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Butter Top Honey Whole Wheat Bread Recipe
Makes 2 Loaves or 20 Rolls
From the Kitchen of Joe Valencic
jvalencic@gmail.com
Ingredients:
1/2C (4 oz.) milk
3 tablespoons honey
2 teaspoons salt
3 tablespoons butter or margarine
2 (1/4 ounce) packages active dry yeast or 2 teaspoons Instant Yeast (.34 oz.)
1-1/2 C (13 oz.) warm water (105 F to 110 F)
2 C (10 oz) Whole Wheat Flour
3-4 C (1# 5 oz.) Unbleached bread flour
Directions:
1. Combine milk, honey and butter in small saucepan. Heat over low heat and stir until butter melts and honey dissolves. Cool to lukewarm (less than 110 F).
2. If using active dry yeast, dissolve yeast in warm water in warmed bowl and let stand for 10 minutes. If using Instant Yeast, just add it to the flour and mix it in before adding liquids.
3. Add lukewarm milk mixture and water to 3 C (15 oz.) flour. Attach bowl and dough hook. Turn to speed 2 and mix 1 minute. Continuing on speed 2, add remaining flour, 1/2 C (2.5 oz.) at a time (slowly so it doesn't fly out of bowl), until dough clings to hook and cleans side of bowl. Knead on speed 2 for 2 minutes longer, or until dough is smooth and elastic. Dough will be slightly sticky to the touch. (At this point I take the dough and knead it for 5-7 minutes, if needed, adding flour as needed, until I get the feel I want from the dough...smooth & elastic)
4. Place in a greased bowl, turning to grease top. Cover; let rise in warm place, free from draft, until doubled in bulk, about an hour.
5. Punch dough down and divide in half. Shape each half into a loaf and place in a greased 8 1/2 x 4 1/2 x 2 1/2-inch loaf pan. Cover; let rise in warm place, free from draft, until doubled in bulk, about 1 hour. Slash top of loaf lengthwise and brush with egg whites.
6. Bake at 400 degrees F for 30 minutes, or until 200 F internal temperature. Remove from pans immediately and cool on wire racks. Rub top crust of loaf with sweet butter to soften crust. Do not bag bread until it reaches room temperature.
For Hamburger and hot dog buns, divide the dough into 2-1/2 oz portions and shape into a ball. Allow dough balls to rest for 5 minutes, then flatten with the heel of your hand and place on cookie sheet dusted with cornmeal. Allow about 1" between rolls for expansion/proofing. For hot dog buns, shape into about 5-6" long tubes with seam down. Brush with wisked egg white/water mix and sprinkle with sesame or poppy seeds. Bake at 400 F for 12-14 minutes or until 200 F internal temperature.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v664/flyfishohio/Breads/ButtertopWholeWheat-2.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v664/flyfishohio/Breads/ButtertopHoneyWholeWheat.jpg
PieSusan
03-14-2009, 07:30 PM
As always, beautiful loaves!!!!
As always, beautiful loaves!!!! Thank You!
jim_slagle
03-14-2009, 07:58 PM
That looks wonderful. honey wheat is my favorite.
Jim
homecook
03-14-2009, 07:59 PM
Oh thank you.........I think I'll try this tomorrow morning. I may even take some pictures! lol
Barb
lilylove
03-14-2009, 08:10 PM
Joe...it always looks tooo pretty to eat. Sure wish I could smell it too!!
Joe...it always looks tooo pretty to eat. That's why I take pictures, then we don't feel bad about devouring the loaf.:smile:
Maverick2272
03-15-2009, 12:30 AM
Looks great Joe and I love honey wheat as well!
Thanks!
Keltin
03-15-2009, 12:37 AM
Wow! How do you do that everytime! Awesome job!
Wow! How do you do that everytime! Awesome job!
I'm glad you asked that question. I WEIGH all of my ingredients including my liquids (measuring cups lie), and follow my recipes every time. This guarantees repeatability. The recipe binder is the first item grabbed when I get ready to bake, regardless if I have the recipe memorized or not. Baking is not as forgiving as cooking, so accuracy increases your success potential.
Calicolady
03-15-2009, 07:33 AM
Pretty, as usual, Joe. Thanks.
So what did/are you going to eat with it?
Pretty, as usual, Joe. Thanks.
So what did/are you going to eat with it? I made it for some elderly friends, along with some beef veggie soup. The hubby is dying (Hospice in-home care) and his wife lost the desire to cook and is losing weight. They've been married for 67 years. Their niece told me what was going on because we had not seen them in church for a few weeks, so I told her when to come by yesterday to pick up the soup and bread for them. Some others at church are also making meals and delivering to them. It's a sad time for them, but that's when friends step up and make sure they are being taken care of. Our church is very caring in this respect.
