Tackling homemade bread is a topic that sends any reasonable homemaker running for the hills.
I mean seriously, why would one spend hours mixing, kneading, rising, shaping, and baking when she can go to the store and purchase a loaf for next to nothing?
Forget the hours when your house smells like a slice of heaven, or that the family will crown you the next “Domestic Goddess of the Year. ”
It’s just a delicious hassle…unless you have one of these.
You could spend an entire day walking through our house and I guarantee that there would be only a handful of items that I purchased retail from a real or online store…and yes, this would be one of them.
It was an investment. An expensive investment, and one that I never regret.
Fourteen years ago, when I moved from WI to NC, I was terribly homesick and my monthly phone bill was racking up.
In the midst of a really “natural” cooking period, I wanted to make this purchase but couldn’t justify adding it to our monthly expenses.
I decided that for every dollar I could save from my monthly phone bill, I would put it towards my industrial strength kitchen machine purchase (Magic Mill DLX).I only had two small children at the time, but I guess I was planning ahead.
I nearly went cold turkey on my phone bills, and purchased my mixer four months later. I do have a Kitchen Aid, which makes two loaves of dough, but this will mix and kneed up to eight loaves of bread at one time. I still have to shape it, and form it into loaves, but this does all the kneading.
The result? A machine that gives me the “appearance” of a professional since I am not nearly in enough arm shape to kneed that much dough by hand :).
Yes, there are still learning curves to making homemade bread, but it is so worth the effort.
Hmm – one of these loaves is not like the other…
(Don’t let them over rise 🙂 )
Whole Wheat Bread Recipe using Evaporated Milk
I tried a new recipe after cleaning out the pantry and finding some expired evaporated milk. Not wanting it to go to waste, I thought I would give it a try.
It was delicious, although the added expensive of evaporated milk offsets my desire to make it again (unless I would find a deal on it).
I’m posting the evaporated milk recipe, and will post my traditional one later.
Homemade Whole Wheat Bread
INGREDIENTS
- 1 (.25 ounce) package rapid rise yeast (I used 1 TBS of instant)
- 1 teaspoon white sugar
- 1/2 cup warm water (110 degrees F/45 degrees C)
- 1 (12 fluid ounce) can evaporated milk
- 1/4 cup water
- 1/4 cup melted shortening (I used canola oil)
- 1/4 cup honey
- 2 teaspoons salt
- 2 cups whole wheat flour
- 3 cups bread flour (I used more whole wheat instead)
- 2 tablespoons butter
DIRECTIONS
- Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C).
- Dissolve yeast and sugar in 1/2 cup warm water.
- Combine milk, 1/4 cup water, shortening, honey, salt and wheat flour in food processor or bowl.
- Mix in yeast mixture, and let rest 15 minutes.
- Add white flour, and process until dough forms a ball. Knead dough by processing an additional 80 seconds in food processor, or mix and knead by hand 10 minutes.
- Place the dough in a buttered bowl, and turn to coat. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap.
- Let dough rise for 45 minutes, or until almost doubled.
- Punch down, and divide dough in half. Roll out each half, and pound out the bubbles. Form into loaves, and place in buttered 9×5 inch bread pans. Butter the tops of the dough, and cover loosely with plastic wrap. Let rise in a warm area until doubled; second rise should take about 30 minutes.
- Place a small pan of water on the bottom shelf of the oven.
- Bake for 25 to 35 minutes, or until tops are dark golden brown.
- Butter crusts while warm. Slice when cool.
There’s lots more that got cooked, fried, grilled, and baked. I’ll post more later, but for now, this mom has got to go be a momma.
Did you miss my Baking Day Plan?
Look what else I have gotten done today during my Baking Day update.
What exactly is that – a Kitchen Aid mixer?
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Jen, what is a bread mixer? I assume it’s different than a bread machine, right? Does it mix and then you put it in your pans? Is it much different than a traditional stand mixer? Thanks!
