If you’ve failed time and time again to get a delicious, soft, smooth, loaf of homemade freshly milled whole grain bread, I’m here to help.
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I promise I won’t waste your time with nonsensical stories to keep you reading longer, but before you try the recipe, please read the post! I have important information about why and how I do what I do to get a nice and fluffy loaf of freshly milled whole grain bread.
Thirteen Months In The Making
I was so excited to make healthy and delicious freshly milled whole grain breads at home using my grain mill. The bread always tasted good, but the texture was dry and crumbly. I am a determined person and I definitely wasn’t going to give up. Grain mills aren’t cheap, and we had splurged a bit when I made the purchase.
I was also determined because whole grains were a game changer for my family’s health. We saw improvements in many ways after switching to freshly milled whole grains. I wasn’t going to be defeated by a “simple” loaf of bread. I watched every YouTube video I found on baking with whole grains and tried different techniques to improve dough structure.
Then It happened
And one day, after slowly learning and incorporating different techniques and recipes I made THE loaf of bread. The one I knew was the best I had ever made. We wolfed it down and I rejoiced. Then I made another and another. I tried other recipes using the same techniques and was amazed at how small changes can drastically change your results.
I’m going to share that knowledge with you today! I’ll also give you a chance to snag the recipe that I have been using for sandwich bread, hamburger buns, and pizza dough. I’ll also share how you can take these techniques and apply them to other recipes to yield beautiful results.
The Power Of An Auto-Layse For Freshly Milled Whole Grain Flour
And auto-layse is a technique usually found in sourdough baking. It’s really simple despite the fancy name. It’s allowing the flour to absorb the water and the enzymes present in the grain to activate. Some recipes have you mix only a small portion of the flour in with the water and let it rest for a few minutes, then incorporate the rest while kneading.
The problem is you will usually end up with a dry loaf because it takes whole grain flour a longer time to absorb moisture. All of that water is too much for a small amount of flour to absorb. After learning about auto-layse, it also made sense to add all of my water and all of the flour at the same time and let the flour fully hydrate. This was one of the biggest steps in making a great loaf.
I also do an extended auto-layse. Many recipes recommend 20-25 minutes, but with whole grain needing more time to absorb I began extending mine to 30-40 minutes. This produced drastically different results. The dough feels so different by allowing it to absorb moisture for 10-15 more minutes. It also cuts down on kneading time!
Kneading
Because I was adding all of the flour and water at once there wasn’t leftover flour for kneading. I knew that I was going to have to find a solution. If I held out the oil during the auto-layse stage I could use that to keep the dough from sticking to my hands and surface. I also now have a suspicion (although I don’t know how to prove it) that adding the oil with the water in the first stage prevents some of the flour from fully hydrating. Water and oil don’t mix after all!
Adding the oil in right before kneading helped a lot. I also began kneading in the bowl I had mixed the dough in. Turning it out on the counter and getting my counter all doughy and oily wasn’t fun. I found that I could just as effectively knead in my bowl as on the counter. I suppose it’s not a normal kneading technique, but it works!
Taking my fist, I firmly press down the ball of dough, then grab the flattened dough and pull it over on top to the other side of the dough ball. I do a quarter turn of the bowl, and do it all over again until I have reached the desired consistency. I usually only have to knead for 12-14 minutes as opposed to 20-25 minutes. That’s a huge difference when doing this all by hand. If kneading by hand in a bowl sounds strange, just remember that it’s essentially the same thing as using a machine such as a stand mixer or bread maker to knead for you in a closed container.
Adding In The Yeast
I have also begun reserving the yeast until right before it’s time to knead. If you are doing a sourdough loaf, there’s no knead (haha, I couldn’t resist) to wait to add in your sourdough yeast because it has a much slower rise time. However, with commercial yeasts they can easily over proof if left too long. Adding in the yeast after the auto-layse and right before kneading allows the dough to absorb most of the water without worrying of over proofing.
Now, I don’t always do this. Some recipes I let auto-layse for only 30 minutes if I’m in a hurry. If that’s the case I may go ahead and add the yeast before the auto-layse. The longer the auto-layse, the less likely I am to add the yeast before. I also take into account how warm my kitchen is. When the yeast is added in the first step remember to check on your dough so the auto-layse doesn’t go too long.
When adding the yeast in after the auto-layse, I make sure I’ve reserved 1/4 cup of water out of the recipe so that the yeast can hydrate before being added to the dough. This is a tad messy while first kneading, but it is easily worked into the dough after a few moments.
Use The Right Pan
When I began baking my freshly milled whole grain bread I was using a regular loaf pan. Although my rise was fine and the bread tasted good, it didn’t slice as well. It was then that I learned about sandwich loaf or “pullman pans”. I asked for one as a Christmas gift and received it! It makes a huge difference in how the loaf slices and bakes. Although it isn’t an absolute necessity, it does produce better results!
