Make your own bread to avoid unsavory ingredients

Ever checked out the hefty list of ingredients on a loaf of store bought bread? Though there are some brands/types that are better than others, most contain questionable ingredients that are used to preserve the texture and flavor, and also sometimes to stave off mold. Many brands that are free of preservatives and seem relatively alright still contain oils that often come from genetically modified plant matter. For example, soybean, safflower, and sunflower oil are often made from plants that have been modified. Since food  manufacturers are in no way required to report whether or not their product contains genetically modified materials, we are trying to stay away from ingredients that are commonly modified.

My answer is not to stop eating bread and other baked goods, but to make my own. I know exactly what will be in the bread my family have for breakfast in the morning because I'm baking it right now.

How did I do it? I'll show you! Remember I'm no expert, though. We got a first timer over here!

You'll need:

2 packets of dry active yeast, 5 cups of whole grain white flour, 3 cups of warm water, 2/3 cup honey (divided in half), 5 tablespoons of butter, 1 cup organic rolled oats, 5 cups whole grain wheat flour, 1 tablespoon salt

Start by mixing the yeast packets, warm water, and 1/3 cup honey together in a large mixing bowl. Add 5 cups of whole wheat white flour, mixing until the flour is all moistened.

Let it rest for 30 minutes, or until it puffs up and the surface gets bubbly.

Add the salt, the remaining 1/3 cup of honey, 3 tablespoons of melted butter, the rolled oats and 1 1/2 cup of whole grain flour.

I used a stand mixer up until this point, but I could no longer resist sticking my hands into the dough. Flour a surface heavily with whole wheat flour and plop the dough ball down in the middle of the flour and begin kneading in the flour on the surface into the dough ball. Keep kneading flour in until the dough is tacky, but not sticky anymore. Knead for another five minutes after you've finished adding flour or until the dough is smooth (except for the oats of course).

Place the dough in a greased bowl. Cover it with a tea towel and let it rise in a warm place until it has doubled in size. Mine took about an hour to double.

Punch down the dough and separate it into 3 equal parts. I decided to bake two loaves now and save one for later in the week, so I wrapped one of the three parts in parchment paper and then in Saran wrap and laid it flat in the freezer.

Roll the dough into loaves and place the loaves in a 9x15 loaf pan. Let rise again until the dough rises over the side of the pan.  Preheat the oven to 350° and bake for 25-30 minutes.

Remove from the pan immediately when done. You can tell it's done when it sounds full when you knock on the top, not hollow. Brush the top with the remaining 2 tablespoons of butter so the crust doesn't get too crunchy.

This was my first time baking bread and this recipe turned out great. The kids love it, and my husband, who dislikes wheat bread even liked it. Give it a try and let me know how your bread  came out!

It's a huge relief to me to know the toast my kids had for breakfast was preservative free and I know precisely what went in to it.