The smell of homemade bread is intoxicating for me! A fresh slice from the oven with a little butter on the top is like a taste of heaven! Especially when this bread comes from your very own oven and is made from quality ingredients, no additives, and soaked for the highest nutritional benefit! Who can ask for better? The question is not whether it will save you money to make your own bread (which I am sure it will all the same), but rather you will know exactly what is being put into your bread! It is all about quality and freshness! Making homemade bread was one of my jobs growing up where it was rather of a burden than a joy to complete, but now that I am married and raising a family, I have come to realize the real value of developing this art!
Read a few benefits here.
Helpful Hints on Successful Bread Making
- When possible, use fresh home-milled flour. This will have the highest nutritional content, and the best baking characteristics for higher rising loaves. If this is not possible, store good quality flour in your freezer, but bring it to room temperature before using for the best results.
- Use high quality yeast such as SAF Instant Dry Yeast. This is available in quantity at Costco for a good price. Store in the freezer. It will last 2 years or more. If your yeast does not proof, then it is too old!
- Remember to proof your yeast! Add your yeast to warm water (between 100-115 degrees) with 1 tsp of honey. This will prepare it for action!
- Remember that less flour is best! You should only add just enough flour until the beaters in your mixing bowl are scraping the sides of the bowl clean. If you add too much flour, your bread will be crumbly. Dough should still be slightly sticky before kneading.
- Develop the gluten thoroughly. When dough is properly kneaded it will be smooth and elastic. A quick test for sufficient kneading is to take a golfball-sized portion of dough; stretch it between the thumb and index finger of both hands to determine if the gluten is fully developed. The dough should stretch out thin and not tear readily.
- Make sure to give your dough two risings! The additional rising will develop flavor, gluten framework and make more fluffy loaves. It is optional, if you are in a hurry.
- Only let rise till doubled before baking! This is the mistake I make too often. 30 minutes is a good length of time. If they rise too long the structure of the loaf will become weak and it will sink or fall completely during baking.
Homemade Whole Grain Soaked Bread
Learn more about the benefits of soaking here.
11 cups of ground whole wheat flour (you can replace 1 or 2 cups with unbleached white flour for a lighter end result)
1 cup acid medium (kefir, cultured buttermilk, or whey; for dairy intolerant you can substitute with 1/4 cup apple cider vinegar or lemon juice and 3/4 cup water)
3 cups of warm filtered water
2 cups oats
1 cup honey
3/4 cup coconut oil, or butter melted
1/4 cup raw millet, optional
1/4 cup flax seed, optional
1/2 cup water
1 tsp honey
2 1/2 Tbsp active dry yeast
1 1/2 Tbsp sea salt
2-4 Tbsp dough enhancer (I highly recommend this dough enhancer, as it works very well, but you can also replace with any combination of the following: 3 table spoons vital wheat gluten, 1/2 tea spoon soy lecithin, a pinch of citric acid (use sparingly!), and a sprinkling of ginger)
1 cup unbleached white flour or sprouted flour, if necessary
Sunflower seeds, if desired
Directions:
- Combine the flour, acid medium, oats, honey, melted oil, millet and flax seeds, and 3 cups of filtered water. Cover and soak at room temperature for 12-24 hours.
- After soaking, in a separate small bowl, combine yeast, 1 tsp of honey, and 1/2 cup warm filtered water. Let sit for 5 minutes or so, until fully proofed.
- Combine the yeast mixture, soaked flour mixture, and all the rest of the ingredients in your mixer. You may need to add an additional 1-2 cups of flour. Dough should clean the sides of the mixer.
- Knead the dough for 10 minutes until the gluten is fully developed.
- Remove to a greased bowl and cover with a towel. Let sit until doubled, about 1 1/2 hours.
- Punch down, turn dough over, and allow to rise until doubled again, about 45 minutes. (OPTIONAL, but preferred for best results)
- Punch down dough and divide into 4 loaves. Roll out with a rolling pin into a rectangle and roll up into a loaf (this makes the perfectly shaped loaves).
- Place in greased bread bans and rise again until doubled, about 30-45 minutes minutes (the best place is the oven! Just turn it on low 150-170 degrees till heated and then turn it off, prior to putting the loaves in).
- Turn the oven on to 350 degrees and bake for 30-45 minutes. Bread is done when it is fully browned on all sides! Remove from oven, rest in pans for 10 minutes before removing from pans.
Yield: 4 loaves.
If you do not desire to soak your flour, follow these instructions:
You have the option of replacing the 1 cup acid medium with water in the recipe above, so you have a total of 4 1/2 cups of water, or you can use the acid medium and just skip the soaking and proceed as described here.
- Combine yeast, 1 tsp of honey, and 1/2 cup of the total water required. Let sit for 5 minutes or so, until fully proofed.
- Combine the yeast mixture, remaining 4 cups of water (or 1 cup acid medium & 3 cups water), and all the rest of the ingredients in your mixer. Only add as much flour until it cleans the sides of the bowl.
