Bread Recipe for Marcee

Marcee has asked for my bread recipe, so here you go!

Janice's Favorite Bread Recipe (makes 2 loaves)

1. Mix the following ingredients well: (TIP: Measure oil first, then honey - the honey will slide right out of the cup. Also, liquid lecithin is extremely sticky. I avoid using a measuring spoon because it is difficult to clean afterwards. I found liquid lecithin for sale at our local health foods store.)

2 cups very warm water (around 110 degrees)
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
1/4 cup raw honey
3 tsp. INSTANT yeast
1 Tbsp. liquid lecithin (don't have to be exact - pour an approximate drizzle)
3 cups flour (I use freshly milled hard white wheat)

I mix this together with a wooden spoon. When you have the correct amount of flour, the mixture will not be too soupy...it'll look more like a stew.

2. At this point, let mixture sit for 20 minutes.

3. Add 1-1/2 tsp. salt and 2-1/2 cups more flour (again, hard white wheat). Using your wooden spoon, mix until it starts to clean the side of the bowl. Usually several good rotations with the spoon will accomplish this.

The dough will still be tacky/sticky, but should not be gooey. If it's too gooey, add a little flour, but not too much or the bread will be really dry. You want to add the flour now and be done with it, or the flour you add later will not have developed gluten because it won't have kneaded long enough.

4. Once you have enough flour (better too little than too much), knead on medium speed for about 8 minutes (I use speed 2 on my KitchenAid, with dough hook). Cover mixing bowl with a clean dish towel and let dough rise until doubled in bulk (about 1 hour).

5. Punch down dough. Using oiled hands on oiled counter, knead by hand a few times. This will take the "sticky" out of the dough. Divide dough into two parts and shape into loaves. Let rise in greased pans until double in bulk (about 1-1/2 hours in my home). Bake 30 minutes at 350 degrees. Remove from pans to cool on racks. Bread is done when an instant-read thermometer read 195-200 degrees. Enjoy!


After receiving our grain mill I went through A LOT of recipes before I found one that worked for us. Working with freshly ground wheat definitely entails a learning curve. I went through a lot of "hard as rocks" trials. This bread is soft and slices well for sandwiches or toasting.