Looking for the best bread recipe? This prize-winning recipe won First Place in the bread contest at the 2015 Preparedness Fair. And it won by a landslide. It really is the tastiest whole wheat bread you can imagine.
This recipe makes 2 loaves or 12-18 rolls.
Ingredients:
1 1/2 cup warm water (90-110FS)
3 Tb Honey
3 Tbl oil
1 egg (beaten) or 1 1/2 Tb whole egg powder
1 1/2 tsp salt
4 cups whole wheat flour (ground from Hard White Spring Wheat on finest setting.)
4 Tb vital wheat gluten
1 1/2 tsp dry active yeast
Option 1:
Put all ingredients in your Bosch or Kitchen Aid mixer to mix and knead the dough for approx 10 minutes and then cover and let it rise in a warm area until double in size (about an hour).
Beat down, then divide dough in half and put into two lightly greased standard sized loaf pans (9x5x3). Let rise* again approximately 30-45 minutes. Bake at 350 for 25 minutes. (That time includes the preheating time.)
Option 2:
(This is what seems to work best for most people.)
I use my bread machine on the “dough” setting to make the dough. Put all ingredients in the order listed into bread machine. Turn on dough setting. This takes 90 minutes. Then divide the dough in half and put into two standard sized loaf pans (9x5x3) and let rise* in a slightly warm oven until about double in size (30-45 minutes). Then bake the bread at 350 for 25 minutes. (That time includes the preheating time.)
*Bread Rising Tip:
Once your form your loaves or rolls, turn the oven on for about 2 minutes, then immediately turn it off again. This creates a nice warm environment to let the bread, rolls, or buns rise. Keep the oven light on, to help maintain a warmer temp in the oven. It also allows you to monitor how much the bread has risen without having to open the oven door. It generally takes anywhere from 30-45 minutes to double in size (assuming your yeast is functioning correctly).
When it’s doubled in size don’t move the bread at all. Set the timer and preheat the oven while the bread is still there, which allows a little more rising before it actually bakes. This system seems to work pretty well and reduces the chances of your bread dough collapsing.
