Sharing Our Whole Grain Homemade Bread Recipe

Update as of December '09: If you have come to my blog via a search engine go here to see an updated post!

For several months now, I have been saying I wanted to start making our family's bread. I did it when we were on the gluten free diet for eight whole months, but I was very motivated. Store bought gluten free bread tastes like stale cardboard. ICK! Now that we are off gf/cf, each Saturday it has been too easy to just throw a loaf of bread in the basket and think, "I'll start next week."

Two weeks ago I resisted the urge to do that yet again. Instead, I came home and googled "whole wheat bread machine recipes" and started searching. I wanted one that used no white flour whatsoever and no refined sugar. This is the one I liked best; I used it as a springboard for my own variations.

Here is the recipe I am currently using:

100% Whole Grain Bread Machine Bread

1 1/4 cups milk
1 egg
2 Tbsp canola oil
4 Tbsp honey
2 Tbsp molasses
2 Tbsp ground flax seed
2 tsp salt
3 cups whole wheat flour
1 cup oat flour
1 Tbsp yeast
1 Tbsp gluten

Put everything into the bread machine in the order given. Chose the "Whole Wheat" setting and start. I put mine in at night and delay the start time so the bread is just finishing its baking cycle as we are rousing. Waking up to the smell of freshly baking bread is heavenly!

The flax and gluten are optional but you may have to make adjustments in other areas if you don't use them. Also, I grind my own oat flour from old fashioned oats because it's so much cheaper that way. Just throw the oatmeal into a coffee grinder or food processor and you'll have oat flour in just a few seconds. :)

And a huge time-saver...

I set out four of these containers at a time, then I grind a big batch of oat flour. Last I start measuring out the ingredients. Both types of flour go in first (You can see the oat flour is the lighter of the two at the bottom.). I then add the salt and flax at the top. Then when it's time to throw all the ingredients into the bread machine at night, it just takes me a few seconds to grab the other ingredients and measure them out.

This makes a really moist all-purpose bread. It's great for sandwiches, toast or fresh out of the bread machine with a little butter and honey or jam on it (my favorite!).

I am thrilled that we are saving money since I was paying $4 a loaf and we use two loaves a week. I can buy a 5 lb bag of King Arthur Whole Wheat Flour for that same price and get many, many loaves! You can even buy cheaper ww flour but King Arthur has worked beautifully for us. Even more than that, I love that I am feeding my family something that I made with no ingredients we cannot pronounce! ;)