Whole Wheat Bread

 Whole Wheat bread

Whenever I read the ingredients on th back of the packaging of any bread in any store, I wonder why there are full page list of ingredients when the simplest bread is made with just few ingredients. Baking bread takes time definitely. It does not mean that it takes your time. The bread takes time. Do you see where I am going? There can be even no-knead bread which will just take 5 minutes of your time. But, I am showing you how to make the most traditional and the simplest kind of whole wheat bread. I am kneading it by hand. It does not need any special strength to do it.

  Let's start from the begining to make wheathy, yummilicious, healthy, home-made whole wheat bread. I have described the procedure in detail as much as you can so that you will get it done right easily. 

I have tried making whole wheat bread with all wheat flour, with lots of wheat brans in it. It has not turned out great. I do not want to make bread out of all white flour because I do not want to bear guilt of eating too much white flour. The most importantly, the hole wheat has its yummy flavour that I like. I like the earthy-ness. And it's healthier compared to white bread. So, I mix some all purpose flour to whole wheat flour. Add the activated yeast, egg, butter and water to it. Mixing of the flour can be messy in the beginning. I do not find kneading to be hard but may take some patience. Just fold the dough over and over with some pressure of your fist. Do it for few minutes. Do not expect the dough to come off of your fingers by this time. It will not. So it will look like the picture above. Do not expect it to be a smooth round dough as I did. It is supposed to be not smooth. 

 Just cover the dough in the same mixing bowl, with a plastic wrap. I use a metal mixing bowl. I am sure it will be fine in a good plastic or glass bowl as well. Just make sure it's big enough to move your hands comfortably. I use one hand to knead and other hand to hold the bowl. Some people want to use both hands to knead, which is fine as well as far as your bowl as enough space. Cover it for 20 minutes or more in a warm place. I usually keep it on the stove-top. Either preheating for the oven or precooking of other meals, makes my stove top warm. I have left the dough for as long as an hour and has turned out fine. Just check that the dough has risen in double of its original size. By that time, you will be able to see gas released by the yeast reaction on the dough, making the inside of the plastic wrap foggy.

After the first rise, knead the dough once again in the similar way as you did in the beginning. This time, you will add salt solution in water to the dough. Some recipes tell you to add salt in the beginning with the yeast mix. Adding it later may give the yeast to come to its full action. I am not 100% sure about it though. However, adding it later has worked well for me and just for that I will stick to it. You can also add a tablespoon of honey. Its optional. I like to add honey. Knead few times and transfer to the baking pan. Cover it with a plastic wrap and again let it rise to double the size. It will rise faster this time. So, keep it in warm place for 15 - 20 minutes.

For the egg wash, you might want to save some egg mix form the egg you added in the flour mix. If not, you will have to break another. Mix the egg. Use a silicon or any other oil brush to brush the surface of the dough with the egg mix. This gives the shiny layer to the bread which may be brown, golden brown or dark brown depending on how you want it. 

Pre-heat the oven to 375 degree F. Keep the loaf pan in the middle rack and in the middle of the rack for the even baking. I have to do this because I know my oven do not have even heating at the back for the oven and the front. I know most of the traditional electric oven have similar issues. Bake the dough for 35-40 minutes. It is really fun to watch the progress of the dough to rising up and getting the shape. When it is done,iIt will have shiny brown color on the top as shown in the pictures. To make sure it well cooked, use a sharp pointed knife and prick in the middle of the loaf. When you take it out, the knife should not contain any wet dough or it should come out clean. 

 The aroma of fresh baked bread of one of the hunger initiating smells. It is so good. I love the smell of my house after I bake bread that I do not cook anything else at least on that day or will be done cooking other stuff before I bake a bread. This is a simplest recipe of whole wheat bread. You can use all white flour or all whole wheat bread flour to try different flavours using this recipe. You may want to adjust the amount of wet ingredients based on the kind of flour you are using.

In this recipe, I used whole wheat flour with good amount of bran in it, which makes it healthy and gives more wheathy flavour. The texture is still very soft and the taste is wheathy-buttery as I would like to describe it. Use a good serrated knife if you want to cut it into slices for sandwiches or to spread something on it. If not, you can just tear it and devour it. Enjoy it just like that, when its still warm.  Enjoy it with any other oil dip, hummus, jam, butter or anything you like.

Ingredients:
1. Whole wheat flour (1.25 cups)
2. All purpose flour ( 1.25 cups)
3. Fast acting dry yeast (2 and 1/4 tsp)
4. Water (1 and 1/2 cup) for
5. Butter (3 tbsp)
6. Egg (1large)
7. Salt ( 1/4 tsp)

Method:
1. Take flour in a big mixing bowl.
2. In cup, take 1.4 luke warm water and add yeast, mix slightly and wait for 5 minutes or until it forms foam on the top of the water.
3. Add it in the flour mix.
4. Add melted butter in the mix.
5. Add egg in the mix. Save a little bit of the egg mix for the egg wash.
6. Add 1 cup of water.
7. Knead it well with clean hands for few minutes.
8. Cover the mixing bowl with a plastic wrap and keep it at warm place for 20 minutes or more. The dough will rise to double of its original size.
9. Take 1.4 cup of water and add salt, mix it well.
10. Add 1 tbsp honey to the salt mix.
11. Add salt and honey mix to the dough and knead again for few minutes. Make sure that the all ingredients are mixed well in the dough.
12. Egg wash the surface with the egg mix saved before.
12. Spray a 9' X 5' loaf baking pan with oil and transfer the dough in it.
13. Cover it with plastic wrap and keep it at warm place for next 15 minutes. The dough will rise back to double or almost double the size again.

Bake:
1. Preheat the oven to 375 degree F.
2. Put the loaf pan at the lower mid-lower rack.
3. Bake for 35-40 minutes.
4. Take out carefully and check with a sharp knife if it comes out clean when pricked in the middle of the bread.
5. When it is done, keep it on a cooling rack for 10-15 minutes.
6. Take a serrated knife and cut into desired slices or pieces.