Homemade Whole Wheat Bread

Since it is Christmas break, I finally have some time to make some of the recipes that I've stored away and this one has finally, after a year, made its way into the kitchen. A coworker of mine always has the most delicious breads and she baked me a loaf last year for Xmas and gave me the recipe. This is fresh out of the oven so the lovely, nutty flavor is lingering in my mouth as I write this. If you are going to make this, please note that the starter dough has to ferment for at least 12 hours and dough has to then be mixed, and rise for another 2.5 hours at least and then bake for 45. So, this will take some time to mix.

My advice is to mix the dough at night, leave it on the counter to ferment, and then spend a Saturday kneading, and letting the dough rise. This bread is delicious, and there's something special about making your own bread without the use of a machine.

Starter dough
2 c. cooked oatmeal, let cool until about room temp.
2 c. room temp water
1/4 c. vegetable oil
1 T. salt
1 T. dry yeast
1 c. whole wheat flour
1/3 c. flax seeds ( I used ground)
1/3 c. sunflower seeds

1. Mix water and oats
2. Mix oil, salt, flaxseed, sunflower seeds, and yeast.
3. Add flour, even more if you need. It should look like thick-coated cereal.
4. Cover with plastic wrap and leave 12-24 hours at room temperature. Once fermented, it can be refrigerated for up to a week before making the bread.

To make the bread:
1/4 c. sweetener (barley malt or maple syrup)
2 c. whole wheat flour
3-4 c. whole wheat or I unbleached white flour (I used white because I ran out of ww flour)

After the 12-24 hour of fermentation, add sweetener to the starter dough and stir. Add whole wheat flour. As you add the white, the mixture will become difficult to stir. Knead it by hand in the bowl and continue to add white flour. When dough is less sticky, transfer it to a floured surface and knead 10 minutes until dough is soft and springy but not too sticky. ( I had to continuously add small amounts of white flour to keep the dough from sticking to my hands. Place dough back in a bowl and let it rise in a warm place for 1.5 - 2 hours.

Baking the bread:
Form 2 loaves 2 lbs. each (I just divided it in 2). Let it rise, again, for another 45-60 minutes until they have doubled in size. Test for readiness by pressing the dough and if it stays in, and has a little spring, it's ready to bake. Preheat the oven to 350. Spray bread pan with olive oil and dust with flour to prevent sticking. Bake for 45 minutes and let cool.


Voila! You've just made your own bread!