Mom’s White Bread
My mom used to make fresh home-made bread all the time while I was growing up. This is the recipe that she settled on after years of tweaks that she sent me after I moved out.
Soft and light, with a gentle taste, this bread is delicious fresh from the oven with sliced cheese but also is great for sandwiches, french toast, and as a side for curry or soup.
Ingredients
Instructions
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Combine water, sugar, and yeast in a small bowl and set aside.
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Measure 5 cups whole wheat flour (optionally substitute 1 cup with wheat gluten for extra fluffiness) into a large, heavy-duty mixing bowl.
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Add water & milk, eggs, oil, honey and salt, mix well.
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Add yeast mixture and 1-2 more cups whole wheat flour.
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Mix for 10 minutes (to activate the gluten in the whole wheat flour, resulting in lighter bread).
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Add white flour until dough is soft and ready to knead or until it is too stiff for the mixer.
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Turn dough out onto lightly floured surface and knead for a few minutes until dough is smooth and elastic.
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Form dough into a ball and place in greased bowl, turning once to grease the top.
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Cover and let rest 40 minutes.
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Divide into 4 pieces. Form into loaves and place in greased 8 1/2” x 4 1/2” (1.5L) loaf pans. Brush tops with oil.
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Cover and let rise 50 - 55 minutes.
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Bake in 190 C (375 F) oven 35-40 minutes or until bread tests done. Remove from pans and cool on wire rack.
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Enjoy warm or cool completely and store in an airtight bag for about 5 days on the counter or longer in the fridge (becomes crumbly when refrigerated so I recommend enjoying it while it's fresh)
Note
Added on by my mom at the end of the recipe:
I have substituted all kinds of things, in small quantities for part of the flour - oats, teff flour, 7-grain flour... I also prepare 1/2 cup of 12-grain cereal and add the prepared cereal to my bread dough.
As well, when I make white bread, I add some wheat germ, wheat bran and oat bran. I can’t bring myself to eat it with no fiber at all! If you do make this with white flour, the 10-minute mixing isn’t necessary.
If you add something like the 12-grain cereal, increase the honey to 1⁄4 cup.
Also, if you make whole wheat bread, adding gluten flour can greatly improve the consistency of your bread – about 1 cup gluten flour for this 4-loaf recipe.
Really, the basic recipe is very good. It’s fun to play with it SO... HAVE FUN!