The Pullman pan is longer and deeper, allowing the bread to be more stable as it bakes and not being too top heavy. If you don’t have a pullman style loaf pan, just use what you have, but definitely keep it on your mind or put it in your budget to get one or as ask as a gift!
Resources For Making Freshly Milled Whole Grain Flours
My current source for whole grains is Azure Standard. I have a two posts about Azure already: How you order from them (it’s super easy!) and my favorite products I regularly order from them.
Please note if you use my link above and place a qualifying order of $100 or more, I will receive a small credit to my personal Azure Standard account at no extra cost to you!
I also created a free ebook with instructions on how I use this one basic recipe to make hamburger/sandwich buns and pizza dough! You can grab it below!
Now For The Recipe!
100% Freshly Milled Whole Grain Basic Bread Dough
Equipment
- Grain Mill
- 1 Large Mixing Bowl
- 1 Liquid Measuring cup
- Dry Measuring Cups
- Rubber Spatula
- 1 Bread Pan or Pullman Style Pan
- Stand Mixer and dough hook attachment Completely Optional!!!
- 1 Wire Cooling Rack
Ingredients
- 4 1/2 Cups freshly milled hard wheat, red or white
- 2 Cups Warm Water divided if doing an extended auto-layse
- 1 teaspoon Sea Salt
- 1 Tablespoon Cane Sugar or Raw Honey
- 2-4 Tablespoon oil: Olive, Avocado, Coconut (unflavored), Ghee, or Butter if using coconut oil, ghee, or butter make sure it is in a liquid state, but not hot.
- 1 Tablespoon Active or Instant Yeast
- 1 Tablespoon Organic Sunflower Lecithin Completely optional, but adds nutrition and a smoother crumb.
Instructions
- Mill your choice of hard wheat varieties on the finest setting your mill allows if using a burr mill. If using an impact or micronizing mill, follow the manufacturer's recommended setting for bread flour. 3 cups of wheat berries will yield approximately 4 1/2 cups of flour.
- If doing the minimum auto-layse: Combine the flour, salt, sugar (or honey), yeast and all of the water and mix until all of the water and flour have combined. Cover with a lid or plastic wrap and let rest for 35-40 minutes.If doing an extended auto-layse (40 minutes – 12 hours): combine flour,salt,sugar (or honey), and 1 3/4 cups water, as above, leaving out the yeast and remaining water until right before you knead. Cover with a lid or plastic wrap. When preparing to knead, simply add yeast and 1/4 warm water together in a separate container to hydrate yeast then add to dough.
- Before kneading the dough, add in the oil of your choice
- If kneading by hand, begin by punching down the middle of the dough with your fist, then grabbing the edge section of dough directly in front of you. press it down into the middle of the dough ball. Turn the bowl a quarter turn and do the same to the next section in front of you, continuing this action until the dough is supple, extendable, and rolls into a ball nicely. It should not be extremely sticky. I find that it usually takes me anywhere from 12-15 minutes to accomplish this by hand depending on how quickly I am moving. Sometimes it may take as long as 15-18 minutes.If kneading using a stand mixer, make sure the dough hook and bowl are attached properly, and turn on the machine on the lowest setting. You will want to knead the bread by how it looks over the time, as many factors can change the length of time it takes to develop the gluten structure. I always look for the dough "climbing" up the dough hook, no longer sticking to the sides or bottom of the bowl, and looking like it has structure but is supple and extendable. Depending on the base speed of your machine, this may take anywhere from 7-10 minutes. Always go by how the dough looks and feels over the time!
- Once the dough has been kneaded, form into an even looking ball with the ends nicely tucked underneath, you may want to oil your hands to aid in handling the dough. Place in an oiled loaf pan and cover with a clean kitchen towel or oiled plastic wrap. Let rise until doubled. The length of time depends entirely on the warmth of the room so keep an eye on the dough! I usually check it around 30 minutes and again at 45 minutes. While the dough is rising, preheat the oven to 350 °F to ensure it is ready when the dough has risen.
- When the dough has doubled and risen to the top of the loaf pan, place in the preheated oven and bake for 35 minutes.
- When the baking time is done, remove bread from the oven and place the loaf pan on it's long side on top of a wire cooling rack. This helps the loaf to keep it's shape. Leave to cool in the loaf pan for 10 minutes, then remove the bread from the pan and continue to cool. Try to refrain from slicing the loaf until the loaf has fully cooled!
- once cool slice and enjoy! Store in a clean plastic bag or bowl with secure tight fitting lid. Consume within 3 days for best texture.
Shalom and happy baking!
Olivia
