This is the wheat honey oatmeal bread I make for my family. I hope you enjoy!
3 c. hot water, 2 c quick oats, 1 c honey, 4 eggs, 2 T salt, 3/4 c oil, 3 T yeast in 1 c warm water (3 packets is 3 T), 2 c wheat flour (for starters, you'll need 9 cups more). I substitute 1 c milled flax seed for 1 c of flour.
Pour hot water over oatmeal and set aside to cool. Beat all other ingredients together, add oatmeal and mix. A tip. use some of the oil from the recipe to coat a 1 c measuring cup, and then measure your 1 c of honey. It will come out of the measuring cup much easier that way.
This is the yeast after sitting a few minutes in the cup of warm water. The bubbles mean it is now active. Cold water will not activate it. Too hot water will kill the yeast. Make sure everything is just lukewarm before adding yeast mixture. Mix.
Work in 9 c more flour to make a nice spongy dough (not sticky). I work in about 6 cups in the bowl, until it is firm enough to work with on the table, then dump it out and knead in the rest of the flour until it is the right consistency. Dough should be smooth and not sticky. If it sticks easily to your hands or the table, add more flour and keep kneading until it doesn't.
Grease a bowl, put the ball of dough in, grease the top, cover with a light towel, and let rise until it doubles in size. This takes about an hour, but can take longer depending on how cool it is where you set it to rise. Be careful not to set it anywhere too warm, or it will kill the yeast and it won't rise!
Punch down the bread after it doubles, and knead it a second time. Use a bread knife to cut the dough into about the size you need for each loaf. I knead the loaves a bit, too. Shape each dough ball into a loaf shape, making sure to make it smooth. You can see the oddball loaf that I didn't form out right. It'll taste just fine, tho :)
Place in bread pans, cover and let rise again.
Bake at 400 for 10 minutes, lower to 350 for 25-30 minutes. The bread is done when it is nice and brown, and knocking on it makes a hollow sound. I wrap the individual loaves in wax paper and put them into bread bags or ziplock, and store in the freezer. This bread freezes very well!
This is about method, which is something you don't get from a recipe. Great approach to sharing something great. And anyone could make bread using these steps.
ReplyDeleteMy mother worked for years to work out how to make bread that is good, hearty, and doesn't crumble when you pick it up. This bread is better than any she ever made. :)