Delicious Homemade Bread

The other day, I decided to bake some homemade bread. I have a lot of ground flaxseed that I need to use, and we needed bread, so it just seemed logical. I scoured the Internet for a recipe that seemed easy and appealing but found nothing. I did find a Q&A about whether or not ground flaxseed could be used in place of wheat germ. The answer was yes! I decided to modify a recipe I had for Whole Grain Wheat Bread from the KitchenAid cookbook that came with my mixer. This bread turned out so yummy! Even Jeff raved about it. :-)

Click here for Printable Recipe.

Ingredients:

• 1/3 cup plus 1T brown sugar, divided
• 2 cups warm water (105°F to 115°F)
• 2 packages active dry yeast
• 5 to 6 cups flour blend (For 6 cups of blend, combine 2c all-purpose flour, 2c whole wheat flour, 1c wheat germ, 1c ground flaxseed)
• 3/4 cup powdered milk
• 2 tsp salt
• 1/3 cup oil

Directions:
Dissolve 1T brown sugar in warm water in small bowl. Add yeast and let mixture stand.

Place 4 cups flour blend, powdered milk, 1/3 cup brown sugar, and salt in mixer bowl.

Using bread hook, mix for 15 seconds on Speed 2. Continuing on Speed 2, gradually add yeast mixture and oil. Mix for an additional 1 1/2 minutes.

Continuing on Speed 2, add remaining flour, 1/2 cup at a time, until dough clings to hook and cleans sides of bowl, about 2 minutes. Knead on Speed 2 for about 2 additional minutes. Dough may not form a ball on hook. However, as long as hook comes in contact with dough, kneading will be accomplished. Do not add more than the maximum amount of flour specified or a dry loaf will result.

Place dough in a greased bowl, turning to grease top. Cover. Let rise in a warm place, free from draft, about 1 hour, or until doubled. I usually turn my oven on to the lowest setting for about 1 minute, then turn it off and let the bread rise in the oven. Bread is doubled when you put two fingers in the dough about 1/2" and the indentation remains.

Punch dough down and divide in half. On a lightly floured surface, roll each half into a rectangle, approximately 9x14 inches. A rolling pin will smooth the dough and remove gas bubbles. Starting at short end, roll the dough tightly. Pinch to seal the seam. Pinch the ends and turn them under. Place the dough, seam side down, in a greased loaf pan. Cover loaf pans. Let rise in warm place, free from draft, about 1 hour, or until doubled in bulk. This time, I just let them rise on the stovetop, not in the oven, so that I can preheat the oven after about 45 minutes of rising.

Bake at 400°F for 15 minutes. Reduce oven temperature to 350°F and bake 30 minutes longer. Remove from pans immediately and cool on wire racks.

Sorry for the lack of photos in this post. I haven't quite figured out how to take pictures while my hands are covered in sticky bread dough!