Wonder Wendy's Bread (aka heaven)

Uh, my mom gives this bread to EVERYONE.  Today I gave a loaf to my boss (for covering my shift-almost done being a sickie).  A lot of people have been asking for the recipe.  I don't think it is a family secret. So I'm putting it on here. (we'll see if my mom reads my blog). I can't say I've always been so optimistic about my mom's homemade bread.  I blame my middle school chubby phase to white store bread because anytime I went to a friends house I would wolf it down.  We never had store bread. My mom always made it. (tragic plight, right?)  Well, after a few years I smarted up.  And now I blame any extra fat on my body to my mom's homemade bread. My grandma taught her how to make it when she married my dad.  My mom taught me and gave me my grandmother's old bosh and wheat grinder.  So now my kids can grow up loving this bread.  And sick or needing-to-be-thanked neighbors and friends will benefit for the rest of my life.



This recipe is for a bosh mixer and makes 4 loaves of bread.  For girls night we're making it in kitchen aids since more people have those . . . I'll have to add the kitchen aid version here later once I figure it out.

Mom's White/Wheat Bread

Ingredients:

5 cups warm water (109 degrees)

2 Tablespoons SAF instant yeast

7 cups ground wheat (wheat flour)*

2/3 cups oil

2/3 cup sugar

1Tablespoon salt

5 cups white bread flour

Preparation:

Combine water, yeast, and ground wheat in mixer.  Mix 2 minutes. (Use your wrist to test the water.  It should be a little warmer than you would run a baby's bath. Too hot or too cold will kill the yeast.)

Add the oil, sugar, salt, and white bread flour. Mix 7 minutes. (Start with 4 cups of flour, then add a little at a time from the last cup until the dough is the right consistency. It should be a little sticky.)

Remove dough from mixer and place on oiled surface.  Split dough into even halves and then fourths. Knead well and place in well oiled bread pan. 

Heat oven to 350 degrees. Let bread rise just over the top of the pan (about 30 minutes).

Cook at 350 for 30 minutes. 

Once the loaves are done immediately remove them from the loaf pans and set on cooling rack.  Let them cool completely before placing in plastic bags so they don't sweat.

Freeze the extra loaves (if you don't eat all 4 in one day) and it still tastes totally fresh when you thaw it out. (Stick in microwave for 1 minute).
(You can also use half a loaf as pizza dough. Just roll it out thin, let it raise a little and bake at 400 degrees.)

*I have a wheat grinder, so buy wheat seed and grind it.  You can buy wheat flour at the store but it needs to stay refrigerated and will only keep a few months.  You can freeze it for up to 6 months.