WHEAT BREAD FOR A KING From: Geri Guidetti Newsgroups: misc.survivalism Subject: Re: Need suggestions for wheat bread Date: Fri, 28 Jun 1996 22:34:27 -0400 MamaCamp wrote: How about whole wheat bread made by hand? I always end up with these hard little loaves when I try to make whole wheat. Joyce Joyce, I've never made whole wheat or any bread any other way. To make a six loaf batch takes only about 10 minutes of kneading. It is a lot of work if you haven't yet built up the upper body muscle, but it comes quickly once you start making bread. Whole wheat flour takes more muscle to work up enough of the gluten to give you "high rise" loaves, but they will still be a little less lofty than a loaf with a bit of high gluten, white bread flour or even unbleached, all-purpose white flour added. If it is high and light you are after, yet you want the benefits of a whole wheat loaf, just add one part white bread flour to three parts whole wheat. It will make a big difference. When I make our bread, I use five pounds stoneground whole wheat and about two pounds of white bread flour. This is because my family prefers large, lighter textured sandwiches. It is just enough to get the height, but not enough to dilute the rich whole wheat taste. The other thing you can do to be sure to get higher loaves is to knead long enough. The dough will begin to roll up into a rubbery ball that becomes very difficult to knead any further. It should no longer be sticky, but rubbery. When you begin sweating from trying to push at it further, you're close to finished. Again, this only takes about 10 minutes for a six-loaf batch, a challenging quantity. If you are not tall in height, it helps to knead the dough on a surface that is a few inches shorter than standard counter-top height. This gives you more leverage and downward force with each push. It is also less tiring on the back. Once you get really strong at kneading, even your whole wheat loaves will be plenty high enough for most people's taste. A nice benefit is the positive effects it has on your upper body muscle tone and "soft-tissue" support...Geri Guidetti, The Ark Institute From: mark@lis.ab.ca (Al Durtschi) Newsgroups: misc.survivalism Subject: Re: Need suggestions for wheat bread Date: 2 Jul 1996 15:22:28 GMT We have found one of the real secrets to fluffy, light home made whole wheat bread is soy beans. It is a good emulsifier. Cook soy beans till soft then blend. Don't add any more water than what is necessary to get the job done. Add one cup of this to your four loaf bread batch during mixing. http://www.lis.ab.ca/walton/bread.html Al Durtschi