I just made bread for the first time yesterday...without a bread machine. This is the recipe I used:
6-8 cups WW flour 1 1/2 cups skim milk 1 1/2 cups water 1/4 cup honey 1/4 cup canola oil 2 pkg yeast
Heat milk and water in saucepan until lukewarm. Add honey, oil, and yeast. Stir and let sit 10 minutes. Pour liquid mixture into bowl. Slowly add flour, stirring well with each addition. When fairly solid, knead on a floured surface until a nice firm shape. Oil bowl and put ball of dough in bowl. Put a little oil on top. Cover with towel and let rise 1 1/2 hours. Punch down gently and form into two loaves. Place into oiled pans and let rise 20 minutes uncovered. Bake at 350 for 50-70 minutes.
Some notes: I mistakenly used only one packet of yeast and I was afraid it wouldn't rise enough. But, I also added 8 tsp. of vital wheat gluten with the flour and I think this balanced out the fact that I messed up with the yeast. Also, I used 1% milk instead of skim. I used 6 cups of flour, plus a little extra for the kneading and baked it for about 51 minutes. I think if I make it again I will take it out a little sooner.
The bread tastes pretty good, but it's a little heavier than I am used to eating. I'm not sure if this is because I didn't add enough yeast, or if it's true for homemade bread, in general. Either way, making bread wasn't as difficult as I thought it would be. But, it was very time consuming.
Do you have a bread machine?
I just made bread for the first time yesterday...without a bread machine. This is the recipe I used:
6-8 cups WW flour
1 1/2 cups skim milk
1 1/2 cups water
1/4 cup honey
1/4 cup canola oil
2 pkg yeast
Heat milk and water in saucepan until lukewarm. Add honey, oil, and yeast. Stir and let sit 10 minutes. Pour liquid mixture into bowl. Slowly add flour, stirring well with each addition. When fairly solid, knead on a floured surface until a nice firm shape. Oil bowl and put ball of dough in bowl. Put a little oil on top. Cover with towel and let rise 1 1/2 hours. Punch down gently and form into two loaves. Place into oiled pans and let rise 20 minutes uncovered. Bake at 350 for 50-70 minutes.
Some notes:
I mistakenly used only one packet of yeast and I was afraid it wouldn't rise enough. But, I also added 8 tsp. of vital wheat gluten with the flour and I think this balanced out the fact that I messed up with the yeast. Also, I used 1% milk instead of skim. I used 6 cups of flour, plus a little extra for the kneading and baked it for about 51 minutes. I think if I make it again I will take it out a little sooner.
The bread tastes pretty good, but it's a little heavier than I am used to eating. I'm not sure if this is because I didn't add enough yeast, or if it's true for homemade bread, in general. Either way, making bread wasn't as difficult as I thought it would be. But, it was very time consuming.
When you use whole wheat flour bread tends to be denser.