How To Make Bread with Instant Yeast {Honey Whole Wheat Recipe Included}

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HOW TO MAKE BREAD with INSTANT YEAST

One of the most popular links on this blog is a product review and post about how to make 

Pantry Secrets Bread.

While I admit that was my original go to recipe for any bread when I first started out, I rarely go that route these days.  My favorite sandwich bread recipe for the past several years has definitely been this Honey Whole Wheat Recipe.

(You can view all of my recipes - for bread or anything else - by clicking on the recipe tab at the top of this page).

It has been a long time favorite at our house, as well as one of my 4 essential recipes for the food storage beginner.

And because one of the most common fears I hear from people is "making bread seems so intimidating!  I don't know where to start, or how to do it!", I figured it was well over time to do a tutorial on how to make bread.  I will be demonstrating with the honey whole wheat recipe above, but if you have a great family recipe that you love, but have always been scared of making your own at home, this post is still for you!  There are some tried and true tricks to bread making that you can take away from this post and adapt it to any recipe that you make.

4 Essential Recipes for the Food Storage Beginner: BREAD

One of the hardest things for people getting started with food storage is knowing how to use it.  I believe strongly in storing what you eat, and eating what you store.  For people who don't cook, this can be overwhelming.

Today I am sharing 4 of my basic, (and favorite) bread recipes for the food storage beginner.  Each of these are tried and true, and I use them time and time again.

If you are new to food storage, or you have it and just don't know what to make with it, these simple bread recipes are the perfect starting point for you.  There is definitely something here for everyone.

4 Essential Bread Recipes for the Food Storage Beginner:

Wheat Flour - how long does it last?

 The first time I made wheat flour I made about 20 lbs. worth.

I kept it in a poly bucket, just like all of my other dried foods.

I would use it sparingly, since I wasn't used to it and I didn't prefer the taste.

About 1 1/2 years later, I went to a bread making class where the instructor taught that wheat flour only lasts about a week.

I ended up dumping my entire bucket of flour out after I made a loaf of whole wheat bread that ended up turning into a rock after baking (not to mention the fact that it didn't rise).

Several other similar experiences with friends and family over the years convinced me to do the following experiment:

I made wheat flour once a week, over a period of 6 weeks.

Older flour was put into bags and stored in my pantry.

Then I made 6 loaves of bread, each with flour made on a specific day.

Each loaf followed the exact same recipe, had the same amount of rising time, and cooked for the same amount of time.

This is what I found...

Let me explain the numbers, because I should have done them differently.

The loaf without a number was made from fresh wheat flour - ground the same day.

#2 loaf is a week old flour, #3 is 2 weeks old, going up to #6, which is 5 week old flour.  You with me?

Okay, here's a closer look:

Surprisingly to me, they all looked relatively similar (size wise).

But they definitely were not the same.

Loaves 1, 2 and 3 (fresh, 1 week, and 2 week old flour) seemed to weigh less than Loaves 4, 5 and 6.

The older the wheat flour was, the harder and more dense the bread.

This was especially noticeable while shaping.

When kneading the fresh flour dough, it was extremely elastic and flexible; very easy to work with.

The older flour dough became progressively harder to handle.  It was very difficult to even knead the 5 week old flour dough - it would crack easily and quiet frankly just didn't want to cooperate.

Loaves 4, 5 and 6 also had a drier looking crust.  If I knocked my fist on the tops of them, it would make a knocking sound.  When I did the same thing on Loaves 1, 2 and 3, the dough would 'give', making an indent of my knuckles, and then popping back up again.

Basically, loaves 4, 5 and 6 had no give.

Here is a shot of loaf #6 next to the freshly made loaf:

You can see by the amount of browning on the side (where I wrote 6) that it didn't rise as much as the fresh loaf did.  It also had several cracks and uneven lumps, not to mention the overall dry appearance.

Here is a top view:

 

This is a really good representation of how dry and unappetizing it looked.

After cutting each loaf open, again, they all looked the same.

Taste and texture were extremely different.

The older the flour, the drier the bread.  Loaf #6 was crumbling all over the place.  There was no moisture.

Here is a good example of what I mean:

This is me holding a piece of bread from the fresh wheat flour loaf:

Do you see how it bends?

The bread was moist and flexible.

This is a piece from loaf #6:

 

There is no give, no flexibility, and no moisture... it even started to crack down the middle.

I tried a bite from a slice of each loaf.