- Knead the dough for 10 minutes until the gluten is fully developed.
- Remove to a greased bowl and cover with a towel. Let sit until doubled, about 1 1/2 hours.
- Punch down and divide into 4 loaves. Roll out with a rolling pin into a rectangle and roll up into a loaf (this makes the perfectly shaped loaves).
- Place in greased bread bans and rise again until doubled, about 30-45 minutes minutes (the best place is the oven! Just turn it on low 150-170 degrees till heated and then turn it off, prior to putting the loaves in).
- Turn the oven on to 350 degrees and bake for 30-45 minutes. Bread is done when it is fully browned on all sides! Remove from oven, rest in pans for 10 minutes before removing from pans.
Further Resources
A few excellent articles and tips on making your own homemade bread! Urban Homemaker has an abundance of resources on this topic!
Bread Baking Problems & Solutions
Tips for the Best Bread
Want to make this bread in your bread machine? Check out Inspired Homemaking’s adapted version of my recipe for use in a bread machine.
Hi Lindsay -
I just recently found your blog and I love it!
I tried this recipe last weekend (a half batch) and it is officially my favorite whole wheat enriched bread (although I did use about a cup and a half of white bread flour since I didn’t have quite enough whole wheat). I think soaking overnight is the key to a good rise for whole wheat doughs. Thanks so much for sharing this.
- Lily
This is an amazing bread recipe. I made it for the first time yesterday and it’s delicious. Both of my children really like it too, and it made great grilled cheese sandwiches for their lunchboxes. I also tried your fudge, which was delicious and it is holding its shape well, and your instructions for soaking oatmeal. I look forward to reading more and trying more of your recipes.
Lindsay, do you still have your non-soaked version of the bread anywhere? I have used that for months, and while I know I should start soaking my grains, I’m a bit overwhelmed at this point… taking baby steps
If it is available somewhere, I will print it out this time! Thanks for your recipe… I get lots of “wow, this is the best bread I’ve ever had” compliments due to you!
I added the unsoaked bread instructions above. The only difference really is the replacement of 1 cup water with acid medium for soaking. All other measurements are the same.
Thank you Lindsay!
Hi Lindsay,
I have a blendtec, bought it because it can grind grains as well as blend. Today I ground wheat for the first time. I used my blendtec, I don’t have a grinder. So, I was wondering if you have tried using your blendtec to grind flour. I was wondering if it makes a courser flour than a grinder or if that’s just how fresh ground wheat flour is? Thanks.
Yes, I do use my blendtec ocassionally to grind grains and it works great. It produces very fine flour.
How long do you grind your flour with the blendtec and on what setting? I just pulsed mine to grind it. Does it feel warm after grinding it? How much wheat grinds into how much flour, ie 1 cup wheat becomes 2 cups of flour? Thanks again.
Do you have the cookbook that goes with the blender? It has instructions in the recipe section for breads on grinding it. I believe you just pulse it for a few minutes. 1 cup grain usually produces 1 1/2 cups ground flour. Yes, it will feel warm after grinding it.
Hi Lindsay! A couple of questions over here
I just got a Bosch mixer and can’t quite figure out how to use the dough hook. When I tried to use it today the dough got in one huge lump and just sat in the mixer and wasn’t really ‘mixing’. Then I had to knead it for 6 minutes by hand and it still wasn’t elastic. Wondering if you might have any ideas or tips on what I might be doing wrong? Also, do you know of any videos that show what dough will look like on a dough hook in a mixer? Thanks!
I am not sure what to say Amy. It may just take a little to get used too. Mine will occasionally lump up, but it usually means I put too much flour or something. If I just add one cup at a time and watch carefully to only add as much as is needed to clean the bowl, that usually is fine. There are a couple videos on using the bosch mixer on youtube. They might be helpful to you.
I should also mention that sometimes it may form a ball but it still will kneed the dough as in this video.
This is the BEST soaked bread recipe I have found. I love it and so does everyone else. Love your blog too. Thanks for being willing to share.
In His grace,
Laura
Hi Lindsay!
I’m trying this recipe for the first time today and noticed you mention to have it rise at least twice but your directions list 3 risings–the first 1 1/2 hour, then 45 and then split for another 30-35–are all 3 necessary?
thanks!
I just have been working on updating this recipe. I believe the 2nd rise (before shaping into loaves) is optional but helpful.
Question: My bread recipe uses 20 lbs of flour (makes 15-20 loaves). I add my flour into the wet ingredients. I am unsure how I would soak the flour in this case?
You are doing it correctly it sounds. Combine flour, liquids (replacing some with an acid medium like yogurt, kefir, buttermilk, lemon juice, etc), and honey, and oil. Allow this to soak for 12-24 hours before adding the rest of the ingredients in the recipe.
The link for the sourdough starter is not working. I did a search on the site it redirected me to and none of the links are working for it.
