There’s nothing to compare to the delicious aroma of home baked bread and buns.
Yield: 2 loaves bread or shape dough into 1 loaf bread and buns
Ingredients
Step One – Activating the Yeast
- ¼ cup warm water (about 43°C/110°F)
- 2 tsp Active Dry Yeast
- 1 tsp sugar
Instructions to proof the yeast
- Add to a small bowl the sugar and water. Stir to dissolve the sugar. Add yeast, give it a gentle stir and set aside for 10 minutes for the yeast to proof.
Step two – the dough
- 1¾ cup warm water
- 1¾ tsp salt
- 1½ cup whole wheat flour
- 2 Tbsp *Vital wheat gluten, optional
- 3 – 4 cups all-purpose unbleached flour
Instructions for the dough
- Add water to a large mixing bowl.
- Whisk to combine the salt, Vital wheat gluten and whole wheat flour then add it to the mixing bowl with the water. Stir to combine. The batter will be thick and sticky.
- Add the activated yeast then stir well to incorporate.
- Add two cups of the all-purpose flour and mix well to combine. It will become a very thick batter.
- Add another cup of flour. With the batter very thick you will need to start using your hands and start working the flour into the dough.
- As needed, gradually add more flour until the mass of dough can be kneaded. Empty the contents of the bowl onto a lightly floured counter and start kneading. As the dough becomes to sticky to manage add a sprinkle of flour. Knead for 9-10 minutes. (To get the dough off your hands, sprinkle a bit of flour on your hands and rub them together and the dough will peel off.)
- Place dough in a large, lightly oiled bowl, turning once to lightly oil the top. Cover and let the dough rise until double in bulk. Putting the dough in an oven with the light on, will create a nice warm environment, where bread rising does well. It takes about 40-60 minutes to double in bulk.
- Portion the dough for buns, or two loaves of bread or do a combination of both. While shaping the dough punch and squeeze out the air bubbles.
- Cover and let loaf/buns rise in a warm place until doubled.
- When ready, bake in a preheated oven of 350°F. Loaves for 40-45 minutes. Buns for 30-35 minutes.
- Once baked, immediately remove from pan and let cool on a wire rack.
Note
- Vital wheat gluten looks like regular all-purpose flour and is a pale cream color. Gluten is a common ingredient found in vegan hotdogs and burgers. Check out recipe for Vegan Hotdogs.
- Adding gluten to bread dough is to boost the protein content which result in giving the dough more strength to rise into a loftier loaf.
- Personally I have made this recipe without adding gluten and it has turned out fine. Feel free to do your own experimenting.