Granny's Whole Wheat Bread Recipe

Eight years ago, our family began learning about eating healthier and since then we have moved from store-bought white bread to homemade home-ground whole wheat bread (wow--that's a mouthfull!).

I went back to my old blog to find the post I wrote years ago about this recipe and found that nearly 4 years later, things have changed a bit. I no longer buy fructose (we pretty much stick to raw organic sugar) and a 10# sack of flour wouldn't last very long at all! However, I do still use my Bosch, probably even more so than I did when that post was written.

To tell you a bit about the Granny behind this bread...she is Ty's mother's mother. She chose the name "Granny" as her preferred term of endearment and I've never known her by anything else. She is the matriarch of this family. She has always been an incredible cook and still bakes everyone's birthday cakes even at the age of 81 (almost 82)!

Granny's recipe for whole wheat bread is now the ONLY bread recipe I use. Some of you who have been following the blog for years have tried it (Mandy @ Life Outside the Box even featured it in THIS POST--btw, take a look at the rest of her blog...their family is so neat and she has the cutest kids ever!), but I thought I'd share the recipe with those of you who are new to the blog. You will not be disappointed!

Granny's All Wheat Bread

In a small bowl:

Dissolve 2 heaping Tbsp yeast & 1 Tbsp sugar in 1/2 c. hot water.

In mixer:

Whisk at medium speed 1 1/2 c. flour & 2 1/2 c. hot water.

Add: 1/3 c. oil & 1/3 c. honey (or other sugar equivalent) & 1 Tbsp salt.

Add: yeast mixture

Change to dough hook.

Add: 5 1/2 - 6 1/2 c. flour

When combined, knead 8-10 minutes (if you are doing this without a mixer, knead about 20 mins)

Oil a clean surface and dump dough into oil. Shape into loaves or rolls and place in greased pans. (I use 3 medium pans)

Let rise 10 mins in a warmed oven that has been turned off.

Take loaves out and preheat oven to 350 degrees and bake 20-25 minutes for loaves and about 18 minutes for rolls. Brush tops with butter and cover with a towel to cool. (my oven situation has changed a bit since I wrote the original post, so that is why there is a discrepancy between the two recipes.)

And just a little note from someone who has been-there-done-that...Don't cut into your bread right away (no matter how tempting!) because it will be a bit chewy and you'll think you messed up. Bread continues to bake just a bit more once out of the oven, so let it! You'll be much happier with your bread if you practice a bit of patience! *sigh*