I am very new to bread baking and am having trouble getting the gluten to develop. I think I was successful only once and the only difference between the other times was that I used kefir for the acid medium instead of lemon juice or apple cider vinegar. Should the acid medium really make a difference? I kneaded in a Kitchenaid. I split a 2 loaf recipe in half and kneaded each half for 10 minutes and then put them together and kneaded for another 5 or so. It always tears very easily and remains very sticky to the touch, though it doesn’t stick to the bowl in the Kitchenaid, just to my skin.I’m afraid to knead too much or to add too much flour. How long should I go before I quit kneading? I used 1/4 a cup of wheat gluten for the two loaf recipe. The bread still turns out fine, but I really want to get the gluten developed. I always end up just letting it rise as as sticky dough and follow as normal. Any thoughts? Thanks so much.
Did you allow your yeast to get activated in warm water with a little sweetener first? You just need to kneed it until the dough stretches well. Have you tried a different brand of gluten, maybe it is old? I kneed for 10 minutes in my Bosch mixer and that is usually enough. You may have to add more flour as well if it is that sticky.
Hi Lindsay, you are so kind to take time to respond to so many comments! Just a quick question about your bosch. Do you have a plastic bowl? When you combine your flour, water and acid medium to soak overnight, do you let the mixer combine it, or do you mix with a spoon? I am apprehensive about letting my mixture soak in my plastic bowl. I tried to avoid food/plastic combinations. Any thoughts? Thanks so much and God bless!
I do have the plastic bowl and mix in it with the whisks or kneading hook. You wouldn’t be able to soak in the metal one anyway because it conflicts with the acid in breaking down the phytates. I don’t understand it all, but I know that it is not recommended to use metal. I try to avoid plastic as much as possible, but I don’t worry about this. If desired, you could transfer to a ceramic container for the soaking period.
Lindsay, you may have answered this already, but I have a question about what “soaking” means. I’m soaking the grain (including everything in the soaking step) right now and I only dared put 8 cups of the flour in, because I can’t see how the proportion of liquid to dry can possibly amount to “soaking.” When I think of soaking something, I think of immersing it and that the soaking medium (water, honey and oil in this case) would still be liquid and that whatever is soaking would kind of float in it. But there’s nothing floating here. It’s total dough already. Can it really be considered “soaking” if it’s not really even soaking? Is it okay if it’s already dough?
Yes, it will be a moist dough-like in consistency while soaking. It works so you don’t need to worry about it.
Help! I am very frustrated. I’ve been baking your beautiful bread recipe now for 10 months. And it is delicious, truly delicious. But I have not had good luck with it rising. I’m using hard red winter wheat. I wore out my kitchen aid and so now I’m doing the kneading by hand. I use dough conditioner. I let it rise twice – and it rises beautifully. But it falls flat in the oven. And it hasn’t risen so highly that you would think it would collapse on itself. I’m at the point where I’m saving money to purchase a Bosch dough kneading machine, in the hopes that this is the issue. However, I will be even more disappointed if after shelling out $400, I still have flat bread. Any thoughts? I would really appreciate any help you can give me. Thanks so much. You’re an inspiration!
I have experienced this same problem occasionally in the past. I cannot say I understand the chemistry of bread making myself, but I don’t think it has to do with the machine. The Bosch definitely comes in handy to simplify the process, but it probably won’t solve the rising problem. You may want to try three rising times, which can help make a more stable bread, or just make sure it only rises to just above the rim of the pan. If it rises too high, it will collapse. It can also be affected by the weather…crazily enough. I always had better success in the summer. The temperature changes from oven to countertop can affect the dough. Have you tried doing the whole process in the warm oven as suggested? Bread making is an art…I still don’t believe I have mastered it yet.
Thank you Lindsay – I appreciate your input. Yes, I did the whole process in the oven yesterday afternoon and it did not turn out well. It over-cooked because I broke my thermometer and had to eye-ball it. It was too crumbly – which I think was due to being over-cooked. But it still tastes good and is very nourishing. Yesterday it was raining cats and dogs and I think there is something to the weather comment. I’ve read that hard white winter wheat makes a lighter loaf of bread and I’m gonna give that a try. I am most certainly not quitting the process. I’m committed now. Thanks again!
Hi Sherree, I just wanted to respond to your questions because I made a batch of Lindsay’s bread with *great* results. I, too, used organic hard red winter wheat berries that I ground with my KA mixer (600 watt) and a Messerschmidt grain mill attachment. I do not have the dough enhancer (yet!) and I used molasses in place of the honey since I was out of the latter last night when assembling the ingredients to soak. Organic coconut oil was the fat. The one thing I did differently is that I double-milled the flour and I think that might be the key to this bread’s wonderful texture while still being 100% whole wheat. After running the berries once through on the finest setting, I dumped the flour back into the mill and ran it again. The difference in the texture from first grind to second was immense. After two grinds, it felt nearly like store-bought flour. Still slightly more grainy, but much less so than if it was ground once. Before you give up, try double milling and see how that works!