They all tasted the same, but the quality wasn't nearly as good, especially when eating from loaves 3-6.

Eating from loaf #6 was like eating week old bread; it was very dry, crumbled easily, and almost had a powdery texture.

Although from the outside, loaf #3 (2 week old flour) looked and felt the same as 1 and 2, it was not nearly as moist or flexible once I cut into it.

There were minor differences between loaves 1 (fresh) and 2 (1 week), probably nothing I would have noticed had I not been experimenting.

So... my conclusion is that wheat flour definitely makes major, unwanted changes after about 1 week of being ground.

The recipe I used is from Pantry Secrets, and can be found here, along with an explanation of ingredients used.

I make my own bread from scratch regularly (with white flour), using Pantry Secret's recipe, which does have some minor changes compared to the wheat bread (all appropriate information is covered in the link above).

My point is, this recipe doesn't call for Vital Wheat Gluten, which is a common ingredient used in bread which helps make it rise better and become more 'airy', if you will.

I don't know what kind of differences it would make if you used vital wheat gluten when making bread with older wheat flour.  I am sure it would improve the bread, but I'm not sure by how much.

Another thing to consider is if refrigerating or freezing the flour would make it last longer.  I didn't try this, nor will I, because I don't use wheat flour enough to want to store it under those conditions.

Either way, the differences in bread made with flour older than a week were significant in my opinion.

I will definitely be using all of my wheat flour within a week from now on.

Pantry Secrets Bread - Product Review and How-To

Even if you choose not to make your own bread, it is important to know how, just in case you ever need to in an emergency.  Personally I like this recipe the best.

About a year ago, I decided to test out our food storage abilities, and withheld going to the store for quiet a while.  I had tried a few bread recipes before, but wasn't extremely satisfied.  However, I decided I better find a good recipe if we wanted to ever have any bread.

I attended a class held by the Relief Society on bread making, taught by Pantry Secrets. 

I have never gone back to store bought bread since.

There are several reasons why I chose to stick with this particular recipe:

- The entire process of making it takes about 1 hour - and only requires your attention for about 10 minutes

- It only requires 6 ingredients; which are very easy to come by

- Ingredients are inexpensive; one loaf of bread costs about .25 cents to make

- The ingredients used have at least a one year shelf life, making it perfect for long term storage

- The same recipe can be used to make other things; bread sticks, rolls, pizza dough, etc.

- It is by far the easiest bread I've ever made

- It is delicious!  Everyone loves it!

I have recommended this recipe to several people, but a lot are scared away by the different ingredients.

So I decided to do a Product Review and How-To post to answer questions.

Lets start with the Recipe:

For White Bread:

Makes 4 loaves of bread (I always half this):

10 1/2 c. Lehi Roller Mills Turkey Brand Flour

1/2 c. sugar

1 Tbsp. salt

3 rounded Tbsp. Saf-Instant Yeast

3 Tbsp./quarter size drops of Liquid lecithin

4 c. HOT tap water

Mix dry ingredients. 

Add lecithin and water.

Mix for a total of 6 minutes.

Dough should be slightly sticky.

Do not add water or flour to the dough after it has finished mixing.

Spray counter and pans with Pam.

Shape loaves, place in pans, and cover with a dish towel.

Let raise 25 minutes.

Bake at 350 for 25 minutes  (for rolls, bake at 350 for 15 mintues).

For Whole Wheat Bread: (when making 4 loaves):

Replace 1 c. of the water with applesauce.  Add an additional Tbsp/quarter of lecithin.

Mix for 8-10 minutes instead of 6.

This recipe has different ingredients and a different style of making it - which usually turns people away - so lets cover the basics:

The 3 ingredients not commonly used by other recipes are

1) Lehi Roller Mills Turkey Brand Flour

2) Saf-Instant Yeast

3) Liquid Lecithin

Lehi Roller Mills Turkey Brand Flour

First of all,this flour has nothing to do with turkeys.  It is simply the name brand (it has a turkey on the package):

Why use it?

- This flour has a high gluten content, which means that it has the ability to make delicious bread without being an actual "bread" flour. 

- This also means that you do not need to use 'vital wheat gluten' (which is an ingredient used if baking bread with regular all-purpose flour).

- This flour isn't a bread flour, so it can be used in all of your other recipes as well... no need to buy more than one kind.  This is the only flour I have at my house.

