A friend was looking for a "hearty" bread recipe and I e-mailed them your recipe to try. If I could have wheat flour, I would have given this a try myself. My friend thanks you for sharing it. :-) -Grainlady

Wow Grainlady, I' m honored for you to share the recipe with a friend. You are my hero when it comes to baking. Until I started reading and learning from your posts, my failure rate with yeast breads was 100%. Thank you!

Hi, and thanks for the recipe... Could this recipe be adapted for a completely hand-made version for a baker with little experience? I would love to try making my own, but would rather not buy a bread machine. If I succeeded in approximating the Pig's Fly flavor I would make it in larger batches and freeze. Thanks!

@gg33nyc This recipe isn't baked in the bread machine, so my guess is that it shouldn't be hard to adapt. It will help if you have a mixer with dough hook, but if you know how to knead by hand, it should be fine. Watch some videos if you don't. I'd suggest combine the liquid and sweet as it says in the first direction. Mix the dry in the main mixing bowl, and make a well (shape doesn't matter) as in the second direction, and add the yeast. Add the liquid gently onto the yeast, and stir lightly to make sure all the yeast is wet, then stir the mixture well to distribute everything.

Knead until the dough comes together and forms a well stretched, glutinous lump—which is a standard baking instruction which means knead until it's done. This is where the inexperience could get you. The variables are how the instant yeast gets right to work, how well mixed the ingredients are, how efficiently you knead, and how much pre-kneading the bread machine did. This is also something best learned hands on. 5-10 minutes of good kneading is probably what you need, but the windowpane test doesn't work for seed breads. The poke method could, maybe should?, work. Checking out some videos can help. Kneading develops the gluten, which is what holds the bread up. The seeds want to make it fall down, so it's particularly important. Keep trying even if it's not perfect the first time. Your hands and eyes will learn how to see and feel the gluten development. Also, check some videos for how to draw and shape a loaf properly. There are a few different methods.

The rest of the instructions are for making without a bread machine. Ovens differ, so keep an eye on it. You may find a different temperature, and/or time works best for your kitchen.

This is an easy to read outline, without too many distracting details: https://www.thekitchn.com/bread-baking-tip-how-to-tell-w-156772

Good luck!

You could halve the recipe too, for starters, until you get the knack. Just make and shape one loaf then . . . Easier to kneed.