No trouble at all. I have to credit my dear friend Mildred with this recipe. I have a sponge setting as I type. -Grainlady 100% Whole Wheat Bread Bread Machine Recipe (changes for making it by-hand towards the end) Sponge: 3/4 c. lukewarm buttermilk (I use homemade kefir.) 3/4 c. lukewarm water 2-1/2 c. freshly-milled white whole wheat flour (Prairie Gold from Wheat Montana is my favorite wheat) 1/4 t. ascorbic acid* 2 t. SAF-Instant Yeast Mix these ingredients in the bread machine pan and set the machine to QUICK DOUGH. As soon as the mixture is well mixed, unplug the machine and allow to sit (with the lid closed) at least 2-1/2 hours or up to 12 hours (or something in-between - I usually use a 2-1/2 or 3-hour sponge, or overnight. You may want to extend this time if using hard red wheat flour to closer to 8-12 hours for a more mild flavor). After the sponge has set, with a soft spatula, mix these ingredients into the sponge: 2 T. melted coconut oil (or butter or veg. oil) 2 T. agave nectar (or honey) 1 egg (option: I also add 1/3-1/2 c. chia seed gel. **) Add to the top of the sponge mixture in the pan: 2-1/4 c. freshly-milled whole wheat flour 2 t. salt (on top the flour) Set the bread machine on regular DOUGH cycle and process. Check the dough to make sure it's formed into a nice soft ball and adjust the hydration as needed. Grainlady changes: I process the dough in the bread machine until the dough is mixed and kneaded. I don't let it raise in the machine. I place the dough in a dough rising bucket, place the lid on the top and allow the dough to rise ALMOST double. Whole wheat dough doesn't have the extensibility that white bread dough does, so try not to let it go more than double. Using a dough rising bucket helps you to accurately judge when dough has doubled. For this recipe a 2-quart container with a tight-fitting lid works perfectly. Back to original recipe: After the bread machine finishes the dough cycle (or has doubled in the dough rising bucket), dump the dough onto a Silpat. With oiled/greased hands, deflate the dough by pushing it in the middle with your fist then drawing all edges of the outside dough into the middle (turning the dough inside-out so to speak). Divide the dough into portions (I scale the dough for accuracy.) Round each portion (make it into a smooth ball) so that all the gluten strands are going into the same direction. Cover; allow to rest 10-15 minutes so the gluten relaxes. Form dough (with oiled hands), pan, cover with plastic wrap for the final proofing - etc.... Two loaves - 375F - for 20-25 minutes or until internal temperature of the loaves are between 190-200°F. I make this bread into 3 small loaves (7-1/2x3-1/2-inch pans - 350°F for 20-25 minutes ------------------------------------------------------ * ascorbic acid powder is available at most health food stores. It's a very important ingredient when you make bread that includes wheat germ, which is in whole wheat flour. There is a substance in wheat germ called Glutathione. This substance breaks down the gluten and can result in a short loaf. The bran in whole wheat bread can also cut the gluten strands which results in a short squatty loaf. The sponge helps to soften the bran. The addition of 1/8 t. ascorbic acid per loaf of bread will counteract the negative effects of Glutathione. It will help prevent the gluten bonds from breaking down and will also help repair gluten bonds that have been broken. The ascorbic acid also helps sustain the leavening of bread loaves during baking. Yeast grows longer and faster when there is also ascorbic acid. Do not add it to sourdough recipes because they are naturally an acidic atmosphere. ** Chia seed gel is a mixture of chia seeds and water (1 part chia seeds to 9 parts water or 1/3 c./2-oz. to 2-cups water). This mixture thickens as the seeds absorb the water and adds hydration to the crumb of the loaf and keeps the bread softer longer. It looks like poppy seeds in the bread after it's baked. Excellent nutritional boost and additional fiber. BY HAND, place sponge ingredients in a glass or plastic bowl and mix the sponge ingredients together with a Danish dough whisk (or a wooden spoon) and beat the ingredients about 100 strokes. Cover, and allow to sit at room temperature at least 2-1/2 hours. After the sponge is done: add the flour gradually to the sponge mixture using a Danish dough whisk (or wooden spoon) and carefully beat in each addition of flour before adding more. You may end up beating the dough 500-800 strokes, but do as much mixing as you have the strength to do. If you need to stop and rest, that's fine. The rest will allow the dough to hydrate. Towards the end of mixing, add the salt (DON'T FORGET!!!). The gluten will tighten up and make mixing harder after adding salt. The better job you do of mixing the dough and developing the gluten while it's in the bowl, the less time you'll need to knead it. When you knead the dough, avoid adding a lot of bench flour. If you have a problem adding too much flour during kneading, grease/oil your hands during kneading instead - especially during the last 2-3 minutes of kneading. Complete per recipe above... --------------------------------------------------------- The link below has a similar recipe: (scroll down the page to locate the recipe) Old-fashioned 100% Whole Wheat Bread (source: "The Bread Bible" by Beth Hensperger) -Grainlady

