Jerry and I were married May 30, 1991. That first summer together was full of memories. We had very little money so our fun had to be quite inexpensive, but just being together was enough for us. I remember a picnic, with tuna sandwiches and popsicles on the lawn of our apartment complex. I remember borrowing camping gear and attempting a little camping trip up in the canyons. Before dark even came it began to rain…..and rain and rain and rain. When the dirt road next to our campsite began to look like a creek, we figured we had best get out of the canyon before it got dangerous. So much for camping.
Later in the summer we scrimped together enough money to spend one day at BYU Education Week. Little did we know that some of what we learned there would be a daily part of our future family life.
First I need to rewind and reminisce a little.
When I was a little girl we visited my grandparents in Alberta, Canada every summer. Grandpa was a salesman for Magic Mill wheat grinders and Bosch Kitchen mixers. In the back entryway, behind the kitchen, was their wheat grinder. They also had a small table set up with giant coloring books (courtesy of Magic Mill) that I spent hours coloring in. My Mom had a Magic Mill as well. She also had a Bosch mixer. I grew up with homemade whole wheat bread and wonderful cookies and muffins, made with her mixer. I learned to make cookies and banana muffins and zucchini bread while still living at home, but hadn't ever taken the time to master whole wheat bread.
All of a sudden, when I got married, I wished that I knew how. My Mom and Dad blessed us greatly by giving us a Bosch mixer as a wedding gift, but I had yet to use it to make bread. That is where Education Week comes in.
One of the classes we attended was on baking whole wheat bread. The teacher was excellent and she even went so far as to pass dough around the class so that we could feel what a great dough should feel like. I came home armed with a great recipe and a determination to master making bread.
I've made our family's bread ever since. The recipe has been tweaked slightly over the years but is still basically the same one that I brought home from Education Week that day. I've handed it out to numerous friends and family and everyone loves the results.
We store and use hundreds of pounds of wheat each year and save a lot of money by grinding our own wheat and making our own bread. Sure, we buy bread on occasion, especially when we are extra busy, or when I've been pregnant or had a new baby, or in the heat of summer when we can't bear to turn on the oven, but we are obviously spoiled, because we never like the store bread as much as our homemade.
When we've been having difficult financial times, knowing how to make our own bread has been a blessing. It's hard to feel deprived when you are eating warm homemade bread with butter and honey or jam.
Here is the recipe as we make it today: (this makes six 1lb loaves)
3T yeast (Saf brand)
1 1/2 T sea salt
1/8 to 1/4 tsp vitamin C powder (ascorbic acid)
1/2 c raw honey
1/3c expeller pressed coconut oil (you want a good quality oil, but not one that has a lot of coconut flavor)
6c hot water
8c whole wheat flour (freshly ground hard WHITE wheat)
1/2 c gluten flour
Mix the above and then let it form a sponge for about 10 minutes (let it sit in the bowl) . Add in MORE flour until dough is just right (this varies with each batch) and knead with the Bosch for about 5 minutes. Rise in pans in a preheated warm oven for half an hour. Then bake at 350 for 30 minutes. (If using dark bread pans, bake at 325 degrees.)
Note: I don't even take the loaves out to preheat the oven before baking. After the rising time I just turn on my oven and start the timer.