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I want a bread machine soooo badly for Christmas. It’s the #1 thing on my wish list.
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Mmm, I can already smell it in the oven.
So yummy, Jen.
Love my Kitchen Aid, too.
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I have a stand mixer but I don’t think it would hold that much dough. Is it a commercial mixer?
I looove homemade bread. I’ve found the Artisan Bread in 5 Minutes a Day recipe to be awesome, and it doesn’t require all the rising time and fussiness of regular bread. But it’s not great sandwich bread. So maybe I will try this!
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Wow! Looks delicious! 8 loaves of bread?!! Do you freeze some of it, or do you manage to eat it all before it goes stale? As a family we only go through 1, maybe 2 loaves of bread a week if I’m doing a lot of sandwiches.
My mom is up visiting and she has got some whole wheat bread rising as we speak, but she only tackled 2 loaves.
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I used to bake whole wheat sourdough all the time… I need to get back to bread baking for sure. I have been on a roll today! I made a huge batch of beans… 1/2 is in the freezer already for refried beans later, the other half is simmering as chili for tonight’s dinner. I also roasted a turkey breast today and am about to slice it and make sandwiches to freeze for next week’s lunches. Next is a quadruple batch of banana bread… in 2 13×9 dishes, then will cut into squares, wrap individually, and also freeze for lunches. Yes, you inspired me!! Blessings!
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I have read about the Magic Mill. They are pricey but worth it I hear! I have a Bosch Universal that can handle up to six loaves without a problem (they aren’t cheap either, but cheaper than the MM). Thankfully I had read that the KA cannot handle large batches of 100% whole wheat dough before I bought one.
We have a family of 8 and when I make bread I want to make several loaves! My problem is what to do with all the loaves… six won’t fit in my oven! Have you ever frozen bread dough to bake later?
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I know how you feel about a spendy investment. I have a Viking Commerical 8 quart mixer and I LOVE it. I cashed it out years ago and have never ONCE regretted buying it =). Kneading dough is therapuetic…if the kids are in a nice mood and the house is quiet (which isn’t often), so when that doesn’t happen it’s to the mixer I go!
And the best investment I’ve made in the last couple of years is my bread maker. I absolutely LOVE just being able to throw ingredients in, takes four minutes tops, and then just let it go. Three hours later I have bread and it tastes GOOD! It’s like a little loaf miracle when I’m strapped for time. For the 50.00 I paid (I’m in Alaska, so I’m not sure if that price is higher than down south or not) it has paid for itself ten times over.
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ovenless person commenting again… you are making me drooooool!
My husband (of all people!!) makes THE BEST homemade bread I have ever had. And I grew up in a bread-making family.
It’s pretty hot having a husband that has conquered the world of yeast bread when so many people are terrified of it! It’s on our list of “must teach our sons” 🙂
I was inspired today to prepare 6lbs of shepherd pie base… hopefully the oven will come next week!! 🙂
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Loooove my DLX! (I am blessed to have a mama who sells these and can, therefore, get them at wholesale, so I got a DLX for Christmas one year.)
You can just replace the milk in that recipe with more warm water. The resultant bread might not be quite as soft, but it should work just fine. Of course, if you already have a bread recipe you use regularly, that’s not necessary. 😉 But, for future reference, you can always replace water with milk in a bread recipe, so if you ever have another can of milk to use up…
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We love fresh bread! And a great machine makes it so much more doable. 2 years ago I was on the verge of buying a new Bosch and Nutrimill and less than 24 hrs before I was going to do the order I found the an almost new Bosch and Nutrimill on craigslist for just $100….totally God’s provision of our “daily bread”, literally.
Any tips for storing? As a family of 5, we can’t eat through 5 loaves fast enough.
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The best things in life do not come easy. Your bread looks yummy. How long of a shelf life does it have.
I make these amazing cinnamon rolls for the holidays. It’s a good thing they are devoured in one day because the next day they’re just not as good.
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I love that story!
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