- It is inexpensive.  Costco sells it for $7-8 dollars a bag (which I believe is cheaper than what Lehi Roller Mills sells it for).

- From my personal research, this flour has a shelf life of over a year, being stored in normal conditions (poly bucket in the basement), and still maintains its good quality.

**As a side note, it really is THAT different from regular all-purpose flour.  I have made the bread without it and it doesn't turn out the same.

Saf-Instant Yeast

Saf-Instant is simply the brand name - the creator of this recipe found it to be the best, but I personally haven't tried it with another instant yeast. 

This is what it looks like:

Sorry for the horrible picture, I downloaded it from the internet.

Why use it?

- Instant Yeast allows you to mix the bread dough, shape it immediately, and then let it rise. 

- With regular yeast, you mix the dough, let it rise, punch it down, shape it, and then let it rise again. 

- Using instant yeast cuts your bread making time in HALF.

- This yeast can handle extreme heat without causing damage (since you use HOT tap water, this comes in handy).

- Saf-Instant yeast can be purchased at Alison's Pantry and at Macey's for about  $2.50 (on sale) and probably $3.50 regularly.

- This yeast has an extremely long shelf life - at LEAST a year if left at room temperature - almost INDEFINATELY if kept in the freezer.

Liquid Lecithin

Probably the most unusual ingredient for most people.  Liquid lecithin has the same texture, consistency, and color as honey - but it is extremely sticky.

Why use it?

- Liquid Lecithin is used as the oil replacement in this recipe

- It has a shelf life of about 10 years, whereas oil can go rancid very quickly - making it the perfect candidate for long term storage

- It is much better for you than oil

- 32 oz. bottles can be purchased for $10-15 at the Bosch store, or you can purchase some from the Pantry Secrets website. 

Now lets make some bread,

and hopefully answer any other questions you may have:

First, assemble dry ingredients and mix together.

Add lecithin

** Lecithin is measured in Tbsp/'quarters' because it is extremely sticky and difficult to remove.  It is recommended that you don't use an acutal Tbsp. to measure, since it will stick to it (even after the dishwasher).

1 Tbsp. should equal the size of a 'quarter' when poured into the flour mixture.

It has a tendency to run, which is why this picture didn't turn out, but you get the idea (this picture shows enough lecithin for 2 loaves of bread - about 1 1/2 Tbsp/quarters worth)

I have mine in this cheapo ketchup container with a hole in the top so I can just squeeze the desired amount out.  I know a lot of people who just pour it straight from the bottle.  If you purchase lecithin from pantry secrets it will come in a squeeze bottle like this one, only it has a removable cap over the top.

Now add the HOT tap water, and start mixing.

You should mix the dough for a total of 6 minutes (I just set a timer as soon as I add the water and turn it on).

After a minute or so of mixing, check to see if you need to add more flour or more water.

This picture demonstrates how it should look - the sides are starting to come clean, and it is forming a nice ball in the center.

If it is too dry, the dough will not come together in a ball, and you will need to add more water - a 1/2 Tbsp. at a time.

If it is too wet, the dough will continue to stick to the sides of the bowl and won't form a ball.  You will need to add more flour - a 1/2 Tbsp. at a time.

Once you have the right consistency, DO NOT ADD ANY MORE FLOUR OR WATER.

Adding flour without providing time for it to properly mix will not allow the gluten in the flour to activate - which pretty much defeats the purpose.

Continue mixing until the 6 minutes is up.

It should look something like this:

The sides of the bowl should be clean, and the dough should be centered around the kneading blade.

It should hold its shape fairly well, like this:

Place the dough on a large cutting board (or your counter) that has been sprayed with pam.

**Using Pam cooking spray instead of flour to keep the dough from sticking keeps it moist, as well as avoids the problem of having flour that isn't blended in, as I explained above.

Spray one of your hands with Pam and then rub them together so the dough won't stick to them.

Knead the dough 4 times, and form into a ball.

Cut the ball into 4 equal parts (to make 4 loaves).

With each ball, knead a few times before forming into a loaf.  Be sure and pinch the sides and the seam together.  Put into greased loaf pans (I use large pans).

Cover with a clean dish towel (I must admit that I never do that).

Let raise for 25 minutes.

Then bake at 350 for 25 minutes.

Perfect bread every time!

This recipe can aso be used for Whole Wheat Bread.

Just use the same amount of wheat flour as regular flour.

Use the same amount of salt and sugar.

