Lovely, Fluffy, Hearty, Homemade Whole Grain Bread Recipe

Is there anything quite like the smell of a baking, hearty and full of texture, yet luxuriously soft and fluffy, whole grain loaf of bread?  That moment, about 10 minutes before it is finished, and the smell wafts through your home, you have this burning desire to rip the oven door open, tear the bread out and begin to devour it is so, so tempting.  But for that perfect loaf, you know that patience is requisite.  *sigh* So your mouth waters as you wait. And as you take it out of the oven the smell is overpowering, but you still have to wait for it to cool, at least a little, or all that precious work will have been in vain.  But that first bite, so soft and warm, so comforting, with butter on top just beginning to melt is oh, so worth every minute. 

I've gone through so much trial and error to find just the right balance to achieve what I perceive as the perfect whole grain loaf.  Full of different flavours and textures, but still light.  I did the heavy and dense ones, and though I know that they are *better* for me, they simply did not meet the comfort food quota.  And my family wouldn't eat them.  So while I made do with this recipe for white bread, which don't get me wrong, is very good (actually the best white bread I've had... I like to cut back the sugar a bit though), it wasn't the hearty balm for my soul that I was looking for.  The good for me bread, but with just a little indulgence.  Finding that recipe was a step in the right direction.  Once I made it a few times, I realized just what it was that makes certain recipes soooo good.  And, of course, it is all the things that are *not* good for you.  But, such is life.  And in this case, I don't mind caving to my craving.

And here is my little plug for making it by hand.  I love making bread by hand. Truly, I do.  And I know you ask, how could anyone love kneading bread?  Isn't that just too much work?  But I do.  Oh so much.  I can put so much more love into each loaf that way!  There is just something about watching it grow, learning when it is ready for the next step.  It's therapeutic.  It makes me slow down and just enjoy the process.  Squish and roll, squish and roll, I always tell my daughter as she stands beside me and kneads her own tiny piece that becomes tinier and tinier as she goes along.  I can always tell how good it is going to be by the feel and smell as I knead it.  I really believe that for every time I roll and fold and push down on that dough, I enjoy each bite that much more.  I had a part in creating that which sustains my life.  Perhaps a small part, but one none-the-less.  I enjoy the process, the smell, the feel and the work my body does, almost as much as eating the bread.  Almost.

My Soft and Fluffy Whole Grain bread:

yield: 2 Loaves

2 cups water (warm helps the yeast grow faster.... just not hot, since you don't want to kill it)

1/2 cup honey... or more if you like really sweet bread like my hubby (sugar works if you prefer that)

1/2 tbls yeast (you can use more or less if you want)

1 1/2 tsp salt (I like to use sea salt whenever possible)

1/4 cup oil

1/2 cup 8 or 12 grain cereal mix (I get mine at bulk barn, kind of like rolled oats, but lots of different kinds of grains) or just replace with whole wheat flour if you don't have any

3 cups whole wheat flour

2-3 cups all purpose flour

By hand: In a large bowl mix together warm water, honey and yeast and allow to proof (sit) until foamy.  The more yeast, the less time this will take, but don't feel bad if you forget about it for an hour or two.  That just means you have more yeast to work with and make your bread rise well.  Better rising = fluffier bread.  Add salt, oil and cereal and mix well. Mix in whole wheat flour a cup at a time, and then one cup of the all purpose.  If you are mixing by hand, at this point the dough will be too thick and stiff to mix with a spoon, but still very sticky.  I normally will put about half a cup of all purpose flour down on the counter and spread it out a little, dump the dough onto the flour, and put another half a cup on top of the dough.  I find it sticks a lot less this way.  Time to start kneading!  Work all the flour on the counter into your dough.  If you find that dough starts sticking to your hands, add more flour, a 1/4 cup at a time, work it all in and then add more if you need it.  I will usually knead about 5 to 10 minutes, but the longer you knead, the better.  Like I said before, it's actually therapeutic.  Plus it is a good workout for your arms and upper body.  

If you are using a stand mixer: Make sure you are using your dough attachment.  Put in the warm water, honey, and yeast, and allow to proof as above.  Mix in salt, oil, and cereal. Add flour, a cup at a time.  You should only need 2 cups of the all purpose flour.  Allow to knead for 5 to 10 minutes. 

Once you've finished kneading, lightly oil a bowl (if it's not too messy, the one that you started with) and put the dough in.  I like to make sure that my dough is lightly oiled as well, just putting it in the bowl  with some oil and flipping over usually works, so it keeps from drying out at all. Cover with a kitchen towel or plastic wrap.  Now let it rise in a warm spot, about 1-2 hours until doubled in size. You can put it in pans now, but if you have the time punch it down and allow it to rise until double in size again, it shouldn't take as long the second time (the more you let it rise, the more yeast you have to work with and the more helpful the gluten in the flour is).  Punch down and shape into 2 loaves and put into your bread pans.  Allow to rise until double in size.  Bake at 350 for 30 minutes.  Let it cool at least 5 to 10 minutes before slicing into it.... it's so hard to do though!

I also want to try adding a bit a black strap molasses sometime too.  So packed full of minerals and good stuff for you!