Calicolady
03-15-2009, 08:10 AM
{{hugs}} to you Joe for your heart and compassion and for sharing your gift/art of the dough.
homecook
03-15-2009, 05:17 PM
Ok, I said I was going to try this bread today. Here are my pics. It may not look pretty but it tasted good!!
Barb
PieSusan
03-15-2009, 05:27 PM
Barb, it is too a pretty looking loaf and yummy, too!
Calicolady
03-15-2009, 10:05 PM
Barb. They look good, who you kidding?
homecook
03-15-2009, 10:11 PM
Thank you. I guess the bread doesn't look bad, but my attempt at the rolls was another matter. lol They did taste good though, so it's all good!
Barb
Ok, I said I was going to try this bread today. Here are my pics. It may not look pretty but it tasted good!!
Barb
HEY! How did you get past the black dog to steal that loaf from my freezer in the garage????:lol:
Super job! I should get you involved in the next bread baking class at the church and the next Mission Circle Bake Sale. We can use all the bread bakers we can get. :a1:All the old ladies are dying off, so youngsters like us need to step up top the plate.
(I know your wheat bread is delicious!)
homecook
03-15-2009, 10:19 PM
That sweet friendly dog of yours?? the one that licked my hand?
I'm not sure I'm ready for that yet Joe....it's good to know that we're the "youngsters".
You're bread was really good, John made a roast beef sandwich on one of the rolls. I just slathered mine with butter. Yummy!!
Barb
Deelady
03-15-2009, 10:24 PM
looks delish both of you!!!
Keltin
03-15-2009, 10:53 PM
Ok, I said I was going to try this bread today. Here are my pics. It may not look pretty but it tasted good!!
Barb
That's beautiful! Fantastic job!!! :clap:
JoeV and Barb, those are some beautiful loaves. I think I'm gonna give this recipe a try one day this week.
lilylove
03-16-2009, 01:01 AM
Barb..what are you talking about? It looks perfect!
Maverick2272
03-16-2009, 12:40 PM
I got a batch going right now in the machine (kneed and 1st rise). I am going to divide for one loaf and some dinner rolls.
Hope it turns out as good as Barbs!!
Maverick2272
03-16-2009, 02:00 PM
OK, punched it down and divided. Now some is in a muffin tin to make rolls, the other half in a bread pan for a loaf. I will say it feels 'wetter' and more elastic than I am used to.. is this normal or did I mess up?
OK, punched it down and divided. Now some is in a muffin tin to make rolls, the other half in a bread pan for a loaf. I will say it feels 'wetter' and more elastic than I am used to.. is this normal or did I mess up? You probably messed up. How did they turn out?
Maverick2272
03-16-2009, 07:49 PM
I messed up, LOL! They taste good, but the loaf collapsed in the center. The rolls are good and seemed to have turned out fine!
I messed up, LOL! They taste good, but the loaf collapsed in the center. The rolls are good and seemed to have turned out fine!
Hmmmm....sounds like you let it go too long on the second rise. I have started just letting the dough rise about 1-1/2 times in size, and them letting the oven spring do the rest. If you had too much moisture that could do it as well. Did you weigh the ingredients or use volume measure? If you have a mixer, the dough should pull away from the sides of the bowl cleanly, then you knead for a couple minutes just to finish and shape into a ball. When you press two finger into the dough about 3/4" and the holes spring back, the gluten is adequately developed, and no further kneading is required. When I punch down the dough after a one hour rise to shape it into loaves, I don't even have any flour on the counter, and it does not stick. Also, after punch down I divide the dough in half, fold each half into thirds onto itself and then spread it into a square, then tightly roll into a tube, pinch the seam closed, and tuck the ends and seam under the loaf and drop into the pans. There is no additional kneading after the punch down, and no additional flour.
It sounds like a moisture problem, so give it a try with my tecchniques when you get the bug to do it again.
Maverick2272
03-16-2009, 08:45 PM
Thanks Joe! Yes, I think it was way to wet. I don't have a scale yet, so I have to go by volume right now. I should have followed my instinct and added more flour in. I may have also let it go too long on the second rise as well.
Thank you for the tips!!
Maverick2272
03-16-2009, 08:59 PM
For reference, here is how the loaf looked. Sorry for the fuzzy pic, this is DW's camera and is a high resolution one so I don't know what is wrong with it... maybe ISO is set to the wrong speed?
From what I can see, it looks like the bread has huge air holes, which come from too much yeast or too long proofing. Other than that, it sure looks kinda like whole wheat bread (albeit fuzzy wuzzy, LOL).
Maverick2272
03-16-2009, 09:17 PM
LOL, hard to see but yes lots of air holes. Too long proofing... is that rising? I think I went 45 minutes first rise and 60 minutes second rise.
