Basic Whole Wheat Bread

So here it is . . . finally! Fresh, whole-wheat bread right out of the oven . . . and of course, the house smells amazing!

Think bread-making is too complicated for you? Think again! All you need is a good mixer, and you're ready to bake.

This recipe fills my 5-quart mixer bowl to capacity, so you'll need to adjust it based on your machine. It's just a basic bread, but I'll be sharing variations for herb and cinnamon raisin varieties in the future.

Ready . . . set . . . bake! 

Basic Whole Wheat Bread 

Ingredients 

6 cups very warm water

3 tablespoons yeast

1/4 cup agave nectar or honey

1/4 cup oil

1 tablespoon salt

12-14 cups whole wheat flour, divided

Preparation

1. Combine the hot water, yeast and agave/honey in the mixer while you pull out the other ingredients. 
2. Add the oil, salt and 6 cups of flour. 
3. Mix on low for 5 minutes, then let the dough "rest" in the mixer for 10 minutes.
4. Add another 6 cups of flour and turn the mixer back on. Continue to add remaining flour until the dough pulls away from the sides of the bowl rather than sticking to it (you'll know it when you see it!)
5. Mix on medium speed for 8 minutes.
6. Remove dough from mixer, and divide into 5 equal portions. Roll out each one as desired (see below), then place in bread pan or baking sheet.
7. Let dough rise at room temperature for 30 minutes.
8. Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes, then let cool in pan.

For this batch, I made two traditional loaves, two baguettes and one batch of English muffins (yielded 25 muffins). I'll be sharing the muffin technique later this week, but here's how to shape the loaves.

Traditional loaf

1. Use a rolling pin to roll dough into a rectangle (mine usually looks more like an oval, as you can see).

2. Use your hands to roll the dough into a loaf, starting with the short end.

3. Place the dough into a loaf pan to rise.

Baguette-Style Loaf

1. Use a rolling pin to roll dough into a rectangle (mine usually looks more like an oval, as you can see).













2. Use your hands to roll the dough into a loaf, starting with the long end.

3. Place the dough on a baking sheet to rise.