How to Make Good Bread If You've Never Made Bread Before

So you've attacked many problems in your kitchen and solved them, and you're feeling adventurous. Maybe you have an issue with what people are putting in your food, and what you are putting in your kids. Maybe you'd like to be a little more self-sufficient. All of the above could be true about you. What to try next?

What about a couple of good loaves of whole wheat bread? If you've never been in a kitchen when bread is just getting done in the oven, you have missed out on a whole spectrum of culinary experience. Fear not! Your problem is easily solved. While it's a time consuming process, nutritionally and for taste reasons it is completely worth it. Also, the time is mostly spent not actually in the kitchen, but letting your ingredients rest and rise.

So where to start? The first thing to do when making real whole wheat bread is to get the right ingredients. Nearly every grocery store sells good whole wheat flour nowadays. Personally I grind my flour straight from the whole grain, but that is an extra step you need not take when you begin to learn breadmaking. (It's definitely worth it, from the perspective of both taste and cost, so it might be something to keep in mind. All you really need is a blender and a small-holed sieve. Check my content page within the next few days to find my description of how I grind my flour.)

The most important part of your bread is your yeast. Yeast is a small organism that humans harnessed way back in the deeps of time when they realized it turned their bread into something more than flat, tough crackers. Nowadays there are several forms of yeast, but in my opinion the form that has the best combination of taste with ease of use is active dry yeast. The best place to go for this is a natural foods store. These stores generally have bagged types of yeast and keep it refrigerated, which results in a better tasting product. The brand of yeast also counts; this isn't a place to skimp if the taste of your bread is important to you. I use Red Mill brand yeast, mainly because it's what my natural foods store carries; but on comparison to the common jarred yeast at the grocery, there is a huge difference in taste and cost. Any bagged brand will probably be similar.

Also, it is vitally important to find and purchase gluten flour to use in your bread. This is also called "vital gluten." This is the protein portion of the wheat kernel. It looks just like a finely ground wheat flour, but when it is mixed into the dough, it forms fibers which trap the air bubbles and result in a better rise and softer bread. If you have ever had day-old homemade bread which was dry, crumbly and inflexible, it is because there was not enough gluten in the dough. If you are using flour ground from hard red wheat, you may have enough gluten in your dough already and might want to make a test batch to see what happens, but only after you have tried the recipe as written. The wheat I buy is soft white wheat, which is visually the same, but does not have as much gluten as hard red varieties. I must add gluten to my bread mixture. My brand is Red Mill for this also, sold alongside my yeast in the natural foods store.

There are certain pieces of kitchen equipment you will need:

A large bowl (like a family size salad bowl)
A wooden or plastic spoon
1/3 and 1 cup measures
1 tablespoon and 1 teaspoon measures
A sharp knife
A dinner plate
A big wooden cutting board
Two standard loaf pans (nonstick is best)
A kitchen towel
A barbecue brush

So, the recipe in plain language:

Two tablespoons active dry yeast
2 cups warm water (Run the water over your wrist, not your fingers, to test the temperature; the thinner skin of your wrist is better able to judge whether the water is warm or hot. Lukewarm is too cold, but it should not feel hot.)
2 cups white (all purpose) flour
4 cups whole wheat flour (either store bought or home ground; the finer the grind, the lighter your bread will be)
6 tablespoons vital gluten (one tablespoon per cup of flour)
2 large eggs
1/3 cup melted butter or oil
1/3 cup honey
2 teaspoons salt

Dissolve the yeast in the water in a large bowl. Add the remaining ingredients except the salt and mix to form a dough. The humidity in the air can affect how stiff your dough is, so you may want to hold back one cup of the flour until you see how it's shaping up. The dough should be workable but not stiff; not dry, but not sticky either. Experience is the best teacher here, but it isn't difficult to find that middle ground if you go slowly. Also, as you mix your dough you will find that it becomes too stiff to mix with a spoon. You could use a stand mixer with a dough hook, but I have found that using large equipment that separates your hands from the dough actually keeps you from developing an intimate acquaintance with the stages the dough will go through. You will need to have this learning if you really want to make good bread, and the only way to get it is to feel it with your hands, so wash up and go to it. Take your large cutting board, cover it with a layer of flour, and sprinkle the salt on top of the flour. I live in a small, aging apartment without much kitchen space, so I pull the cutting board out of the counter and turn it upside down onto the range for this; using the back of the cutting board gives me a smooth surface that isn't rough and full of old knife cuts. Turn the dough out of the bowl onto the prepared cutting board.