Lindsay, do you mix this in a Bosch? I am afraid everything won’t fit!
Yes, I make this recipe in my Bosch!
Lindsay do you suggest soaking grains for sour dough breads or does the sourdough process break it down enough?
No, sourdough functions in the same way as soaking or sprouting your grains, and breaks down the phytates effectively. Some would say it is superior than soaking.
I’ve used the soaked recipe 3 times now & I am so happy with it! I’ve made cinnamon rolls, bread & pita breads from this one base. I’m so happy to have found this website! I’m totally motivated to get back into the Nourishing Traditions way of eating for me & my family! Thanks, Shanna
Shanna, would you mind sharing more about using this dough as a base for other bread items? I would LOVE to make cinnamon rolls with it!!!
I can tell you actually…I make cinnamon rolls all the time with this recipe. Simply take one of the four loaves and roll it out into a large rectangle. Slather on plenty of butter, cinnamon and sugar of your choice. Roll it up (long sides to long sides) and cut into desired portions. It is yummy! The more fillings the creamier your cinnamon rolls will be.
Thanks Lindsay! What temperature do you bake them at, and for how long? I’m not good at experimenting with baking, so I need someone to hold my hand!
Same temperature as the bread (350 degrees), but probably bake for 20 minutes, until they are golden brown on top and bottom. I recommend using a glass pan as you can see the bottom better. One loaf of bread converted to cinnamon rolls usually fills an 8×8 glass pan.
Well I used coconut oil for the first batch which turned out prefectly but had an awful aftertaste (thanks to coconut oil) so gave it all away and tried again using rice bran oil and halving the recipe. No matter what I did the dough wouldn’t thicken – it was sticky and runny even after 12 cups of flour but it rose and baked fine. Unfortunately one loaf fell apart when I tried to remove it from the pan (makes good breadcrumbs though) and the other loaf is super-crumbly :sigh: am having another go today soaking another half batch coz I have to use a breadmaker to knead it as my preggy belly doesn’t handle any hand-kneading atm and a full batch is too much for the machine. FX it works this time coz I can’t afford the ingredients if we can’t use the finished product
Not sure if you used virgin coconut oil or not, but that might leave a coconutty taste in the bread. I use organic expeller-pressed coconut oil in my bread, which has no coconut scent or flavor to it. As for the bread machine – I would recommend mixing 1 loaf’s worth of dough up first and then letting the bread machine do the kneading and baking. I tried the mixing, kneading and baking with soaked dough one time and it turned out awful. Also, the dough is a little stickier than unsoaked varieties, but it shouldn’t be overly sticky. I use white flour to knead into the bread instead of whole wheat as it helps smooth it out a bit. Hope that helps!
Oh ok so leaving the bread mixer to do the whole thing? I took it out and put in the breadpans for the second rise and bake. The bread mixture couldn’t have even been described as dough the second time I made it! It was runny!!! I thought maybe I added too much water for the soaking but unless I’ve lost half my brain cells and can’t remember straight I’m sure I measured it all out correctly! We’re finding all the other grains we’re eating are super-filling though so not actually eating the bread anyway.
As for the coconut I just used 100% pure natural coconut oil (refined for purity?) but it smells and tastes like soap :gag: no coconut taste at all its just disgusting!! I did another post asking about it somewhere on here and now I can’t find it to see if anybody responded lol oh dear! If anyone sees it please let me know where it is!!
Are you sure you’re using food-grade coconut oil? Coconut oil should have no bad or soapy flavor. I’ve been using it for several months and the most flavorful oil only has a light coconut flavor.
If you’re using refined coconut oil that’s why it might taste or smell like soap. The refining process strips it and bleaches it with a chemical process to remove the coconut taste but also robs it of it’s healing properties. Try switching to organic virgin coconut oil that is unrefined and you won’t taste anything bad.
I’m sooooo fed up with all the icky additives I find in store bread – so I’m going to try to make the switch to homebaked! I understand that home milled wheat is ideal, but is there a particular brand of store-bought flour that you’d recommend? I’d appreciate your expert advice!
THANK YOU!
I LOVE YOUR BLOG!!
Any combination of whole grain bread is ideal…just make sure it is 100% whole grain, like 100% whole wheat. I like to do a combination if you can get your hands on kamut or spelt. These are wonderful whole grain flours as well. They provide a variety of healthy benefits. Read more about various grains here.
I’ve been using fresh ground wheat for a few years now but just recently started looking into the soaking “thing”. I made this up last night to soak overnight and to make into bread after church but when I mixed all the soaking ingredients together it wasn’t “soaking” per say. There was no evidence of liquid it just made the oat and wheat mixture clumpy. Did I mess something up? Also I’ve never even thought about this until laying in bed last night wondering what I might have done wrong, but how do you measure fresh ground wheat? Do you need to measure it like store bought flour? Like spoon it gently into the measuring cup. I’ve always just scooped it up out of the grinder bowl straight into the measuring cup but I would never do that with white flour. Any ideas?
