Burgundy: Whole Wheat Bread

I have been holding off making bread because i wanted to save it for a time when i could spend more time with the different types of bread all over France but i though that i could give a quick sneak peak because i could not let my French Onion Soup suffer from store bought bread. This is an incredibly easy bread recipe that i firmly believe everyone should have in there memorized recipe category. Bread is such an easy crowd please-er it is hard to resist its calling.


All you need is:
yeast
flour
salt

sounds pretty easy right? WRONG!

what your actually need is:
2 packages of dry yeast
1 1/2 cups lukewarm water
1 cup warm water
6 cups flour (i used whole wheat)
1 TBS salt

now that is what i call easy!

Start by proofing your yeast in the cup of warm water. It will be ready when the water has become a creamy color or when you have a large amount of froth on top of your water. Then you know your yeast is active. If nothing happens you probably added the yeast to too hot of water and will need to try again. It is key that the water is only warm not hot.

 

this is the beginning of the proofing, when the yeast is still floating on the top.

Then transfer the yeast into a larger bowl and add the remaining 1 1/2 cups of lukewarm water. 

Then start by adding one cup of flour at a time. Mixing well after each addition. slowly introducing the flour with make it easier to build up the gluten and there fore require less kneading later on.

 

See how liquid-y it is? This is with only one cup of flour. time to add more. However this consistency is great because it allows you to be able to work your dough much easier. 

Only two cups of flour to go...

 

after adding and mixing in the fifth cup of flour it is time to start kneading in the sixth cup on a counter top.

Put the dough on the counter top add the salt and start kneading in the salt and the last cup of flour. This process will build up more gluten and incorporate the salt into the dough. 

NOTE: salt is a very important part of bread. It gives it most of its flavor! Bread without salt is not bread you want to eat!!!

I do not have a picutue of kneading dough but basicaly what you want to do is fold the dough over push it with the palm of your hand turn the dough 90 degress  fold it and push it with the palm. It is an easy motion once you get used to it. If you want to see dough kneading in action go here: example of bread kneading

Now sperate you dough into four equal ball and roll them in between your hands on the counter top to get a smooth top. squeeze the bottom together and let rise until you can gently poke the bread and it does not spring back quickly. 

start by pounding the ball flat to release air bubbles. 

then start to roll up the bread into a long tube

once you have done that start by rolling out the center of the dough with one hand then move to two hands and roll the dough into a snake while moving the hands apart from each other. This will create an evenly sized loaf. 

Let the bread rise until it doubles in size before putting it in the oven. In order to keep your house warm you can preheat your oven to 450 degrees F. This will help your bread rise because bread loves the warmth of the oven. 

When the bread is ready bake for 20-25 minutes. 

yum. look at that perfection. and the simplicity behind it!

fresh warm bread straight out of the oven is truly amazing! now you can experience it for your self!