Lisa, bread baking is addictive although I don't do it as much anymore because we don't eat a ton of bread. Just wait until you decide you want to try a sourdough starter-I become completely obsessed and even asked my friend to "babysit" it when I went out of town. As far as baking it free form, I don't see any differences in instructions except scoring the loaf right before baking. There are instructions for hearth baking which include using a steam pan and baking stones/tiles. I don't have the patience for that so what I would probably do would be to place it on a baking stone covered with parchment and mist it lightly with water before baking. More experienced bakers will probably have better suggestions. Lisa, Instant yeast vs. regular yeast from the book: "instant yeast is recommended because it can be added directly to the dough. Active dry yeast will also work, but it must be hydrated in warm water before it is added." I believe instant yeast is the same thing as bread machine yeast. I buy my instant yeast in bulk packages from Sam's club. As for the water, I think the chlorine can be a factor so that's why they say to use spring or filtered water. Please let me know how yours turns out! It really was good bread-it's a little crumbly but not dry if that makes any sense and the flavor is awesome. No bitterness or heavy wheat taste. I don't know how much it affected the final flavor but I did use white wheat flour which is a lighter flour than traditional whole wheat. I really hope some of you guys try this and let us know how it turns out! Tracey

I'm waiting for my pizza to get done. It's Lou's dough/sauce and looks wonderful. After dinner, if not too much wine, I'll post the recipe ... OK just found it on this computer. The recipe doesn't tell when to add the egg. I broke it into a small bowl, forked it and added it to the warm liquid. Also, put this in the bread machine. Here it is: HONEY WHOLE WHEAT BREAD INGREDIENTS:  3-1/2 to 4 cups all purpose flour  2-1/2 cups whole wheat flour  2 pkg. active dry yeast  2 tsp. salt  1 cup milk  1 cup water  1/2 cup honey  3 Tbsp. oil  1 egg PREPARATION: In large bowl, combine 2 cups all-purpose flour, 1 cup whole wheat flour, the yeast, and salt and mix well. In saucepan, heat milk, water, honey, and oil until a thermometer reads 120-130 degrees F (warm) Add liquid mixture to flour mixture and stir to combine. Beat this batter for 3 minutes. Then, gradually stir in rest of whole wheat flour and enough remaining all-purpose four to form a firm dough. Sprinkle work surface with flour and knead dough, adding more flour if necessary, for 5-8 minutes until smooth and satiny. Place dough in a greased bowl, turning the dough in the bowl to grease the top. Cover and let rise in a warm place about 1 hour, until double in bulk. Punch down dough and divide into 2 pieces. On lightly floured surface, roll or press each piece of dough to a 14x7" rectangle. Starting with shorter side, roll up tightly, pressing dough into roll with each turn. Pinch edges and ends to seal and place dough, seam-side down, into greased 9x5" bread pans, making sure short ends of bread are snugly fitted against the sides of the pans. Cover and let rise in warm place until the dough fills the corners of the pans and is double in bulk, 30-40 minutes. Bake in preheated 375 degree oven for 35-40 minutes, until bread is golden brown. Remove from pans and cool on wire racks. I like to brush the bread with butter when it's still hot from the oven for a softer crust.

This is called French Bread because it is formed into baguettes before baking. But it is not a *true* French Bread; however, it is delicious, that I can vouch for. If you don't want to use the alcohol, I guess you could try a non-alcoholic beer. French Bread with Beer - from Ginnie Tate 1 1/2 cups (a 12 oz. can or bottle) beer or ale 1 TB active dry yeast (2 t. instant yeast) 1 TB honey 1 TB malt syrup or maple syrup 2 TB canola oil 2 t. salt 2 cups unbleached white flour 2 cups whole wheat flour, stone ground preferred cornmeal Heat the beer or ale until it is warm and pour into a large mixing bowl; add the honey and yeast. Stir and let it sit until the yeast has dissolved and is frothy. Add the syrup, oil, salt, and white flour. Beat 2 minutes with a mixer paddle or several minutes by hand. Gradually add about 2 cups of the whole wheat flour, or as much as it takes to make a dough that pulls away from the sides of the bowl and holds together. Turn out the dough onto a floured surface and knead until it is smooth and elastic, about 10 minutes. Sprinkle on a little more whole wheat flour if it is too sticky. Put the dough into a greased bowl, turn to coat all sides, cover, and let rise in a warm place until doubled in bulk. Punch dough down, turn out and knead a few times, cut in half, cover, let rest 15 minutes. Grease a large baking sheet. Sprinkle it with cornmeal. Roll each ball of dough to a large rectangle, roll up tightly like a jelly roll, pinch the ends together and turn them under. Place the loaves on the baking sheet seam side down. Slash the top diagonally with a razor blade or sharp knife. Brush the tops with melted butter and let rise until almost doubled. Preheat oven to 450F. Spray or brush the loaves with cold water just before putting them in the oven. Spray water onto the oven floor, close the door. Spray again in 5 minutes. After 10 minutes spray again and turn down the heat to 375 for 15 minutes. Baking time is a total of about 25 minutes. Cool on a rack. Makes two long loaves.