Soaking just takes practice and experimenting. It doesn’t always work the first time at a new recipe but practice makes perfect. I would just make sure you have a moist wet dough when you first combine the flour, liquids and acid medium. If it looks clumpy, add a bit more liquids. Make sure it is also well mixed before you set it aside to soak. No, measuring doesn’t have any thing to do with it unless you are excessive. I never measure perfectly, just fill up the measuring cup till it looks full.
Is there a dough enhancer without soy? I am terribly allergic to soy and have thus given up bread because I cannot make a nice loaf that isn’t either crumbled or a brick.
Try just wheat gluten.
I have made your recipe twice now and it has turned out delicious! I did add the wheat berries but soaked them in the water/kefir for about 24 hours. They had a great texture. I have been using my kitchen aid mixer but it really made a funny noise the last time because the recipe is a bit too much for it to handle. If I decide to hand knead it, do you have tips for hand kneading?
I just made your bread and it is delicious. I wondered about where you soak the dough- in the fridge, or out on the counter?
Out on the counter. I just keep it in the mixing bowl with the lid and let it sit. It must remain at room temperature to effectively break down the phytates.
Lindsey
Is there a danger of spoilage if left out on the counter? We are experiencing very high humidity and 80+ degrees without air conditioning. Wouldn’t this spoil the soaking items like dough, baby porridge, rice or beans? Would you recommend soaking in the fridge?
No, that is the whole idea with soaking. You want to keep it on the counter to gain the bacteria in the air that breaks down the phytates and makes it more digestible. All soaking should be done on the counter for it to be effective.
I never respond, but this is question is begging me to! How long do you knead your bread in the Bosch? I knead my bread for 8 minutes. Whole wheat needs (no pun intended) to be kneaded longer. I bet you’re not kneading long enough and you definitely need to use SAF yeast. Regual yeast doesn’t work (at least for me). This recipe (the one here at this site) is the only recipe I use.
Chrissy
Thanks Chrissy. I definitely over kneaded. I’ll try 15 minutes for whole grain bread?
I wouldn’t do it for more than 10 minutes.
I have been using your recipe for bread for a while now and I just can’t seem to get my bread to look like yours. Mine is still heavy and dense and just doesn’t rise very much. I also purchased the Bosch mixer and thought I’d get a better loaf than hand kneading, but not so. Any suggestions? How do you use your Bosch? Do you still hand knead? Any suggestions would help. Thanks.
You will have to be a bit more specific. Are you soaking your bread? I use a Bosch mixer for all the kneading.
I soak my flour overnight right in the bosch bowl, then add the rest of the ingredients the next day and knead using the bosch. I let it rise twice in the bowl, once in the pan then bake. My loaves are still heavy and don’t rise over the pan’s edge. As a result, my kids are just not eating it. What am I doing wrong or what can I do better? Should I add Vital Wheat Gluten?
First of all, I would only let it rise once before you form them into loaves and rise again in the oven. Secondly, there is really not enough room to rise it for 1.5 hours in the bosch bowl, so I transfer it to a large wooden bowl, cover with a towel and allow it to rise in the oven. This works really well. I would also recommend using the dough enhancer referred to in the recipe. This has made a world of difference!
Thank you. I’ll try that this weekend.
I also have been making Lindsay’s bread recipe for quite a while. (LOVE it by the way!) This is what helped me get better results with rising. I bought a cookbook called “No More Bricks” from Pleasant Hill Grain Co. and in there it gives this advice. Knead (with a machine if possible) for 8 to 12 minutes (don’t start counting until all the flour has been added). After 8 or 10 minutes, take a walnut sized piece of dough and pull it into a small rectangle with your fingers. If it tears as you do so, it needs more kneading. If it holds its shape and has a strong, glutinous texture, it is ready to rise. This really helped me. Also, if you wait too long to put it in the oven, it can still collapse on itself. The cookbook does a good job of explaining the science behind yeast breads. It helped me a lot. Though I still like Lindsay’s bread recipe MUCH better than the recipes in the book.
Hi!
You are very inspiring! I plan to make my own bread soon! What do you think about putting whole wheat berries in the mix? How do I soften them enough to put them in? Also, my mom has a recipe for bread that includes powdered milk… what are your thoughts on powdered milk?
Alicia
I would think that using whole berries would be very difficult to chew and digest. You could try adding them to the soaking mix and see if they get any softer, but I don’t think you will be able to break down the phytates if you use the whole berries. There are plenty of other items that you can put in whole them will be easy to chew – millet, all varieties of seeds, etc. I do not recommend powdered milk because it usually contains MSG.
I would say that you could use the wheat berries – I have sprouted them in the past. The Sprout People have a recipe for whole grain sprout bread that may give you some ideas on how much to use, etc.
