Fresh Milled Stone Ground Flour Whole Wheat Milk Bread Recipe 395

Steps:

• NOTE: This recipe is for fresh milled flour which tends to absorb more liquids. If you are using store bought flour, you will have to adjust the amount of flour (most likely add) or reduce the liquids. If using active dry yeast, warm water and milk until 100F. Otherwise, use cool tap water/room temp. milk. Pour water and milk into bowl of stand mixer fitted with dough hook. Add yeast and honey, mix around. Let stand 10 minutes if using active dry yeast. Stir in flours (holding back some), oats, butter and salt. Knead on high speed for 1 minute. Let dough rest for 15 minutes in bowl. Continue mixing on med-high speed for another 4-5 minutes. The dough should clear the sides of the bowl. If not, add more flour, 1 tbsp at a time to bring the dough together. Transfer dough to a lightly floured work surface and knead a few times by hand. You can perform the windowpane test to see if it's been kneaded enough. Place in a large, lightly oiled bowl. Cover tightly with plastic wrap and let rise for 1 hour, or until doubled in size (if using instant yeast and cool water, this could take longer, which means more time for flavor development). Punch down dough, transfer to a work surface. Press out into a square shape, roughly 8x8. Roll up into a log, pinch seams and ends to shape and place in lightly sprayed 9x5 loaf pan. Preheat oven to 375F. Loosely cover and rise again for 35-45 minutes, until dough reaches just up over edge of pan. You can push a finger into dough to see if it slowly springs back (keep rising if it springs back quickly). Bake 40-50 minutes, or until loaf is hollow when tapped on bottom. Remove from pan immediately and place on a wire cooling rack.

Steps:

• Grind about 5 cups of hard red or hard white spring wheat. This should make a little more than 600 grams of flour. Weigh the flour out.
• Tip for using Vitamix--store grain in freezer so it does not get hot during grinding. Do only 1 cup at a time. You can re-grind the larger pieces.
• Measure it out on a scale because the weight of flour is different depending on the grind. This is key. It will be around 4-5 cups, but you won't get bread that is as good if you use volume over weight.
• In your bread machine, add everything EXCEPT yeast and about 1 cup of flour.
• Turn on your bread machine and let it mix. It'll be kind of gloopy, that's fine. You might need to help get all the wheat wet by mixing it inches It doesn't have to be perfect, but we want the wheat wet. Stop once it's mixed (turn off machine). Of course you can do that by hand if you want to.
• Set the timer on your bread machine for at least 8 hours later and use the dough cycle for the best bread. You can wait up to 24 hours.
• The wait is so that the whole wheat can do a few important things; develop a good gluten and break down phytic acids. By using buttermilk (you can make your own or use water and 2 tsp apple cider vinegar) you give it an acidic environment to do it's thing.
• Pour the remaining flour on top of the dough and make a little "bowl" in the flour and carefully pour the yeast into the indent so that it is separated from the dough. If you don't, it will activate too early. Even better if you have a bread machine with a separate yeast chamber. If so you do not need to hold back any flour.
• When the machine beeps the next morning, the dough should be nicely risen, although you might expect it to be a bit higher if you're used to using regular bread flour. Worry not, my friend.
• Wash your counter very well and spray a little oil on it. Oil up your hands and turn the dough onto the counter. Fold it over itself a few times and then tear the dough in half. Just using your hands make it into a rectangle and roll it up tightly. Place it into an oiled bread pan. Cover with a towel and allow to rise for another hour or so. I just turn on my oven for a bit at low heat and then turn it off.
• Take the towel out of the oven (very important part) and bake for 25-30 minutes at 350.