Grandma Nef's Wheat Bread

This is a recipe that has, and will, live on in my family for generations. My grandma, who raised 10 children in a small farm house, would make this bread in large batches multiple times a week, grinding wheat with an old fashioned grinder, and kneading the dough by hand. My mom changed the recipe slightly, but would also make this every week. It is the ultimate staple; healthy and made with few ingredients. Also, it only requires one rise; just mix, knead, rise, bake, eat. To me, there is nothing that means home like the smell of this bread straight out of the oven.  

Grandma Nef's Wheat Bread

Ingredients for 4 Loaves: (loaves can be frozen for later use. If you want to make less just half everything...)

3 Tb active dry yeast
half cup warm water + pinch of sugar

1/2 c sugar
1 Tb salt
1/3 c oil
2 c evaporated or normal milk. (I use evaporated, but have made this with 1% and it turned out virtually the same. You can also use powdered milk-- just add the appropriate amount of water).

3 c water
6 c whole wheat flour
6 c white flour

1. Dissolve 3 T yeast in a half cup of warm water with a pinch of sugar, set aside. (for bread-making novices; the water I use is normally very warm; not steaming, but the heat can be felt through a glass bowl. You don't want to it be boiling or so hot that it hurts to touch because that could produce the opposite result, but definite warmth and some sugar goes a long way with yeast; and me).

2. In mixing bowl combine sugar, milk, salt, and oil. Mix well.

3. Heat three cups water to almost boiling in microwave or on stove. Add some of this water along with 2 c flour to mixture in bowl. Mix continually.

4. Add proofed yeast mixture to mixing bowl (proofed means the yeast has sufficiently set up; it becomes notably more puffy than it was and usually feels warm, which is how you know its ALIVE!)

5. If mixing in a kitchenaid or other such device, switch to kneading hook. If doing all this by hand... good luck! You're a stronger woman than I. Alternate adding water and flour to mixer, continuing to knead on med-low speed, until appropriate consistency is reached. (For this bread, you want the dough to be cleaning the side of the bowl; you don't want it overly dry though. Sometimes I am a cup shy of the amount of flour it calls for when I can see proper consistency has been reached. The dough should spring back, and should be strong when squeezed. If it is rainy, you may need more flour than usual).

6. Continue kneading and kneading and kneading with the hook or your hand. A friend of mine who graduated from culinary school said that in making wheat bread you can't really over-knead; kneading stimulates the gluten in the bread, which is what you want for a hearty wheat loaf.

7. After kneading for a good 5 minutes in mixer, I like to take the dough out with floured hands and knead by hand on a lightly floured surface. Twist it, pull it, pound it, rough it up! That's what the pioneer women did! That's why they were strong. So I do that, and I feel like the strong, pioneer, granola woman that I want to be. It also makes the bread wonderfully glutenized (?).

8. Separate dough into equal fourths and form into loaf like shapes. The shapes should be oval and do not need to reach ends of loaf pans. Put each loaf into 4 large, pre-greased loaf pans and spray/grease tops of loaves. Put them in a warm place and cover until loaves double in size and look like you would want to bake them and eat them. (I usually turn my gas oven on to 450 for one minute, then turn it down to preheat at 350 and put the loaves on top of it on the stove, covered with a kitchen towel and lighted by the stove light. They rise fully in 45 mins this way).

9. Once loaves have risen past sides of pan and look in a state of pre-cooked yumminess, toss them in the oven. You can put all in at the same time. Watch them, because ovens are very different in how long they take to cook. Mine usually only take 25 mins to be a nice golden brown on top, my mom's take 40 mins at same temp.

10. Immediately remove cooked loaves from bread pans and place on wire rack to cool. You can, however, slice immediately and consume to your hearts content with butter and honey. But then you'll have to engage in rigorous repentance exercise and you'll feel sick-- a lesson I just can't seem to learn enough.

Nothing better than a slice of warm, homemade bread!!!