The recipe’s that I’ve seen that call for Whole Wheat Berries asks that you cook them first. In that case you can soak overnight in the cooking water with the kefir then cook before you add them to the dough. I’m not sure if the recipe already takes into account the extra liquid from the cooked berries or not. I guess you’d have to experiment.
Powdered milk is also a nasty source of oxidized cholesterol (or something like that). The spray-drying process damages the milk, so it in turn damages your arteries. Best to use the real thing.
Hello. I want to try your recipe, and this is my first bread-making experience. My question is about the the honey. My baby is only 10 months and supposedly should not have honey. Can I use something else, instead? Thank you!
I personally would not be concerned, especially if you are using local honey and know the source. It is such a small quantity per loaf. But, you can substitute it for agave nectar, brown rice syrup or maple syrup as desired.
The link to the dough enhancer say’s that it is not valid. What dough enhancer is it?
I updated the link. I purchased it through Emergency Essentials.
Does a “pinch of ginger” as an enhancer really mean the spice, like I would add to stir fry? That seems too easy (and inexpensive) compared to all that other stuff. Does it still work? thank you!
Yes, it does mean ground ginger. I have not tried this method of dough enhancer, but I don’t think it would work effectively on its on. You would want to combine it with the other enhancers, such as gluten, citric acid, etc.
Lindsay, you’re site is a blessing in more ways than one. This bread recipe is superb and I’m grateful you’ve shared it.
As for our question, Katie: I tried ground ginger and citric acid together (a pinch of each for a two-loaf batch), as they were what I had around. I believe they helped.
Hi, Lindsay
Thanks so much for all the time you have put into this website. I refer to it often.
I have successfully made our family’s bread for 2 years now, but only recently tried a soaked recipe. I am having trouble knowing how much flour to add to this recipe. When I follow the directions, it seems too sloppy, almost flabby like. I can’t even roll it out or up, it just plops on the counter. Am I not adding enough flour in the soaking step? Do you use oil or flour on your counter when you shape your loaves?
Thanks for your time!
Soaking will definitely produce a very stretchy more sticky dough. Make sure to add the full 11 cups for the soaking process. If you add to much more it will get too dry and hard to work with. If you need more flour in the second stage, add a bit of unbleached white flour. I throw a bit of unbleached white flour on the counter before shaping my loaves.
After getting my grain mill a few months back I just hadn’t found a yeast bread recipe that we all loved. This is it!!! Even my husband who’s not as crazy about whole grain baked goods agrees (thus two loaves gone in the first day!). Add in the benefits of soaking and it’s just perfect. Thank you!
I have made two loaves of bread so far and I have one question. My loaves are pretty and look perfect, but if sliced thin, for a sandwich, the middle doesn’t hold up. What could I be doing wrong? Here is my recipe.
1 ½ cups hot water
½ cup oil ( 1/3 cup if use egg)
¼ cup honey
4 ½ cups fresh milled flour
2 tsp. salt
1 tbsp yeast
I put these ingredients into a breadmachine and let it make the dough. This process includes about a 1 hour rise. Then i take it out and knead it a few times. Then shape it and put it into my bread pan to rise for about 30 minutes. Then I bake it at 375 for about 30 minutes.
My only suggestion is that it sounds like the gluten has not fully developed yet in the kneading process. Make sure to kneed for a full 8-10 minutes. Pull out a chunk of dough and slowly stretch it apart between your fingers. If it stretches easily (5-6 inches easily) then it is fully developed, but if it tears quickly allow it to kneed for a few more minutes. Hope that helps!
Hi,
Do you take the bread out of the oven after rising to preheat so you can bake it or do you keep the bread in the oven while preheating?
Chrissy
Yes, I simply keep it in the oven for the whole process of the second rising, preheating and baking. I don’t take the loaves out at all. If you took them out they might be shocked at the temperature change and cause the loaves to fall.
What a great tip. So, do you not cover for the second rise? Or just remove covering b/f turing on the oven?
No, I remove the cover for the second rise so that I can immediately turn on the oven without opening the door after it is done rising and start the baking process.
If you leave it in the oven for the whole process, when do you start timing??
I never worry about preheating my oven. In fact, I believe it to be a waste of electricity. I simply start my timer as soon as I turn on my oven. This works perfectly fine without wasting time and electricity to preheat it.
Hi, you may never see this comment because it’s so late, but I was wondering if you could tell me if I could use store bought kefir for the soak. Although, I make homemade yogurt, and wondered if that would work, too. Maybe I’ll just go for it and try it, but if anybody knows if I could use either of these, it might save me a little bit of money.
Thanks! Love your site!
Yes, most definitely! Both options are perfectly adequate for the job
We tried this recipe and it made WAY more dough than our mixer can handle. Do you have tips for making just ONE loaf? Also, what size loaf pan do you use?
