The conversation usually starts as I load ten pounds of pastured butter into my cart.
Soon, the small butter talk turns to backyard chickens, homemade make-up, and raw milk. By the end of the conversation, the kind shopper once intrigued by butter, is convinced I live life from a chapter of The Little House on the Prairie.
Trust me, fellow shopper, our life is far from Little House.
I use a washing machine. It’s true. And the hard-working machine I dearly call “the dryer” is one of my best friends. Long flowing skirts are far from my normal attire. Hello, yoga pants. But, the deal breaker in all of this comes down to one little word. The “B” word.
Bread.
Here’s the truth. I don’t bake my own bread. The one thing every all-natural, homesteading mommy should spend countless hours making for her family.
The last couple years, I’ve been delightfully satisfied with a local baker’s artisan bread . I look forward to waking early on Saturday morning to visit the farmer’s market and the booth where my favorite baker sets up shop. The organic sourdough selections stacked neatly on top of each other. Who needs to spend hours in the kitchen making homemade bread when warm loaves are awaiting every Saturday morning.
Sadly, last month, I had to say “good-bye” to my Saturday morning stops at the baker’s booth. The expense of $6 a loaf is more than my new monthly budget can handle.
With a bread-loving three year-old and three other humans to satisfy with a daily ration of gluten, I’ve turned to my kitchen and fully embraced the art of bread making. Embraced life “on the prairie”, modern day yoga-pant-style.
This whole wheat bread is soaked to make it easier to digest and nourishing for the body. Soaking grains breaks down the phytic acid allowing for easier digestion. In fact, many people who can’t tolerate bread made with wheat, can tolerate soaked grains, making for a happier gut. Read more about soaking grains here. The end result is an easy-to-make bread that’s fluffy and light, perfect for toast, sandwiches, french toast, or perfectly sliced with a big slab of pastured butter.
Note: This recipe makes two loaves of bread. I make one a basic sandwich bread and the other Cinnamon Raisin Bread.
Soaked Whole Wheat & Cinnamon Raisin Bread
Ingredients
- 1 cup whole milk
- 1 1/4 cups water
- 5 1/2- 6 cups whole wheat flour
- 2 TB apple cider vinegar
- 2 tsp salt
- 4 tsp active dry yeast
- 1/4 cup honey
Cinnamon Raisin Bread:
- 2-3 tsp ground cinnamon
- 1/4 cup honey
- 1/2 cup raisins
Instructions
- In the bowl of a stand mixer (or a standard bowl using a wooden spoon), combine the milk, water, vinegar, and flour (one cup at a time). The dough should be sticky and a bit stiff. Cover the bowl with a towel. Allow to sit overnight 12-24 hours.
- After soaking the dough, add the honey, salt, and yeast to the flour mixture. Attach the dough hook and knead dough for 8-10 minutes. Depending on the flour, you may need a 1/2 cup more to reach a stiff, workable dough.
- Cover the bowl with a towel. Allow the dough to rise in a warm place for 1-1 1/2 hours. The dough will double in size.
- Once doubled in size, gently punch down and form the dough into two equal balls.
- For sandwich bread: Using a rolling pin, roll one ball into a rectangular shape. Roll the flatttened dough into a loaf and place in a buttered bread pan.
- For cinnamon raisin bread: Using a rolling pin, roll one ball into a rectangular shape Spread the flattened dough with honey, sprinkle with 2-3 teaspoons (depending on preference) of cinnamon, and 1/2 cup of raisins. Roll the flattened dough into a loaf and place in a buttered bread pan.
- Preheat the oven to 350F.
- Cover the pans with a towel and allow to rise as the oven preheats (30 minutes.)
- Bake for 40 minutes.
- Allow to cool for 15-20 minutes before slicing. Makes 2 loaves of bread.
Nutrition
Recipe inspired and adapted from The Earthbound Cookbook by Myra Goodman
This is my first time making yeast bread. Yeast has always deterred me because it sound so temperamental. I cook for one so a two loaf recipe is a bit much, so I thought to just freeze one. No big deal except for deciding between the whole grain and the cinnamon raisin. So, I decided to make two hybrid loafs. Both are half whole grain and half cinnamon raisin. They are in the oven now and I am very excited to see how/ if it turns out!
Hey Jessica, Freezing the extra loaf is a great idea! I’m excited to hear how your loaves turned out. Congrats on your first yeast bread!!!
I accidentally added honey to the initial soaking stage. Would this ruin my bread?
Nilofer, The honey shouldn’t ruin the bread. I think the early addition is just fine :).
Thank you so much for the quick reply. I was sweating it 🙂
I am so eager to try this bread!
You’re welcome :). Enjoy!!
I’m pretty intimidated to start baking my own bread because I wouldn’t classify myself as a “baker.” But I think I have to try this. How long did it take you to get into the routine of making bread on a weekly basis?
Hey Holly, At first baking bread took some time to get used to. I must admit, I still on occasion purchase bread at the market or natural food store, but when I’m in a routine I find baking bread becomes part of the schedule of things to do. Generally, I’ll bake four loaves on a Sunday and then cut each one in half, freezing each half. I find this works well for our family.
This bread is so good! Thank you for sharing!
You’re welcome! So glad you like it! 🙂
Thank you for answering me so quickly. I’m attempting this for the first time tonight. I’ve made bread machine bread but this is a whole new level of homemade baking for me. My parents are driving 12 hours to spend Thanksgiving with my family so I’m hoping to impress them with some homemade bread. I’m super nervous but ready for the challenge. Thanks for providing the help and recipe!
