Have you ever looked at the label of a loaf of bread? It is filled with a huge list of ingredients most people don’t even recognize.
Yet they eat it.
It’s white, it’s soft, it’s tasty.
White bread is one of the worst food addictions we have in this country. White bread is actually made from whole wheat, but the “whole” part is removed. The darker parts that contain the bran and the germ (and the fiber) are stripped off to get to the white lower layer of the wheat grain. Then, they artificially put the fiber and other nutrients back in which is why you see it usually will say “enriched”. In addition to that stripping of the natural, healthy parts of the wheat, white bread is loaded with preservatives.
Even most store bought whole wheat bread isn’t a whole lot better than white bread. They trick a lot of people when they say “whole grain” and despite many of them being made from 100% whole wheat, preservatives are still a part of the recipe.
Take a look at a label from one of the better wheat breads you can buy at the grocery store:
There are at least 16 ingredients in that bread, some of them I have no idea what they are.
I challenged myself this year to never BUY a loaf of bread from the store again, and so far I have stuck with it 100%. We have bought some buns, but I am working on getting adept at making all of our bread products at home.
You can make bread without a bread maker, but it’s significantly more work for me. With the bread maker I just toss everything in and let it do all the work. 5 minutes prep time!
My first attempt at making a loaf of whole wheat bread turned out really good but it was a bit heavy and small. It had a great flavor but it should have been almost twice as big as it ended up and I learned that I needed wheat gluten to make sure it would rise properly. I experimented one or two more times and came up with the following simple recipe. It is my go-to recipe for whole wheat bread and only has 6 ingredients.
| Simple Whole Wheat Bread Machine Recipe |
- 1 1/8 – 1 1/2 cups water
- 3 cups whole wheat flour
- 3 tsp Truvia
- 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
- 2 teaspoons dry yeast
- 4 teaspoons wheat gluten
- Follow bread machine directions for making whole wheat bread and set machine on the whole wheat cycle.
- My machine calls for dry ingredients on the bottom, then wet ingredients. I have a dispenser for the yeast.
- My machine also seems to need a bit more water than the 1 1/8 cup so I usually go up to 1 1/2 cups.
- Complete cycle, remove bread from machine per instructions.
- Cool & slice.
Note: recipe was derived from: Whole Wheat Bread for the Bread Machine (No-Fat)
Note: nutrition information does not include yeast because I could not find any details about it.
This bread is really good and my kids especially love it. My son has turned down a store-bought roll for his sandwich and chose this bread instead.
About Kim
What pretty bread! The recipe I use is pretty similar, but I use the saf instant yeast, soy lecithin, and no gluten. A lot of those ingredients that you see are to preserve the bread. My bread gets molded a lot faster than the store’s bread, (by experiment. ;) ) and I know it’s because of everything they use to preserve it. Definitely not good for our bodies. As far as making bread from scratch, it doesn’t have to take a long time. Mine mixes in the mixer for 5 minutes, I shape the loaves, let it rise for 25 minutes and let it cook for 25 minutes. So I can get a few loaves in and out in an hour. I’ve been curious about bread makers though. Can you do things other than bread, and can you pull the dough out before it starts cooking?
Yay! I’m so glad you posted this! I love using my bread machine but don’t do so enough. I’m now inspired to try out this recipe! It looks so easy and delicious!
Yuummm. I want a bread machine!
I so need to get a bread machine. This bread looks delicious!
Thank you!!! I’m gonna have to dust off the ol bread machine and put it to work. I have been obsessed with reading labels and slowly trying to wean ourselves off of processed foods. I think once you get in the habit of making things on your own you will find out it’s really not that hard. I made homemade potato chips this week and they were AMAZING and my kids gobbled them up.
It’s about time you shared this! I will try this, I will! I need to go downstairs and get my machine :)Oh, and buy wheat gluten
I’ve never used a bread machine, but I’m a honey nut wheat bread kind of person, and reading this recipe makes me want to add nuts!
Kim, you are really inspiring me to start baking my own bread. I don’t own a bread machine but maybe I should invest in one. I love my white bread but I know it’s not healthy!
Jenn,
You could work slowly off the white bread, at least when you start out even if you make white bread you will be removing the preservatives found in store-bought bread. Then you can slowly work in whole wheat a little at a time until you can switch over completely. I bet you will learn to love whole wheat more. It has so much flavor!
I have been toying with the idea of buying a bread machine for awhile now. I would imagine homemade bread is not only better for you, but cheaper in the long run?
Maybe I’ll use my Kenmore coupon and buy myself the machine for my birthday! :D
I hope to try your recipe soon!
Yes I definitely believe it is cheaper too. I’ve made roughly 8 loaves of bread so far from a $10 investment of wheat flour and wheat gluten. I still have plenty left too.
If you are looking for a recommendation on a bread maker, I have had 2 Panasonic’s so far that have been great. The first one lasted like 12 years and this one is at least 5 years old and still going strong. I don’t know about Kenmore, I only have experience with the Panasonic.
I was looking at the Kenmore machine – http://www.sears.com/shc/s/p_10153_12605_00812934000P?prdNo=1&blockNo=1&blockType=G1 – and it’s got really great reviews. I’ll put it on my birthday list and see what happens. If I don’t get it, I’ll buy it! :D Thanks again!
Ooooh that one looks nice!
Thanks Kim! As you know I just made a bread machine bread (since I made fun of yours on Facebook) but mine didn’t come out too good. It sunk in the middle. I’m all about being healthy for life now!!
You probably used too much liquid, I think that is what causes sinking.
Good luck trying again!