If you divide the recipe by four, you can use that to make one loaf, although it would be easier to make two loaves by just dividing the recipe in half. I use 4 1/2x 8 1/2 in bread pans. They are glass pyrex pans and they work beautifully for this bread.
I’m so excited to have found this website!! I’m making bread today and decided to soak it. I mixed all the ingredients together that are required just for the soaking for 24 hours. However, the consistency is dough like. When I hear the word soak, I think of something sitting in a liquid. Is that the consistency it’s supposed to be for soaking? Thanks so much.
Yes, this recipe will be more dough-like, but still moist and sticky. If you follow the directions it should work perfectly fine.
What kind of mill do you use for your wheat?
I use a Nutrimill and love it. I purchased it through Pleasant Hill Grains online. Excellent company and good quality machine!
How can I use your bread recipe in a bread machine? I’ve never made my own bread, not even in the machine. So I’m brand new at this and don’t understand some of the terms. (proofing?)
Thanks. I love your site.
Proofing just means letting the yeast activate a bit before adding it to the other ingredients. I think that sugar feeds the yeast, which is why a little honey is added at this step. Just combine the water, honey and yeast, let it sit for about 5 min, and you will see the yeast get big and bubbly. Then add it to the other ingredients. Proofing is pretty simple for such a fancy name! I’m new at bread making too, but my first batch turned out great! I do have a Kitchen Aid mixer, and the dough hook makes it quite easy. I’m sure you could do this in the bread machine though… it should have come with instructions for the order of ingredients. On my machine, the order is: (warm) water, other liquids (honey, oil, buttermilk or kefir), anything else (salt, dough enhancer, oats, flax, etc), flour, and then yeast on top… make a small well in the flour for the yeast and make sure the yeast doesn’t touch anything but flour. You could put it on the dough setting and then take it out for its final rise in the pan. Good luck!
Can I freeze the unused loaves of bread until my family is ready for them? What do you suggest for storing (container, mode, etc.) Thanks so much for your site!
Definitely! I always make this recipe and freeze three of the loaves till ready to use. I just cut each loaf in half and store it in gallon size ziploc bags. This works great! You can also wrap them in freezer paper, if you desire.
Hi Lindsay,
I have two questions about this recipe. I’ve been making it successfully for a few months now. The first couple times I made it, it came out like storebought bread…fluffy and high and light. Since then, it’s been alot more dense. It doesn’t rise as high, and the texture on the top of the bread looks like a sponge. It still tastes good, but it’s ugly and heavier. I’m not doing anything different that I know of. I’ve always used gluten+ascorbic acid to enhance the dough, but am thinking of just buying the enhancer that you recommend. I can’t understand why it’s not coming out though, after it came out beautifully at first. Any ideas?
Secondly, do you think there’s a way of using rapadura in place of the honey? Honey is very dear around here, and I hate spending a fortune on raw honey, then destroying all its enzymes by baking it! I was thinking of reducing the flour by a cup and adding a cup of rapadura, and adding a couple eggs to make up for the lost liquid honey. I like using eggs in my bread anyway for the EFA’s and complete protein. What do you think?
This blog is such an encouragement and blessing to me. Thanks for all your tips!
So, substituting blackstrap molasses for honey worked GREAT! However, I’m running into one problem. My second try at this bread turned out better than the first, but on the second day, the bread has a very bitter taste, I almost can’t eat it. I’m using very fresh ingredients so I have no idea what’s causing this, anyone know?
Hi Lindsay,
I just discovered a great tip I wanted to pass on to you to try with baked goods. I’ve just started experimenting with organic coconut flour. It’s extremely high in fiber (low carb) and it’s great for making quickie baked goods if I haven’t soaked flour. Anyway, your bread recipe, as well as my NT pastry recipe, call for adding white flour to prevent sticking. After all the aggravation I go to to soak my whole grains, I just hate using white flour. Yesterday and today it was very damp and rainy, and my pastry dough for empanadas and my bread dough was so sticky I could barely work with it. I added a little bit of coconut flour and it stiffened the dough right up. Because of its high fiber content, it absorbs liquid quickly, so just a small amount kneaded into both doughs worked wonders. I also threw a little down on my counter while I was rolling out the dough, and it worked great. I get mine from Tropical Traditions, same place I get my coconut oil. It’s expensive, but all the recipes use a small amount. It makes fluffy muffins and biscuits. Sometimes I just get a little tired of the heavy brown baked goods, and the coconut flour mixes it up a little.
Lisa
Excellent suggestion!
My first try at this recipe turned out pretty well! I have one problem and I’d love to know if anyone has suggestions. I make a half-recipe of this and I don’t have a mixer, and found that my flimsy $10 hand mixer can’t work the dough. I use the soaking recipe, and I’ve found that when my soaking is done, I have a terribly difficult time working in the warm water and yeast with a wooden spoon. I think this is why my bread didn’t rise as well as I would have liked.
Do you have any tips on working bread dough without a mixer to make it all nice and even?
