Perfect Wheat Bread

First, I'm excited to be a part of this recipe blog - Thanks Amanda L.! I hope you enjoy the ones I include and I can't wait to try all of yours.

Until a year or two ago, I had never even tried to make my own bread. It wasn't on my list of priorities and I thought it was beyond my abilities to "bake". I was SO wrong, and I promise you that anyone can do this!

This is my mom's recipe and I just LOVE it! It makes two perfect loaves that are soft in the middle. I don't like dry, thick, and heavy wheat bread and this is none of those things. I make all of our own bread now - I never buy bread from the store. I only have to mix up this recipe twice a week... keeping one fresh loaf to use for a few days and freezing the other loaf to pull out when the first one is gone. It works perfectly!

The instructions below might seem a little long-winded, but I wanted to describe each step so the first-time-bread-makers out there don't get nervous. :)

2 1/2 cups of warm water

1 T yeast (heaping)

1/3 cup honey

1/3 cup oil

1 1/2 tsp salt (which is the same as 1/2 Tablespoon... just thought I'd share that fun tip!)

1/4 cup gluten flour (optional) ... (I use it every time, and I've only ever found gluten flour at Trader Joe's or Albertsons)

7-8 cups of wheat flour

-Pour the warm water and yeast into your mixer.

-Measure the oil FIRST, and then the honey in the same measuring cup (the honey slides out easier).

-Add the salt and gluten flour and mix for just a couple of seconds on low speed.

-Add about 6 cups of flour all at once and start your mixer on the low speed while it incorporates everything, and then you can put it on a slightly faster speed (no higher than 4, if it's like mine). The trick with this bread is not to dump all of the flour in right at the beginning because each time you mix a new batch it ends up taking a slightly different amount. Add flour about 1/4 cup at a time after the original 6 cups until the dough starts pulling away from the sides and the bottom.

-Once you have the right amount of flour, let it knead/mix on speeds 3 or 4 for 5 minutes.

-Spray your bread pans with regular pam.

-Put some oil on your hands, cut your dough in half and work with one half at a time. Form it into a potato shape (long but still kind of fat) and try to make the top part that shows look nice and smooth. Put both formed loaves in the pans, cover with a clean towel, and let rise for 35-45 minutes (when they rise just over the height of the pans).

-Preheat your oven to 400. Bake loaves for only 10 minutes at 400, and then turn down to 350 and reset the timer for 13 minutes. Trust me - it gets the best result.

-Remove bread from pans right away and let them cool on a rack. If you're serving them immediately, open one side of a stick of butter and rub it along the top of the loaves. Yummy! Otherwise, you can store it in a ziplock or bread bag for 3-5 days before it starts to smell "yeasty" (like rotting fruit). Since it has no preservatives, it starts to go bad quicker, unless you keep it in your fridge.

p.s. If you need a little more motivation to try this, or to convert to making your own vs. buying it every week, just think of all those preservatives and extra sugar and calories you're saving yourself by making it. There are only 6 ingredients in this recipe. I know it makes me feel better! :) Plus it tastes better!