Designed to produce salivation

If any of you out there have never experienced the joy of baking, I will be the first one to say that is nothing in the kitchen quite so satisfying. At the top of my list, is homemade bread. Apart from being SO much healthier, there is nothing you can buy at the store remotely similar in taste and quality.

I remember as a young child, buying our first Bosch machine, and our family delving into the world of grinding flour, kneading dough, and shaping loaves. If I remember correctly, we would always make 6 loaves, and only four would ever make it into bags. Almost immediately upon leaving the oven, we would slice open two of the steaming, fragrant loaves, slather them in butter and honey, and make a meal right there. Even to this day, I have a hard time resisting that crackly crust on the end of the loaf, still piping hot with butter melted in for a snack.

I dare you, if you've never tried making your own bread, try it, and you may just get hooked too.  :-) Following is the recipe I've grown to love over the past few months. Moist, SO flavorful, and long-lasting. I never store my bread in the fridge, and this easily lasts a week without molding, and still is incredibly moist and tender.

Thanks to some friends, I came across this recipe in a cookbook they gave to me for a bridal shower gift, and it had become my all-time favorite.

I always write in my recipes if I've done an alteration or really like or dislike it. 

I like home-ground flour, I'll admit it. :-) Right now we are fortunate to have one that (sort-of) works, and I'm hoping once it completely wears out we'll be able to replace it. If you as well have the option of grinding your own, I've found a half-and-half mix of hard red wheat, and hard white wheat to work the best. Using just red wheat creates a lot of complication in obtaining a nice rise which equals fluffy wheat, but it also adds a nuttiness that I wouldn't want to trade by using just white wheat. I find the balance works well, and as I made a note in the recipe, I usually use 1-2 cups of white flour in place of the wheat. 100% whole wheat bread is rather tricky to get just right, and I find this eliminates a lot of complications. One other note concerns the wheat gluten. This makes such a huge difference in whole wheat bread, I try to never be out of it. A good rule of thumb in any wheat recipe is 1 Tbsp. per loaf. If you've never tried it, be prepared to have your bread baking revolutionized! :-)

This machine was one of the most generous wedding gifts we received. We use it nearly daily!

If you don't have a Bosch or mixer, this recipe would be easily kneaded by hand.

The nice, pliable lump of dough when it's finished kneading.

This recipe says 6 loaves, but with my size pans, I always do 4.

 I use to have problems with big holes in my bread until a bread taught me to roll it. I found it made such a difference, I don't do it any other way now. 

Make sure to roll it tightly to eliminate a hole at the very beginning.

Tuck the ends under, and it's ready for the oven.

I like to put mine to rise above the vent in the oven while it is warm.

I could have let this rise a bit longer, but I was running short on time and considered this good enough.

Hot out of the oven and brushed with soft butter.

Now if that doesn't make your mouth water, I haven't done my job. :-D