The lost art of making bread

I was surprised at the response I got from my last blog regarding the making of home-made bread. More than a few people wanted the recipe, so I thought I'd go one better and devote today's blog to not only giving the recipe, but showing how it's done!


I have to give credit where credit is due. The inspiration from this recipe comes from the book pictured above by Beth Hensperger. Additionally, I would not attempt this recipe without the muscle that Julia, my KitchenAid mixer, provides.


I wanted to point out here that I buy my yeast in bulk in the baking section of my grocery store. It is very economical this way, and also allows me to measure out exactly what I want rather than be restricted to how much might come in one of those little envelopes in the three-pack. I keep it in this airtight cannister right on my counter and it lasts me at least a year. Whatever you do, don't get any moisture in it, or it'll set it off!


The only thing even slightly tricky about this recipe is that it uses a few different kinds of flours and grains that necessitates some shopping prior to bread-baking day. I keep them all together in one container so I can grab just that when I want to make bread. Here's what you'll need to start the sponge:

1 1/2 tablespoons of yeast
2 cups warm water
3 tablespoons brown sugar
1/2 cup rye flour
1 1/2 cups whole wheat flour


Combine those ingredients and mix very well with your paddle in the mixer. We'll be switching to the kneading hook later, but now is the time for good mixing. When well mixed, just leave it alone to proof for about an hour. There's a picture later of what this should look like before you move on.


When you're done starting your sponge, you'll need to put some boiling water on some grains to soften them to add to the sponge later. Here's what you'll need to put together in a bowl:

1/3 cup corn meal
1/2 cup rolled oats
1/2 cup mixed grains (I use a 10 grain breakfast cereal)
1/3 cup barley or bran flakes, or wheat germ
1 tablespoon salt
3 tablespoons butter or oil
2 cups boiling water


This is what it looks like once you add the boiling water and stir it all around. Let me stop here and talk about the grains. I have used different grains and in different quantities. I figure as long as I have about 1 1/2 to 2 cups of grains, and not too much of any one kind, I'll be fine. I actually buy all these things at WinCo in their bulk section in just the quantities I need. If you don't have a WinCo, I bet you can find all kinds of good grains at Fred Meyer's health food section or buy Bob's Red Mill grains in the flour section of most regular grocery stores.


OK, back to the sponge. It should be all bubbly and fluffy before you move on. Once it is, add the cooled, soaked grains and mix well. Now add about 2 cups of regular flour and continue to mix well with your paddle attachment.


Once you feel your mixture is getting quite thick, you can switch to the dough hook attachment. Of course, if you don't have a mixer that has a dough hook, you'll have to switch to a stout spoon and eventually do it by hand. You don't want to burn out a lesser mixer with stiff dough.

Add 2 more cups of regular flour (you're up to 4 total) and let your dough hook work it in. This will take quite a while.


Continue to add in flour until the dough is stiff but still fairly sticky. I usually end up adding another cup or cup and a half. I also eventually end up turning it out on my counter and kneading in the last bit of flour. It is much better for the dough to be softer than stiffer. Here is a picture of it ready to go into the bowl for rising. You can see that it stands up on its own fairly well, but frankly, it is stuck to the counter fairly well too. This is the way I like it. Makes for a softer bread.


You can see now that I have it in the bowl and covered with plastic wrap. I do that so the top doesn't dry out and restrict the rising. Let the dough sit until it doubles in size. This takes varying amounts of time depending on how warm it is. Here, at about 68 degrees it takes maybe an hour or hour and a 1/2. Just enough time to clean the barn and do a few other chores!


This is what it should look like when it's met the requirement of 'doubling'. I've let it go too far before as evidenced by huge bubbles and it seemed quite wet, so I just punched it down and let it rise again. That worked totally fine. So when it has risen well, punch it down in the bowl, then turn it out on the floured counter, then knead a few times to work all the bubbles out.


Take a sharp knife and cut the dough in half. Then shape it roughly into a loaf size and put it into a loaf pan that has been greased or sprayed with non-stick cooking spray (my preference).


Let it rise in the loaf pans for about 45 minutes to an hour. In this picture, these loaves are almost too risen as they're looking a little less smooth and like they want to collapse. I knew from experience if I got them in the oven right away that I'd be OK, but if I let them go any longer I would have needed to punch them down, reshape and let them rise again.

Preheat the oven to 450 degrees. When it's hot, put in the loaves and immediately turn the temperature down to 375 degrees. Cook for about 45 to 50 minutes.


Take them out of the oven and let sit for a few minutes. Fairly quickly, however, remove them from their pans so they can cool and release some of the moisture that might make them soggy if you left them in the pans. Let them cool as long as you can before you can't control yourself (or your spouse or child) any longer and want a slice of this lovely warm bread. We always have real butter on hand, as well as some homemade strawberry or blackberry jam.


I hope to really encourage you to try to make bread for your family. It is so wholesome and has nothing in it that you can't pronounce! Just grains, yeast, salt, a little sugar and a little fat. And truly, it doesn't take all day. It goes in spurts and you can do lots of things while it is rising. After a couple of times working with this recipe, I found that this bread is incredibly flexible and easy. The best of all it is GOOD! Give it a try!