Do You Have a Bread Machine?

Mike and I have been trying to eat a lot healthier these days.  That's one of the purposes of this blog...  I've been searching for a healthy whole wheat recipe for my bread machine and I think I've finally found one.  We still buy "store" bread, but whenever possible, I whip up a batch of this and slice it with my electric knife, and we are set for a week of delectable bread eating.

The original recipe, which I will also share, came from kingarthourflour.com.  I've added my changes in red.

100% Whole Wheat Bread for the Bread Machine

The following recipe is one we worked out for the Zojirushi.  It makes a firm, sweet loaf of golden bread.  It shouldn't be hard adapting it to your own machine; all you need to know is what proportion of flour/liquid/yeast your machine functions best with.  Take a look a the dough after it's kneaded for about 10 to 12 minutes or so; it should be smooth, not sticky (too little flour) or lumpy (too little liquid), forming a nice ball.  If the dough looks good at this point, you're probably all set.

For a 1/12 pound bread machine:

1 1/4 cups water (1 bottle of beer)
2 tablespoons olive or vegetable oil
1/4 cup honey or maple syrup
3 to 3 1/2 cups King Arthur 100% White Whole Wheat or Traditional Whole Wheat flour
1/4 cup sunflower, sesame, or flax seeds, or a combination (I mix it up.  Sometimes I use flax seed, sometimes 10 grain cereal, sometime both.  Yesterday I added wheat germ.  And I use more than 1/4 cup.)
1 tablespoon vital wheat gluten
1 1/2 teaspoon salt (I use just a dash, but don't skip completely.  Bread machines need the salt for leavening purposes.)
1 1/2 teaspoons instant yeast

Put all of the ingredients into the bread pan in the order listed.  Program for basic bread and press start.

A whole loaf of bread from the bread machine.

This recipe CAN be made by hand.  So if you're adventurous, here are the steps you need to follow:

Mix the water, oil and sweetener in a large bowl.  In a separate bowl, combine the flour, seeds, gluten, salt, and yeast; add to the liquids gradually, stirring until the dough holds together.  Knead on a floured surface until smooth and just slightly tacky--about 8 to 10 minutes.  Place the dough in a greased bowl, cover, and let rise until doubled in volume, about 1 to 1/12 hours.  Punch down the dough and shape it to fit a greased 8 1/2 x 4 1/2 loaf pan.  Let it rise until double , about 1 to 1/12 hours.  Bake in a preheated 375 degree oven for 35 minutes, or until a digital thermometer inserted in the center of the loaf reads 190 degrees fahrenheit.   Remove the bread from the oven, remove it from the pan, and cool on a rack.

Well, so much work! I don't think I'd be game for that any more.

Bread sliced with an electric knife.

The electric knife that Mike got me for Christmas in our early marriage, sat unused and forlorn for many years.  One day when I was cleaning the cupboard I spied the box and took a look.  The original packaging showed someone slicing bread with the knife.  Whoever would have thought? It's been an indispensable item  ever since.  It slices clean and true and the slices look like store-bought.