Does it have to be whole milk? I have 2% and unsweetened vanilla almond milk. Can I use either of those?
Hey Rachelle, I think 2% will work well in this recipe. Enjoy!!
Have you ever made this using other grain flours? Just wondering if you can sub the 5-6cups ww for other flours?
Hey Cindy, I’ve used spelt, whole white wheat, whole wheat, and played around with einkorn. Einkorn is a bit sticky and tricky, but all the flours work great in this recipe. The flour needs to contain gluten for this recipe. Did you have a particular flour in mind?
When do I know that it is done soaking? Or can I proceed right at the 12 hour mark?
Hey Claudia, The 12 hour mark is usually considered proper soaking time, but a bit less (10ish) or more is acceptable too.
I tried this recipe a couple of weeks ago & it didn’t turn out for me. The bread never rose well so it was pretty dense and didn’t taste great. I am not sure what I did wrong.
Hi Lisa, sounds like something went wrong with the yeast. Possibly a bad batch of yeast. An active yeast will cause the dough to rise and produce a light and fluffy wheat bread. The dough should double, nearly triple in size after the rising, about an hour after adding the yeast. Without the yeast properly working, the bread will be dense and effect the overall taste.
I’ve wanted to try soaking grains, but I just can’t get past leaving the milk out all night! Are you sure it would work with regular store bought milk? Organic, but pasteurized and homogenized.
Hey Jessica, I was scared to leave milk out at first. As long as it’s mixed with an acidic medium (whey, vinegar, lemon juice) it is just fine, as long as it doesn’t exceed the 24 hour mark, even if it’s pasteurized and homogenized. I believe this recipe would also work well with water vs. the milk, so you could also try subbing 1 cup water instead of the milk. Then soak accordingly.
For the cinnamon-raisin version, is it 1/4 cup honey to spread on the dough? It just says “1/4 raw honey”.
Hi Jeff, Yes, 1/4 cup honey is correct.
What are your thoughts on converting this to a bread machine recipe? The time commitment has always been rough for me, and I never get dough kneaded as well with a stand mixer as my Zojirushi does, especially with whole wheat flour. Think I could soak it and then put it in the bread machine?
Hi, I have a Zojirushi too, but haven’t tried this particular bread in my Zojirushi. I think it would work great, just soak first and finish off with kneading and rising and baking in the bread machine. Let me know how it goes.
Do you soak on the counter overnight or put it in the fridge because of the milk? Would this differ I I only have acces to organic or almond milk and not raw?
Hi Allie, As long as you use an acidic medium, such as the Apple Cider Vinegar, the milk is perfectly fine on the counter. I’ve never tried almond milk, but any cow or goat’s milk (even pasteurized) works great.
Wonderful, I will try this tonight. Thank you!
Came across this recipe and thought I would try it with almond milk. On my counter now. We’ll see tomorrow.
So the next morning, I just sprinkle the yeast on the dough along with honey and salt? Or do I need to add the yeast to additional warm water first to activate it?? Trying this for the first time today! Thanks!!
Hi Alecia, Just sprinkle the yeast, honey, and salt over the soaked dough and knead by hand or with your mixer and bread hook. The yeast will work its way through the dough. No need to proof it in water :).
This looks great Kristen. My family absolutely LOVES your overnight cinnamon rolls so I’m definitely trying this! And I’m with you on not baking my own bread. I used to when I first got into healthy living, but got away from it as I had more kids… besides it being time consuming. Now with needing to soak grains… I’ve just not gotten on board with it although I really want to. I suppose it’s like anything else in life… I need to prioritize and work on being more productive. Plus getting my little helpers involved! Thanks!!
Thanks, Meagan. I got out of the bread baking too, the reason I haven’t been making any. But, now, that I’m back into it, it’s been pretty easy. The kids like helping too. The soaking I’ve found has really helped our digestion too.
It really is so easy. Truthfully, the idea still intimidates me even though I’ve been soaking for a couple years. I don’t know why, because it really is simple.
I love cinnamon bread and this looks amazing. I have never soaked grains before but will have to try soon.
Thank you :). We started soaking grains a couple years ago and have noticed a huge improvement in the way they make us feel.
This look delicious! It doesn’t look too difficult either, maybe even I can pull it off! 😉
You totally got it ;). I’ve seen your gourmet ice cream. You can do bread!
Really beautiful!
Thank you 🙂
So incredibly beautiful! Why you haven’t been baking bread, I haven’t a clue – you obviously have a real talent for it. As this loaf looks amazing! I am going to have to get on the bandwagon and get my gf-bread-making game on. You are making me drool on my keyboard!! 🙂
Thank you :). I really enjoy baking bread. It really is such an art. I guess the time is what’s always intimidated me.
This is the most amazing 100% whole wheat recipe I have ever used. I have been searching for the perfect recipe for a long time, and this is BEAUTIFUL bread! The soaked grains are so lovely! Thank you a thousand times…we use this every week in my family! Such a thankful Mama:)
Yay, so glad you all enjoyed the bread!!
I’ve got this baking in the oven right now!! So excited to start making my own “real” bread. Thanks for your blog and all the work you’ve poured into it!! It’s truly inspiring and beautiful, just like you.
Thank you, Renee :). Enjoy the bread!!