#header-inner {background-position: center !important; width: 100% !important;}

Monday, May 10, 2010

Whole Wheat Bread


I've mentioned before that I've acquired a fondness for baking my own bread. Call me a nerd, but it's one feat in the kitchen I find so satisfying! This was my first attempt at a regular 'ol wheat bread, but it was anything but regular! I found this whole wheat bread dense, but not overly so, and sweet, but again, not overly so. Because it made two loaves, I stuck one in the freezer and we used the other in a few different ways, which I'll be posting over the next few days.

This bread was a piece of cake to make, I actually did it while cooking another dinner...multi-tasking is my friend :) After the success of this bread, I picked up several more packets of instant yeast, and intend to continue my bread-making adventures in the weeks to come!

Whole Wheat Bread

Ingredients:
-2 cups warm water
-1/2 cup sugar
-1 packet active dry yeast
-1/2 cup shortening
-1 tbsp salt
-5 1/2 cups whole wheat flour

Directions:
1. Add sugar to warm water, stir in yeast, and add shortening by the spoonful (to allow it to soften). Cover until yeast is dissolved.
2. Add flour and salt and knead for 5 minutes (I used the dough hook with my kitchen-aid mixer)
3. Cover and allow to rise for 10 minutes. Punch down and allow to rise for another 10 minutes. Repeat twice.
4. Shape into two loaves and place in greased loaf pans.
5. Bake at 350F for 25 minutes, until golden brown.