I have some dough soaking right now that I’m about to finish. I ran out of honey so I substituted blackstrap molasses, I’ll let you know how that works out!
Hi, I have been making my own bread for about two years, but I am just learning about grinding my own flour and soaking. I have heard about the nutrients disappearing from the flour so many hours after it is milled. My question is this: if you make several loaves and freeze them to eat weeks later, aren’t the nutrients gone by the time it is eaten? Also, wouldn’t the heat of the oven kill any nutrients in the freshly-ground flour. And doesn’t soaking for 24 hours waste those nutrients that are gone within 24 hours of grinding the grain into flour??? It just doesn’t make sense to me, but I want our “daily bread” to have as much nutritional value as God intended.
Hi. I just tried your bread recipe and used the soaked method and it turned out really well. I didn’t have dough enhancer either and used gluten and the loaves didn’t rise as much as I would have liked but the taste was fabulous! This is the first soaked bread recipe that my family and I have really liked. Thank you for sharing this recipe!
Lindsay, I have a question about getting my bread to have a lighter texture. I made your recipe for the first time yesterday, and while the bread is tasty and all – it didn’t rise as high as I would have liked – it’s certainly not as high as your photograph. I didn’t have access to the dough enhancer, the lecithin or citric acid, so I just used gluten, which is what I use in my bread machine with other recipes. I expect that is the problem. Would you agree?
I also made the whole wheat tortillas – my concern is the amount of calories in the bread and tortillas adding to my weight control issues. I am used to commercially made items that are less dense and so I tend to eat less calories. Has this posed a problem for you? It doesn’t look like it – but I do wonder if it’s a problem for you or any other of your readers.
Yes, the dough enhancer makes a significant difference from my experience. I tried just gluten previously and it didn’t quite work sufficiently on its own. I believe homemade whole grain items would be a better choice than commercial products as they are more nutritionally dense. You may just desire not to consume as much as you would the commercial products if you are concerned about calories. It has not been a problem for us.
Hi! I’m so excited to try this (and I wanted to tonight!) but I only have “quick oats” in the house. Should I wait and buy rolled oats???
Thanks, Lindsay, for all your detail in explaining things!
Go ahead and use quick oats! I don’t think it will make any difference. Blessings!
Hey Lindsay!
My mother in law and I are making the bread this weekend… I am curious, though – if we are not using freshly milled flour – do we need to decrease the amount of the flour we are using? Or is it still the same?
Sorry to ask that.. but i wasn’t sure!
Thanks!
The flour measurements will be the same with both store bought or freshly milled flour.
I typically only make my bread on a need basis because I am concerned about oxidation and the loss of nutrients if I were to freeze it. What are your thoughts on this? Have you read anything that would caution/not freezing bread?
I have not personally heard anything about losing nutrients from freezing bread. I have purchased some bread in the past from a whole foods store that required it to be refrigerated or frozen because they were free from preservatives. Refrigeration keep them from going bad.
Hello Lindsay,
I love your web-site. I have recently started to buy grain in bulk to mill my own flour. Thank you for clearing up the confusing information I have been getting from well meant advisors. I had been given the impression that I was to soak the whole grain and dry it before milling it into flour. Now I understand the grain is to milled into flour then soak before using it in recipes. One topic I have not found much information on is how to bake bread with starters instead of active dry yeast. Do you have any experiences with this? Thanks, Marianne
There are actually two different methods for breaking down the phytates in grain. One way is called sprouting, and that includes what you described: soaking the whole grain, dehydrating, and then milling. The second method is soaking, which is what I do. Soaking the milled flour and using it in recipes. Both methods accomplish the same thing, but soaking is much easier in my opinion. I wrote a post comparing the two methods here. I personally have not explored into the world of sourdough starters as of yet. IT is a goal for this year. If you want to learn how to make a sourdough starter, check out Heavenly Homemakers tutorial. It is very thorough.
i am new to your blog and have been poking around. i grind my own wheat and bake my own bread, but i have never heard about soaking grains until now. i read your reasoning for that and it makes sense. i am also wondering why you use a dough enhancer and if it is necessary? also, why do you add unbleached white flour?
Both dough enhancer and white flour help to provide a lighter and moist final product. They are not necessary, but I find them very beneficial for getting the texture our family enjoys. Whole wheat just naturally tends to be very dense on its own. I rarely add white flour, but always use the dough enhancer.
thanks lindsay! is lecithin essentially the same thing as dough enhancer and do you know if it prohibits health in anyway?
p.s. i’m so glad i found your site. i have lived in the atlanta area since i got married, but i am from west linn and my parents live in the felida area of vancouver now. your site is a little taste of home and the people i know there:)
Dough enhancer is a combination of lecithin, wheat gluten, citric acid and a few other ingredients. My research has shown it to be perfectly fine for your health as these ingredients are 100% natural. You really are not using very much of it anyway. Blessings!