I have mentioned our homemade bread a few times recently due to David’s elimination diet.  I have little choice but to make all our own bread, waffles, tortilla shells, rolls, pizza crusts, etc for him due to the LONG list of allergies he was recently given.  But, even before that we have been making and enjoying our bread from scratch anyway.  I did not start doing this all alone.  I have several friends who also make their own bread, and we share ideas, recipes, and at times we have shared mills, mixers and buckets of wheat.

For starters, I bought a mill.  A mill basically is the size of a large food processor and that is what you use to mill your wheat.

At first I used my kitchenaid mixer for making two loaves at a time.  But I had several friends with Bosch Mixers and I eventually graduated up to that size.

I purchase three kinds of wheat:

Hard White

Hard Red

Soft White (Makes Pastry Flour).

In my usual bread recipes I use a mix of about 3/4 hard White and 1/4 hard Red.

Soft white is superior for muffins, waffles, cakes, etc.

I store my wheat in 45 lb buckets with a gamma lid for easy access and freshness.

When I make bread, I mill what I need for that batch, and use the five loaf mixer.  This process from beginning to end takes about 20 minutes.  I then remove the dough to the oiled counter, divide it into five loaves, shape it and put it in the pans.  I let it rise for 30 minutes and bake it for about 25 minutes at 350 degrees.

Is it worth it?  Yes, it takes about an hour to make 5 loaves.  On an energetic day I can make 10 loaves or even 15 loaves.

These freeze beautifully once they have cooled and taste terrific when thawed.

I know there are no additives or anything unhealthy.  My family loves the taste over any other bread.