And I used 3tsp. Bread Machine Yeast (from the jar). Maybe should have done 2?? I did like the consistency, nice and fluffy.
LOL, hard to see but yes lots of air holes. Too long proofing... is that rising? I think I went 45 minutes first rise and 60 minutes second rise.
And I used 3tsp. Bread Machine Yeast (from the jar). Maybe should have done 2?? I did like the consistency, nice and fluffy.Yep. 50% more yeast than required. Next time use 2 tsp Instant Yeast (aka Bread Machine Yeast) for two loaves. You should double in size in 60 minutes in a warm environment (80 F). The machine should control the proof (rise) temp internally as long as the lid is down.
I don't know where you buy your yeast, but GFS has the best deal...$3 for 1# of SAF Instant Yeast. Fill your Bread Machine Yeast jar and keep it in the fridge, and the rest in the freezer in a sealed container. You have a GFS at:
8146 S Cicero
Burbank, IL 60459
PieSusan
03-16-2009, 10:20 PM
That is not a bad first attempt, Mav but I agree with what Joe said. You may have over risen the loaf the second time around.
sattie
03-16-2009, 10:21 PM
JoeV and HC, damn.. that looks heavenly!!!
Maverick2272
03-16-2009, 10:26 PM
Yep. 50% more yeast than required. Next time use 2 tsp Instant Yeast (aka Bread Machine Yeast) for two loaves. You should double in size in 60 minutes in a warm environment (80 F). The machine should control the proof (rise) temp internally as long as the lid is down.
I don't know where you buy your yeast, but GFS has the best deal...$3 for 1# of SAF Instant Yeast. Fill your Bread Machine Yeast jar and keep it in the fridge, and the rest in the freezer in a sealed container. You have a GFS at:
8146 S Cicero
Burbank, IL 60459
I know where that is, it is down toward the buffet we like to go to, thanks for that way cheaper than buying the jar!
Well this helps. I will probably try again in a couple of days with this loaf. Tomorrow I am trying rolls, another one of the recipes you posted I beleive.
I know where that is, it is down toward the buffet we like to go to, thanks for that way cheaper than buying the jar!
Well this helps. I will probably try again in a couple of days with this loaf. Tomorrow I am trying rolls, another one of the recipes you posted I beleive.
Just go to my website listed in my signature for my bread recipes. The honey wheat and the basic white bread are mirror images of each other, with 1/3 whole wheat flour and honey replacing bread flour and white sugar. I use the same recipe for a soft rye bread, subbing 1/3 dark rye flour and brown sugar for the bread flour and white sugar (also add some caraway seed). As they say, it ain't rocket science.:bonk: If I can do it, anyone can do it. Just pay attention and follow the directions.
Maverick2272
03-17-2009, 03:45 PM
I did a twist on the rolls, litteraly LOL. I will post a thread when they are done cooking, I hope they turn out as well as they are looking so far! I used your tips and the dough is much much easier to work with, came away from the sides of the bowl as you said, etc. Made it very easy to roll out then cut into strips and twist.
They are about to go in the oven, when the come out I will make a thread on it!
Okay...apparently, I'm dense and so are my loaves :lol:. They're dense and chewy. I thought I followed the recipe to the letter but apparently I did something wrong. I weighed everything...the only changes I made were to use 2 3/4 teaspoons of yeast instead of the 2 1/2 that the recipe calls for and I also added 2 teaspoon of vital wheat gluten ( I thought I remember Joe saying something about using 1 tsp per cup of wheat flour). I saw in the above post that you only knead it for a couple of minutes but in your recipe it says 5 to 7 minutes so I went 7 minutes. Maybe I over-kneaded it?
Sorry I missed this posting. It has been a busy weekend since the monsoons have taken a break and allowed us to cut grass, plant flowers and generally be outside for a change.
The bread looks good, but it also looks like it is either underbaked or it was cut before it was cooled. The center of the loaf looks a little dense. My question to help determine what the problem might be are:
1. Did you use tap water or filtered/purified water? I found that water from my Britta filter allows for higher rises. Our city water has so much chlorine in it that it impedes the performance of the yeast, and filtered water made a really big difference.
2. Did you test the internal temperature before removing from the oven? I like to leave it in the oven until the internal temp is at least 200F.
3. Did you allow the bread to come to room temperature (80F max) before slicing? Cutting the bread before it fully cool halts the final baking process of gelatinizing the crumb when the steam escapes through the open end, and the crumb becomes dense/chewy and the loaf often sinks.
I will presume that you used bread flour and not all purpose flour.
1. Tap water.
2. No, I didn't check the temp but I did tap on it and it had the hollow sound. It wasn't doughy on it inside, just chewy.
3. Yes, I did allow the bread did come to room temperature (although it was really hard :lol:). And, nope, it didn't sink.
