Bread from scratch

I want to feed my family the most nutritious food possible, without sacrificing anything! So, in my research of the most basic of foods. Bread and flours are the foundation. After reading many statistics on the nutritional value of breads, I could not believe it. All grains lose a significant percentage of their vitamins and minerals just hours after the milling process. I then began to research the best wheat berry for the most nutritional value. Organic hard winter wheat berries are the best in southeast Texas. Every one of the grains is a work of art. It is very easy to recognize they are packed with vitamins and minerals. I now buy organic hard winter wheat berries and mill the wheat berries and immediately begin to turn them into bread. This bread is as down to earth as it gets. It does not get any fresher. My family has greatly benefited from the super-nutritional value of the ultra-fresh flour and all wholesome ingredients! The final outcome is delicious!

Bread from scratch

2 1/2 C warm water (has to be almost hot)

1/4 C honey

1 T yeast

1/3 C olive oil

2 t sea salt (add the salt last thing)

1/4 C gluten flour

5 to 7 C wheat flour (milled just seconds before mixing)

I use this very basic recipe for a down to earth bread. I use organic hard winter wheat berries fresh from the Co-Op. I got a 1950 circa Hobart mixer and it works great!  When I start the process I heat the water to almost hot and fill up the bowl with hot water. I let the bowl warm up some and I pour the very warm water out of the bowl and then add 2 cups of very warm water to the bowl. I then add the 1/4^th cup of honey and 1T yeast and I let it dissolve for a couple of minutes before I add the 1/4th cup of gluten flour, 1/3^rd cup olive oil and 2 teaspoons of sea salt. I then attach the bowl to the mixer and mix on low for a couple minutes. Then I add about 4 cups of the wheat flour and let that knead a bit and then I slowly add flour until just before it pulls off the walls of the bowl and I let it take its time and knead. The kneading process is critical to a good loaf of bread. At least 10 to 12 minutes with my Hobart. After the dough has kneaded well enough, turn off the mixer and cover with a towel for an hour or so. When the dough has doubled in size, turn on the mixer for a few seconds to beat it down. I try to make ball out of the dough and then cut with scissors as closely to half as I can.  I place the dough ball on a greased surface before cutting with scissors.  Then I gently forn two loaves and place in the greased bread pans.  Put bread pans in the slightly warmed oven and let rise until bread is about 1/2 inch above the walls of the bread pan. Then just turn the oven on 350 degrees and bake until golden brown. It does not take long (about 30 minutes). Enjoy

Observations:

It is easy to bake a loaf of bread after many slight failures. Getting to know the chemistry and the process is very important. Fresh yeast is very important. I bought a 3 pound bag of active dry yeast and left it in my cabinet. Within a week the yeast began to go bad. After some research I have found if you buy a 3 pound bag of yeast you need to break it down and immediately freeze after you open it. It is extremely important to keep the yeast dry as well. I am using a glass Pyrex and then a freezer Ziploc. It has worked for a couple weeks now and the yeast is very fresh. I have read yeast will stay good for over a year if you freeze it. I have also found you can use the active dry yeast immediately out of the freezer. I put 2 cups of almost hot water in the mixing bowl and then add the honey. I then add the 1 T yeast and I give it a minute or two to see that the yeast is working. I then add the gluten flour and olive oil and turn on the mixer. I then mill 4 cups of organic wheat berries which produces about 5 cups of wheat flour. I set the grain mill to it's coarsest setting. The flour is still very powdery and light. I then add about 5 cups of freshly ground flour to the mixing bowl. Using the dough hook on the slowest setting I let the mixer work for about 5 minutes. Take a look at the dough and determine if you need more flour. You have enough flour when the dough "starts" to pull away from the sides and wad up on the dough hook. You want to be careful not to add too much flour. As the dough is kneading it will begin to clean the sides of the mixing bowl. At this point, you let it knead for a while. The total time kneading is about 12 minutes for a Kitchen Aid or Hobart mixer. After the kneading process, turn off the mixer and place a towel over the bowl so the dough can rise. When the dough has doubled in size simply turn on the mixer for 10 or 15 seconds to get the air out of the dough. Then dump the dough on a greased surface and divide into 2. Carefully, form the loaves and place in a pre-greased bread pan. Place bread pan in a very slightly warmed oven and let rise for 15 or 20 minutes. When the bread has risen to just 1 inch over the top of the sides of the bread pan, turn on the over to 355 and bake until golden brown. You will have a failure if you let the dough rise too long on either occasion. There is a lot of chemistry going on here that I do not understand. The one thing I do understand is there is very little room for error. I have done over 60 loaves and I know baking this particular loaf of bread requires your attention! Very much like a newborn baby.

Update-

I bought a 50 pound bag of white, hard winter, wheat berries from Honeyville Grains out of California. Great product and very reasonable price. I believe after shipping it was $48. That is under $1 per pound delivered.