Whole Wheat Bread for Dummies

Growing up, my dad was known for his frugality in shopping for food. The classic example, brought up much to my dad's dismay at every family gathering, was when my dad bought 10 boxes of sugar cookies at the store for $1.00.

"How could I pass up such a deal?" He argued. Well, we soon enough found out... Basically, a little bit of mold goes a long way in ruining an appetite.

Sorry, on second thought, that probably isn't the best dinner table conversation. So I digress. The story just leads another classic example of trying to save money: our adventure with a bread machine.

This time, it seemed that my dad was on to something. My sister and I loved nothing more than the smell of freshly baked bread. We would eagerly anticipate smearing the warm slices with butter and covering in honey... mmm... the memories.

Unfortunately, it wasn't until I lived on my own that, in the bread world, a bread machine is basically considered cheating. Never one to cheat (okay, other than Candy Land), I devoted myself to taking on the intimidating homemade bread obstacle.

My adventures began with this simple to bake, but highly satisfying, orange-scented whole wheat bread. I adapted the recipe from Chef in You.

Much to my delight, the bread turned out even better than I imagined. I loved the unexpectedness of the orange scent and the nuttiness of whole wheat. It is just subtly sweet and entirely filling! Perfect for toast in the morning.

Orange Scented Whole Wheat Bread...
no cheating necessary!


Ingredients:

• 2 1/4 cups whole wheat flour
• 1 tbsp. flax seeds
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 2 tbsp. butter
• 2 tbsp. brown sugar
• 1/2 envelope rapid-rise yeast
• Grated rind and juice of whole orange (medium sized)

Directions:

• Stir flour in large bowl. Mix in salt and flax seeds, and then rub in the butter.
• Add sugar, yeast, and orange rind. Combine orange juice with lukewarm water until there is 7/8 cup of mixture. Add juice to flour mixture and mix into soft ball.
  
• Knead on gently floured surface until smooth.
  
• Place in loaf pan, cover with towel, place in warm place and allow to rise until doubled in size.
  
• Bake in preheated 425 degree oven 20-30 minutes or until lightly browned.
  
• Turn out to cool, and enjoy!