When you turn out your dough, you are entering the kneading stage. Don't let kneading scare you; all you are doing is folding your dough as a method of thoroughly mixing it. There isn't any set time limit for kneading your dough. You are going for an appearance and feel, because environmental factors like humidity and the temperature of your kitchen can affect the dough and the action of the yeast. When you first begin kneading, your dough will be imperfectly mixed. Flatten the dough with your hands, then fold one side over. If any little pieces fall off, stick them in the middle. Turn your dough 1/4 turn and push down again. Continue folding, turning, and smashing the dough down for a few minutes until you see the dough start to smooth out. If it sticks to the board, sprinkle the board with more flour. You are looking for it to begin to feel elastic and stop being sticky. Elastic dough will bounce back when you push on it. When the dough is properly kneaded, you should have a lump of dough that holds together well and doesn't stick to you. (This is a great time to take out your frustrations on it. The rougher you treat it now, the better it likes you later.)

Shape your dough into a ball as well as you can. If it doesn't stick to you it won't stick to itself very well either, so just try to ball it up so that all the folds are at the bottom, and the top is smooth. Next, get a dinner plate. Pour about 2 tablespoons of oil into the plate and use some to smooth over the top and sides of the dough lump; then smear the rest of the oil around to cover the whole plate and set the dough in it. Get a kitchen towel and cover the dough. Then forget about it for about 25 minutes, *OR* as long as it takes to almost double. It's important not to leave it too long at this stage, or the yeast will "wear out" and it will be difficult to get your loaves to rise. Check it every 10 minutes or so and if it doubles before your timer goes off, stop the timer.

While you're waiting, use your barbecue brush and some oil and brush the insides of your loaf pans. If you are using nonstick pans, this step makes the loaves slide out when they are done just by turning the pans upside down.

Next, wipe all the flour off your cutting board. Get a sharp knife and cut the lump in half right down the middle. You will begin shaping your loaves at this point. Take just a little bit more oil and wipe it on your cutting board. Make sure that the surface is dry after you do that; wipe off any excess if you need to, because if the cutting board is too wet with oil, it will come off on the dough and keep it from melding together in the loaf pan, which causes big bubbles in the finished bread. It still tastes great, but it's tough to make a sandwich with holey bread. Just enough oil on the cutting board keeps the dough from sticking to the board, but doesn't keep it from sticking to itself.

Now take half your dough and start to shape it into a rectangle on your board. Stretch and press it when shaping it; it won't stick to itself easily, so you don't want to ball it up again. Make a rectangle about 8 by 14 inches. You don't have to be exact, but this is a good proportion. Now, take each of the short ends and fold them over so the dough is folded in thirds. Turn it to fit your cutting board and press it out into a rectangle again, the same measurements as the first time. This may seem repetitive, but what you have just done is pressed out the major air bubbles, which expand when the bread is baked and leave big cavities. With this second rectangle, start at a short end and begin to roll the dough. Every time you make 1/4 turn, make a seam -- press the rolled dough into the unrolled part with your fingers. This also helps prevent air bubbles. Do this until the whole rectangle is rolled up. Seal the roll at the seam by pinching it together. Turn the roll over so the seam is on the bottom; then use the side of your hand to seal the ends by mashing them together, pressing down onto the cutting board. Turn the pressed ends underneath the roll. Then place the roll into one of the oiled loaf pans. It will look very small, but it's supposed to look like that at this point; just make sure the seam is at the bottom and the ends are turned under, to keep the air from escaping. Repeat this with the other half of the dough.

Lastly, oil your barbecue brush again and brush the entire top of each roll with more oil. This is important because as your bread rises, the surface of the dough will expand, and it must not dry out or the expansion could stop. Enough oil will take care of this, and you won't have to worry about it again. Make sure the top of each loaf glistens. Set the loaf pans beside each other and cover them with the dish towel. This begins the second rise. It will probably take somewhat longer than the first rise, but if the loaves are in a warm place, they will rise quickly; just make sure they aren't warm enough to cook the dough or dry the top. A good place for this is the top of the range, after you have turned on the oven. If the top does dry, brush liberally with more oil and pray.

Turn your oven on to 375 degrees. Keep an eye on your loaves. The rising time can vary because of the aforementioned external factors, so talking about time limits isn't very meaningful here; just look for the loaves to rise about 1 1/2 inches above the edge of the loaf pans. A little more probably won't hurt, if you get distracted. You want to bake the bread for about 25 minutes. When the loaves are done, you will begin to breathe a heavenly scent, and the tops will be golden brown. Remove from the oven and let them cool for about 5 minutes before you take them out of the pans; then upend the pans over your cutting board.

The next step is absolutely vital.

Cut the heel off one of the loaves, about an inch thick. Slather on real butter (margarine if you must, but please please, not spread). Drizzle honey over the steaming hot heel of bread. Inhale. Savor every bite.