Bread Pride

I've been working a long time to get good, whole wheat bread. My mom tutored me a bit when I still lived in Provo, but I was just struggling. I was partially convinced it was the store bought wheat flour. It doesn't have fresh gluten so the networks just don't form. And so I was gifted a wheat grinder for Christmas. That has made quite a bit a difference and I just love freshly grinding my wheat from a can. :) I toyed with a few different recipes, but none of them were quite as easy as my mom's recipe and so I went back to it and I have tried and tried and tried to get good bread. Sometimes it is good, but maybe the crust is a little burnt. Sometimes it just falls flat when I put it into the oven. Sometimes it is really dry.

But today I present to you my proudest creation of bread yet:

They are tall, they are browned, they are beautiful! And the inside is even better. Mmm so soft and delicious. I have already eat half of a big loaf...by myself. That is my weakness with homemade bread. I overeat the first day and then don't eat it for another two weeks.

My secrets? I did not put plastic wrap or a towel over the dough after I had formed the loafs. I sprayed them with a little bit of canola oil and then put them in the oven with the light on and let them do their thing. This prevented the falling flat issue. I also turned down my oven and raised the rack. And I did add 2 tablespoons of gluten for good measure even though my wheat was freshly ground...it might be contributing to the slightly chewy texture. But I would rather have soft and chewy than fall apart flakey and dry.

I'd like to thank Alyssa for adding all those tablespoons of flour. It was the perfect amount outside of what I measured. She is truly a budding baker!