I want your best healthy wheat bread recipes.

September 14, 2005 3:06 AM

I want your best healthy wheat bread recipes.

I've had so much fun and success creating different breads. I've toyed with so many recipes and have had some great accomplishments. I'm a afraid that I've not tried the best. Fiber is important, low carb might be as well. Maybe we can find the better than Orowheat light recipe that works at home. I'd love there to be a nice crisp crust and a great yeast flavor. The healthier and more fiber the better.

posted by prodevel to Food & Drink (10 answers total)

This book is fantastic. I usually just cook the beginner's loaf, but I've made the pita bread, pizza crust, and Vienna bread (all whole wheat), and they were perfect. There's not a speck of white flour to be found in the book. Yeasty flavor indeed, and the beginner's loaf and Vienna bread don't just have a crust - they have beautiful brown armor!
posted by leapingsheep at 5:07 AM on September 14, 2005

Best answer: Have you tried grinding your own wheat? You can really taste the difference with freshly ground grains. Wheat is very stable when whole but is quite fragile and begins to turn rancid quickly when broken down. Add to that the fact that most commercial flour is over heated when being processed. Think commercial coffee versus locally roasted and ground beans.
posted by flummox at 5:21 AM on September 14, 2005

Not exclusively wheat, not exclusively healthy, but English Bread and Yeast Cookery is an absolutely wondeful book.
posted by monkey closet at 6:40 AM on September 14, 2005

Can I piggy-back on this question?

Ok, anybody know how to obtain live yeast (as opposed to dry yeast) in the US (Calif.)? I know live yeast is prevalent in Scandinavia, but so far I have not been able to find it in the US.
posted by AwkwardPause at 9:17 AM on September 14, 2005

Can a decidedly novice baker (I've made cakes and cupcakes, that's it) learn to make bread? I don't have: gas stove, kitchen maid mixer, stone countertops. But I would love to learn to make sourdough or wheat bread...is there a great "learn to bake bread" book?
posted by fionab at 9:34 AM on September 14, 2005

To answer fionab:

I learned to bake bread in a normal home kitchen with an electric oven. Here's what I use on a regular basis:

• A set of measuring spoons.
• A 1 cup / 250 ml pyrex measuring cup.
• An 8 cup / 2 litre pyrex mixing bowl with handle. (Basically, the big version of the mixing cup.)
• An 18 inch square marble board. Some people knead directly on their counter, but I prefer a surface I can wash & rinse more thoroughly.
• A good, strong (rigid) mixing 'spoon' – the type with the hole. Many cheap ones will bend when working with stiff dough; mine is made out some very hard plastic and does not noticeably flex at all. Wood works but is harder to clean.
• A cheap plastic dough scraper. I think mine's an OXO.
• Plastic wrap for covering the top of the bowl when rising.
• Baking sheets. I have two; one's thicker than the other. I also use a loaf pan occasionally.
• Flour (various types), water, salt, yeast. Optional ingredients: vegetable oil, milk, butter, sugar, honey, sunflower seeds, garlic, eggs, etc.

I have other toys for bread baking (kitchen scale, KitchenAid mixer, baking stone), but I can make good bread without them.

To learn, you must do it. Practice, practice, practice, and experiment. By working by hand you'll learn how dough should feel. You'll get to know your oven better (mine's a little hotter in the back). What seems complex and time-consuming as a beginner becomes fairly easy and routine. After a while you can make a decent loaf with whatever ingredients you have without referring to a recipe.

I've looked at many good bread books, but the only one I've ever bought was The Bread Baker's Apprentice.
posted by D.C. at 1:05 PM on September 14, 2005

Mmm. Thanks! I'll make some pesto and bake my first loaf of bread (with a reserve stash from the best bakery in the area, in case my virgin loaf sucks). I can feel myself becoming a domestic goddess by the second...
posted by fionab at 2:05 PM on September 14, 2005

I learned using this book. Also a good one.

I haven't tried it yet but here is a high protien wheat bread that might be a good choice. High Protein Bread is a nutrient rich bread.
High Protein Bread
1 package yeast
2 tablespoon honey
6 cups unbleached flour
1/2 cup soy flour
1/2 cup dry skim milk powder - and I just bought a box of powered whole milk! knew i should have gotten skim!!
3 tablespoona wheat germ
2 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoon melted butter
PREPARATION:

Dissolve yeast and honey in 3 cups lukewarm water in large bowl. Let stand for 5 minutes.
Sift next 3 ingredients together in bowl. Stir in wheat germ. Add salt and half the dry ingredients to yeast, beating well until elastic.

Add butter and enough remaining flour to make soft dough.

Knead on floured surface until smooth and elastic. Place in greased plastic bag. Chill overnight.

Punch dough down and shape into 2 large or 3 small loaves. Place in greased loaf pans. Let rise until doubled in bulk.

Bake at 350° for 50 to 60 minutes, covering with foil if bread browns too quickly.
posted by johnj at 7:57 PM on September 14, 2005

Also, no reason the above dough can't be used for pizzas too! MMMMMM
posted by johnj at 8:01 PM on September 14, 2005

Response by poster: Thank you so so much - these are awesome and btw - I received my kitchen aid mixer recently woohoo! I can't wait.
posted by prodevel at 10:42 PM on November 2, 2005