whole wheat love.

Last year I wrote an article for a website about whole wheat. Unlike my husband, I didn't grow up with a barrel in my cupboard & the thought of having one now completely baffled me. I didn't know what to do with it but I really wanted to. I refused to keep the stuff around if I wasn't going to use it. So for the article, I got to know whole wheat. I mean the real stuff. I learned how to grind it myself & in conclusion, decided I needed a better wheat grinder which I plan on getting sometime this year. I also learned how to bake with it. For the most part. I made pizza dough, waffles, cracked wheat, everything but bread. I have always been scared of bread. Considering I have a hard time making a cake from a box turn out correctly, I think this is a reasonable fear. Well, as I made this years resolution, I knew I would need to conquer this fear eventually. Brett started by making fabulous artisan breads, but I still wanted to be able to have sliced bread for grilled cheese, etc. I decided I would begin by researching a recipe. I didn't want anything fancy & I wanted it to be 100% whole wheat if it was going to replace my local bread I already buy. Well, I found it.

The recipe requires no special ingredients & gives exact instructions so I wasn't left guessing. The best part is it makes 3, 9 x 5 loaves so if I double the batch, I can have 2 loaves per week for three weeks! All the reviews are very positive & have great tips & suggestions. It says it freezes well, which I haven't done yet, but it definitely slices well & is very moist. My bread may look a little small because I didn't notice the pans Brett got me were the wrong size, so it made two loaves but still turned out great!

The recipe calls for part bread flour, but I replaced it with all ww flour as suggested in reviews & it was great. In the final instruction it says you can use from 2-4 cups extra flour, but I only needed an extra 1/2 cup. I suggest you try this recipe if you are scared of making bread. If I can do it, anyone can!

The recipe:
Simple Whole Wheat Bread