Honey Wheat Bread

Ever have one of those days when you run out of milk and bread and life is suddenly upended? What would happen if you couldn't go to the store to buy them? I'm not suggesting you start milking your own cow, but knowing how to make bread is a pretty valuable skill.

My first loaf of bread was a brick. Literally. Could have been used as a door-stop. In fact, I think we might have. My next few loaves were graciously eaten by my parents, with my father explaining that, as a boy, they ate milk and bread with a little sugar all the time. I'm pretty sure his mother's bread was a lot more delicious than was mine.

I am a self-taught bread-maker and there have been lots of mistakes, but they have brought me to this point where I make a pretty good loaf -- tender, moist and really quite easy. And start to finish, takes only about 1 1/2 hours, most of that is watching it rise. Come on, I'll show you how:

The best bread will come from freshly ground wheat. Yes, you can buy wheat flour at the store, but you've probably got all that wheat in the basement or under the bed anyway. A good wheat grinder is a big investment but well worth it.

This recipe calls for 12 cups of flour and you can achieve that by grinding 8 cups of wheat. Go ahead, I'll wait.

Feel that flour! It's warm and moist and smells delicious. You can just tell it's going to be good bread.


The next important ingredient is the yeast. If you will be baking regularly, then one-pound bags are fine, but if you're just starting out stick with smaller jars because yeast does lose its oomph after a while.

Fill your mixer with 3 1/2 cups warm water (about 115-120 degrees). Go ahead and measure it until you're used to the correct temperature just by the feel. (By the way, you need a big mixer for this recipe. If you're using a standard Kitchenaid, you may want to half it.)


Sprinkle 3 Tbsp yeast over the top of the water. I give is just a little swirl to mix it in. Let it stand for about 5 minutes to activate the yeast.

If it isn't bubbling like this,

your yeast may be too old to make your bread rise. This is good to know before you add everything else!

Add the remaining ingredients: one 12 ounce can evaporated milk, 3/4 cup oil, 1 cup honey. Wait! Did you know that if you pour the oil into your measuring cup first and then measure the honey, that it will just magically slide right out of the cup?

Add 1 or 2 cups of white flour (adds extra gluten) and 4 to 5 cups of the wheat flour. Begin mixing together, add 1 1/2 Tbsp salt. Continue mixing, adding flour until you've added about 10 or 11 cups.

Now, you have to start to watch. As you continue to mix, sprinkle the flour over the dough, allowing it to mix in, until you have a dough that is soft but not sticky. It may be a little tacky to your touch, but not really sticky. Don't worry if you don't add all the flour. Some days are like that.

When your dough has been thoroughly mixed, knead it for 8 to 10 minutes. If you're using a mixer, you can read a book while it does the work. Otherwise, it's all muscle, baby.

Place the dough on a lightly floured board. If you fear that you've used too much flour already, you can oil the board and avoid incorporating anymore flour. Divide dough into three or four sections, depending on the size of your pans.

This recipe makes three 2 1/2 lbs loaves or 4 smaller loaves. Shape dough into loaves and place in well-oiled pans.

Cover the bread with a clean towel and allow them to raise in a warm place until they are almost the desired bread size, generally several inches above the rim of the pan. (Remember to account for a little oven-spring.)

When loaves have risen, place them in a preheated 350 degree oven and bake for 25-35 minutes (the larger the loaf, the longer the time). When they're done, remove from the oven and brush the tops with softened butter and remove from pans within about ten minutes.


The last step is the hardest -- try to keep everyone from cutting the bread and smothering it with cold butter and warm honey for a little while. Try. It's hard. Let it cool a bit first.

Next time -- Cinnamon Swirl Bread!

P. S. A little tip for cleaning up: When water hits that flour and bread dough, it's going to get all balled up and crumbly and messy (that's the gluten working), so I try to use as little water as possible for countertops and such. Use paper towels first, then when all the flour is off of everything, use the wet cloth. Don't clean your wheat grinder with water. Instead just brush it clean with a pastry brush.