Yes, I did use bread flour.
How much vital wheat gluten do you use? I used 2 teaspoons but I saw on the KA Flour website that you should use 1 to 2 Tablespoons.
Could I have possibly over kneaded it?
1. Did you use tap water or filtered/purified water? I found that water from my Britta filter allows for higher rises. Our city water has so much chlorine in it that it impedes the performance of the yeast, and filtered water made a really big difference.
I have found the same results using tap water. I use purified bottled water for my breads and sourdough pizza dough.
mama that looks good to me I have to try this when I get time. I've been away from the board working on my pool.
1. Tap water.
2. No, I didn't check the temp but I did tap on it and it had the hollow sound. It wasn't doughy on it inside, just chewy.
3. Yes, I did allow the bread did come to room temperature (although it was really hard :lol:). And, nope, it didn't sink.
Yes, I did use bread flour.
How much vital wheat gluten do you use? I used 2 teaspoons but I saw on the KA Flour website that you should use 1 to 2 Tablespoons.
Could I have possibly over kneaded it?
I've pondered this dilemma, and was wondering what you call "dense." I'm eating a sammy right now with this bread, and it does have a slightly chewy texture to it, but that's from the coarse grain flour, not from my methods. If you are comparing this bread with store bought bread with pillowy crumb, they are as different as apples and oranges. The bakery bread uses chemical dough conditioners to achieve that softness, and that is absent from this recipe. All of my ingredients can be easily pronounced, and are safe if taken in large quantities.
You're gonna hate me, but I don't use any vital wheat gluten. I used to use it because all the recipes called for it, but I tried a batch without it and it came out just fine.
The next time you make it check the internal temp before removing from the oven, but I'm beginning to think you're just being a little too critical of your initial efforts. It's all about practice, practice, practice. I'm sure you were not the fantastic cook that you are today when you first started out...but then again, maybe you were ALWAYS as good as you are today.:corny:
If you are comparing this bread with store bought bread with pillowy crumb, they are as different as apples and oranges. The bakery bread uses chemical dough conditioners to achieve that softness, and that is absent from this recipe. All of my ingredients can be easily pronounced, and are safe if taken in large quantities.
I've found the answer is sugar. For me 3 ounces of sugar per 60 ounces of dough yields a lighter, fluffier and soft bread.
You're gonna hate me, but I don't use any vital wheat gluten. I used to use it because all the recipes called for it, but I tried a batch without it and it came out just fine.
I've never used added gluten.
There were times when using AP I've wondered how much adding gluten would help, I know adding gluten would help, same with GM Better for Bread flour.
When using any of the 'better' flours bread flour, never figured out what the point would be.
The next time you make it check the internal temp before removing from the oven,
I use a remote probe thermometer.
I'll bake a batch (standard loaves, 20 oz) for 20 minutes (10 minutes for baguettes), butter the probe and quickly insert it into a loaf. When it hits 205~207 its done.
but I'm beginning to think you're just being a little too critical of your initial efforts.
That could be an issue.
I think we expect too much of ourselves and when we fall short of "perfection" (a word, and it's derivatives I have no use for) we think that , somehow, our efforts are no good.
I think we have all made something we thought was marginal, not worthy of consumption, only to watch others make it vaporize.
It's all about practice, practice, practice.
And take notes.
I can't stress that enough.
I've found the answer is sugar. For me 3 ounces of sugar per 60 ounces of dough yields a lighter, fluffier and soft bread. If you check my recipe you'll find that the honey is just shy of the 5% you use for "softness." I'm at 4.5%, or 1/4 oz shy of your formula. Sugar (honey) is at 7% of flour weight per my formula.
Milk will also soften the crumb, so milk can be replaced for water for hydration. Don't be afraid to let the liquid go a little on the high side. You can always reduce stickiness by adding more flour, but dryness is more difficult to correct. Again, practice and charting any changes you make will improve your outcome.
I can't tell you how many YouTube videos I have watched over the years to develop a personal technique for my bread making. We can always learn from how others do it, but at the end of the day, you will develop your own personal technique for dough handling, and will learn how hydration affects the final outcome of the bread. Your weather in the South is much different than up North, so you'll figure out things to make the bread just fine in your kitchen.
Just this past Saturday I made a loaf of Italian herb sourdough no-knead bread that normally takes 12-14 hours, in just 7 hours by adjusting sourdough starter and yeast. The water was 80% of the dough weight, which is almost soup by comparison to the honey whole wheat. Our company raved about it, and took the rest of the loaf home with her after dinner. After eating store bought bread, ANY kind of homemade bread is delicious by comparison, so don't take it too seriously, especially when first starting out.
Thank you Joe, Wart and Guts. I'll make some adjustments and see what happens.
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