After relocating from the Netherlands to the USA, over 10 years ago, I found it really hard to find good bread. They were all way too sweet for my preference.
We quickly bought a bread machine, which did the job well until our little family grew and needed more than what the bread machine typically made. So I started baking them by hand and went looking for a good bread recipe. With a lot of trial and error I found a recipe that worked for our family. This recipe is a combination of many recipes I have baked. I kept a little notebook where I added things, modifying it till we enjoyed this final result. It is pretty diverse. You can add as much or as little rolled oats and whole wheat flour as you like. It all depends on your preference. As long as you carefully add the flour in the end, keeping a close eye to see when the dough is just right. It takes some practice to learn the right consistency but you will get it!
*Dough after the first rise
*Dough after the second rise
Whole wheat bread
Ingredients
- 2.5 Cups lukewarm water (90-ish Farhenheit) plus more if needed
- 1.5 Tbsp active dry yeast
- 2/3 Cup raw honey
- 1/4 Cup coconut oil in liquid form
- 1 Tbsp salt
- 3 Cups whole wheat flour
- 3 Cups bread flour more if needed
- 1 Cup Rolled oats *
Instructions
- Combine the water, honey and the yeast in a mixing bowl. Cover the bowl and let it rest for 10 minutes to activate the yeast.
- After 10 minutes add the rolled oats and other preferred ingredients like chai seeds etc. Add the coconut oil and salt too. Mix this in gently.
- Add one cup of wheat flour at a time while the mixer is on. Adding in the next cup of flour after the previous one is completely incorporated into the dough. Next, add the bread flour one cup at a time until the dough pulls away from the mixing bowl and doesn’t stick to your hands. It should not feel too dry. If you have added too much flour and it feels dry, don’t worry, just add a little extra coconut oil or warm water. You want the dough to be stretchy and slightly tacky.
- Once the dough has the right consistency knead it for 10 minutes with the machine or by hand.
- After 10 minutes, cover the dough and let it rest for 1 hour and 30 minutes. You want it to rise until it is doubled in size in a warm draft free location.
- After the first rise, cut the dough in half on a dry floured surface. Shape each half of the dough into loaves and place them in oiled bread loaf pans.
- Cover them with a clean dish towel and let them rise for around 1 hour and 15 minutes or until they doubled in size.
- Preheat your oven at 350 Fahrenheit.
- After the second rise, place your loaves in the warm oven and bake them for 30-35 minutes until they are nice golden brown. The should sound hollow when you knock on the bottom.
- Take them out of the loaf pans and butter the top right away. Let them cool completely.