our own versions of everyday foods, whenever we can. Jams, pickles, lemonade, waffles, pancakes, breads...these are just some of our favorite staples. Having about 3 slices of bread in our kitchen, I knew the time had come again to make some more. The thing is...bread takes time...and well...time is hard to find.

I recently had a day where I could tidy up the house and sort of catch up on all the wifey things I love doing (yet seem to always have on the back burner) so I spent it doing LOADS of laundry...and I mean loads (poor guy, my husband looked in his...uh... delicates drawer the other night and said "Hey babe, I'm down to my Jr Varsity Team...all the Varsity players are gone." Meaning...what he had left are poor poor excuses for uh...delicates at all!)

Sorry for that strange tangent. Anywho...bread. So I also spent the afternoon making bread. Let me just say...as I type this wonderful (yeah it's turning out to be a wonderful one alright) blog...the smell of fresh baked bread is just absolutely mouth watering. There's nothing quite like it. If you've never experienced it for yourself, PLEASE PLEASE make this recipe, stat!

Here is our Whole Wheat Bread Recipe!

(Makes 3 9x5" loaf pans, but can easily be halved and made into two smaller loaves or one BIG loaf!)

• 3 cups warm water (110*F)
• 2 (.25oz) packages of active dry yeast
• 1/3 cup honey
• 5 cups whole wheat flour
• 2 tablespoons ground flax seed
• 3 tablespoons melted coconut oil or olive oil (We use a combination of 2TBSP coconut oil with 1TBSP olive oil)
• 2 teaspoons salt
• 2 cups all purpose flour (this is a variable, depending on your location and weather this could be more or less)

In a large bowl (or the bowl of your electric mixer), mix warm water, yeast, and 1/3 cup honey (with the dough hook if using mixer). Let sit about 5-10 minutes until bubbles have formed on the surface, it is frothy, and you can definitely smell yeast. If this does not happen after 10 minutes you may have old or "dead" yeast. Start again with freshly bought yeast.

Add 5 cups whole wheat flour and stir to combine. Let set for 30 minutes, or until big, bubbly and doubled in size.

You can see here it really does double!

Mix in 3 tablespoons melted coconut oil or olive oil, ground flax seed, and salt. Stir in 2 cups all purpose flour and mix with dough hook gently until all the flour is combined.This is your variable. You may need less four, or more depending on where you live and the weather at the time. I suggest starting at 1/2 cup and adding an additional 1/2 cup until your dough has become a ball, and is not sticking to the sides while it is mixing. If you decide to knead by hand, flour surface and knead in 1/2 cup increments of all purpose flour until you've created a ball and the dough is not sticking to the counter.

This is what you want your dough to look like: a nice ball, and not sticking to the sides at all.

Place in a greased bowl, turning once to coat the surface of the dough. Cover with a dishtowel. Let rise in a warm place until doubled.

And I mean doubled!

Punch down, and divide into 3 loaves. Place in greased 9 x 5 inch loaf pans, and allow to rise until dough has topped the pans by one inch.

Bake at 350*F for 25 to 30 minutes. Make sure to not over bake. Lightly brush the tops of loaves with 2 tablespoons melted butter or coconut oil if you'd like when done to prevent crust from getting hard. Cool completely. Enjoy!!