Increase the lecithin amount by 1 Tbsp. (for 4 loaves), and

replace 1 c. of water with applesauce (for 4 loaves).

** The appleasuace simply helps to keep the wheat bread moist.  If you are going to be eating it all within a day or two, you wouldn't need to replace any water with applesauce.  After a few days however, it would dry out very quickly.

Also, increase the mixing time from 6 minutes to 8-10 if using whole wheat.

As a last side note:

This recipe is supposed to be a good 'go-to' recipe for all of your bread making needs.

Pantry Secrets sells a video on how to make everything using the same recipe - bread, rolls, soup bowls, pizza crusts, breadsticks, cinnamon rolls, french bread, focaccia bread, etc, etc.

In my personal experience, I prefer this recipe ONLY for bread, rolls, breadsticks, and an occasional pizza dough. 

The rest of the recipes like focaccia and french bread, as well as cinnamon rolls, don't posses the qualities I like in the original recipe - like the crispy crust and airy center of a french bread, or the taste and texture of focaccia.  However, if this was the only type of bread dough you could make (in an emergency), it would work just fine to make those other things.

The video they sell covers the basics of how to make the bread, but is mostly about shaping and forming different types of rolls, etc., which may be helpful to some of you.  Their video can be purchased on their stie.

For me, this recipe is my absolute favorite for making bread, breadsticks, rolls and occasionally piza dough - nothing more.

(Rolls and breadsticks need to be baked at 350 for 15 minutes.)

I found that making pizza dough with this recipe is a little more tricky, but it is delicious.  If you want better directions for making Pantry Secrets Pizza Dough, you can click here.

I hope this information was helpful.  Please don't hesitate to ask if you have any questions!

Back to Basics Grain Mill (Manual Wheat Grinder)

I am going to be writing a lot of "product testing / review" posts in the next upcoming weeks.

My intent is to introduce you to products that you may or may not be interested in, hopefully providing enough information for you to determine if it will be worth purchasing or not.

Today I am writing about Grain Mills, or Manual Wheat Grinders. 
I do realize that you can mill other grains, but this experimental review is specifically for wheat, because I believe that is what it is most used for.

This is the model I have.  It is 'Back to Basics' brand and can be purchased for around $65+ dollars
(I've had mine for a while... I'm pretty sure this is the price I see around stores).

This is the brand I've noticed the most at various stores, as well as the brand I've seen most people have at Emergency Preparedness Fairs and Seminars.  I would recommend it.

It takes about one minute to assemble, and it fits on the lip of your countertop.

The wheat is put into the cup at the top, which holds just over 2 cups at a time.

As you turn the handle, the wheat passes through a nozzle.

The 'nozzle' can be adjusted to make anything from cracked wheat to wheat flour.

It is extremely easy to use - I ground 2 cups of wheat into flour in about 15-20 minutes, including set up (turning at a relatively slow pace).

Previously, I had only used this to make cracked wheat, since I don't prefer the taste of wheat flour in my recipes.

Since this is the only wheat grinder I have, I thought it would be smart to see if it could actually grind it into flour, in case we ever needed it for emergency situations.

Honestly, I was concerned about the usability of the wheat flour after I made some.

I don't know how well this picture demonstrates it, but the wheat flour was nothing like the consistency of regular flour.  It was very grainy - somewhere between regular flour and cornmeal consistency.

As I mentioned, I don't have an electric wheat grinder, but I know several people who do, and when they grind flour, it is very fine, just like the regular flour you buy at the store.

However, I was VERY pleased with the results.

I used the flour to make bread, and later some pancakes.  I noticed nothing different about the texture, appearance, or overall taste of the food.

So... Is it worth it?

In my opinion, yes.  If you store wheat, you have to have a way to use it.

Manual or Electric?

Manual grinders are cheaper, smaller, and less maintenance than electric grinders, and would be much more useful in a power outage.

Electric Grinders are much faster, and produce an overall better product.

I personally don't think an electric wheat grinder would be worth the money, but I don't use wheat flour on a regular basis. 

For emergency and minimal use, a manual grain mill would be  perfect for the job.

For those of you who grind wheat flour on a regular basis an electric grinder would be the way to go, especially since wheat flour does not last very long, a few weeks at best (I am currently undergoing research on that, so specific results will be coming soon).

Either way, it might not be a bad idea to have a manual one just for emergencies - easy to transport, easy to set up, and no electricity required.