Ricki's Bread Recipe

Ricki was the first to submit a recipe for my whole wheat bread contest, so it doesn't really seem fair that hers was the last recipe I tried - but it took me a while to find potato flour. I was excited to see potato flour in the bulk section on the grocery store in Freeland and was more excited to try Ricki's recipe and finish up the contest!

I thought the bread was really good. I don't know if it was my favorite because it's been so long since I have made the other recipes! It would either be this one or Honey's recipe. I'll have to make them both again this week and pick a winner.

Have any of you tried the Artisan Bread in 5 Minutes a Day? Jason made some over the weekend and it was so easy and delicious (and it looked amazing). I think I will be experimenting with some whole wheat versions soon. You can find some recipes from the first book here. They have a new book coming out next month that looks even better.

Whole Wheat Sandwich Bread
from King Arthur Flour: whole Grain Baking

Yield: One 8 1/2 x 4 1/2 inch loaf, 16 slices
Baking Temperature: 350F
Baking Time: 35 minutes

2 T orange juice
1 c lukewarm water
4 T unsalted butter, cut into 6 pieces
3 c traditional whole wheat flour
3 T sugar
Heaping 1/2 c dried potato flakes or 3 T potato flour
1/4 c nonfat fry milk
1 1/4 t salt
2 1/2 t instant yeast

Combine all the ingredients, and mix and knead them - by hand, mixer or bread machine - until you have soft, smooth dough. Cover and allow the dough to rise until it's puffy and nearly doubled in bulk, 1 to 2 hours.

Lightly grease an 8 1/2 x 4 1/2 inch loaf pan. Gently deflate the dough, and shape it into and 8-inch log. Place it in the prepared pan.

Cover the loaf gently with lightly greased plastic wrap or a proof cover and allow it to rise till it's crowned about 1 1/2 inches over the rim of the pan, 1 1/4 to 2 1/2 hours. Near the end of the bread's rising time, preheat the oven to 350F.

Uncover and bake the bread for about 35 minutes, tenting it with foil after 15 minutes. The bread is done when it's golden brown and an instant-read thermometer inserted in the center registers 190F. Remove it from the oven, and after a minute or so turn it out onto a rack. Brush with melted butter, if desired; this will keep the crust soft. Cool the bread for 30 minutes before slicing.

Honey's Bread Recipe

This is a recipe that my sister-in-law, Honey gave me. It is my favorite of the recipes, so far. I have one left to try (sorry I'm taking so long, Ricki!) - Ricki's recipe calls for potato flour which I haven't found any that is without questionable ingredients, so I think I'm going to make my own. But that probably won't get done until after the move!

Famous Andersen Whole Wheat Bread 4 loaves

5 cups really warm water

2/3 c honey

3 T yeast

3 T lemon juice or white vinegar

3 - 4 cups whole wheat flour

Mix well and let rise once (Only about double) Then add:

1 or 2 T salt

1/3 - 2/3 c oil

10 - 12 c more of whole wheat flour

1 1/2 c white flour (optional)

Mix well , cover and let rise.

Add more flour as needed to make consistency to handle. Grease four loaf pans. Form dough into four loaves. Let rise to top of loaf pans as oven pre-heats to 350 degrees. Bake 35 minutes. Remove from pans and cover with bath towel. (That makes top crust soft - or you can brush with butter).
*I personally prefer a bit of a harder crust, so I would bake mine for an additional 10 minutes and leave off the towel. The first time I made this I halved the recipe so I could fit it all in the kitchen aid, when I made it yesterday I made the whole recipe, but still kneaded it in the kitchen aid in halves, and then clumped it all together and finished kneading it on the counter. Enjoy!

Jeanne's Bread

This recipe comes from my friend, Jeanne. That's a link to her blog where you can see her and her cute family!

Our ingredients: flour, gluten, yeast, salt, honey, lemon juice

This is what it looked like right before the 10 minute rest period.

My shaped loaf.

The finished product. Yum!
I love that from start to finish it takes less than an hour and a half!

And I hope more people enter the contest because I have only three recipe to try so far!

Jeanne's Easiest Whole Wheat Bread

3 1/2 C Whole Wheat flour

1/3 C Gluten

1 1/3 T Yeast

2 1/2 C Steaming hot water (120-130 degrees F) (Jeanne says "I just turn the facet to the very hottest and let it sit there for a minute and that is always hot enough.")

1 T Salt

1/3 C Oil

1/3 C Honey

1 1/3 T Lemon Juice

2 1/2 C Whole Wheat Flour

Mix first three ingredients with a spoon in a mixer bowl (Kitchen Aid).

Add the water all at once and mix with spoon for one minute.

Cover and let rest for 10 minutes.

Add the salt, oil, honey and lemon juice and beat for one minute with dough hooks.

Add remaining flour, 1 cup at a time, while mixing until all the flour is in.

Mix with dough hooks for 10 minutes. This makes a very soft dough.

Pre-heat oven to 200 degrees F to warm then turn off.

Turn dough onto oiled (or floured) surface. Divide and shape two loaves. Place in oiled bread pans.

Let rise in warmed oven for 15-20 minutes. DO NOT remove bread from oven or open the door during or after this time.

When dough reaches tops for bread pans set oven to 350 degrees F. When oven reaches this temp. bake for 30 minutes (Jeanne only bakes hers for 19 minutes, mine did take 30 - so just watch it the first time). Then remove from oven and pans, and cool on rack. (When removing, use butter knife to separate bread from sides of pan before dumping out.)

Servings: 30

Yield: 2 loaves, 15 slices each

The Great Whole Wheat Bread Contest

I have been making bread almost every week for about the past year, but I have rarely used a recipe more than once. I keep thinking there is a better recipe, so I keep searching! Well, I want to be done with that - I want a recipe that is our family's bread recipe.

So, I thought I would ask for help and hold a little contest! Submit your favorite 100% whole grain recipe and I'll try them all one at a time, feature a recipe on here once a week, and decide on my family's favorite. The winner will get some yet-to-be-decided-on-super-cool prize!

You can either email me at thepachamama@gmail.com or leave the recipe in the comments.

Even if you know I have your recipe you need to submit it to me again to be eligible for the contest!

For the love of bread, please help us!