I promised to share my bread recipe with you and here it is. Sunday is my usual baking day; the house always smells fanatastic!
Beautiful Bread
This recipe is a staple that I use over and over. It makes three loaves or a combination of loaves and buns. Both forms are delicious and keep well. I use a stand mixer to knead the dough but I have also done it by hand.
1 tbsp and 2 tsp of traditional yeast
1 tsp of honey
½ cup of warm water
Mix the honey and warm water and add the yeast. Stir gently and set aside while you put the rest of the ingredients together.
5 cups of whole wheat flour
2 cups of all purpose flour
½ cup each of sesame, sunflower and pumpkin seeds or any other that you like.
2 tsp of salt
¼ cup of honey
½ cup olive oil or avocado oil
Mix these together in a large bowl or the bowl of your stand mixer.
2 cups or more of warm water.
Stir in the waiting yeast which should be foamy. Stir in 2 cups of warm water and start the mixer on low or mix in by hand. Add more water if the dough is too stiff. I live in a very dry climate so I usually need an extra ¼ cup of water. Knead the dough for five to seven minutes. Place in an oiled bowl (cooking spray works well too) and oil or spray the top. Cover with plastic wrap and place in a warm spot to rise; let double.
When the dough has doubled in size, turn it out onto a board or the counter and shape your loaves or buns. I spray the loaf pans but you can grease them with butter or oil if you wish. I use parchment on the bun pan but, again, you can grease the pans if you wish. Place in a warm spot to rise and, when almost doubled, start your oven to heat to 400F. Bake your bread for ten minutes, turn the oven down to 375F and bake for another fifteen to twenty minutes. Turn out onto a rack as soon as you remove the bread from the oven.
