How-To Bake Bread (guest post recipe!)

  I grew up with fresh baked bread in the house at all times. My father taught himself how to make it starting in my early childhood, and after a few decades of practice had refined the process for a wide variety of artisan loaves that he'd deliver to friends and send via priority post to family.
  He passed down his KitchenAid stand mixer, which I have used primarily for making cake frosting. Now, Maia has taken up the role of resident bread baker in the family, teaching herself (like her grandfather whom she never got to meet did) and providing us with delicious fresh-baked bread while school is on hiatus during the spread of covid-19.
  Here is her tutorial!

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Basic Wheat Bread
(makes 2 loaves)

Ingredients:
2 cups warm water
1 T. active dry yeast (or one packet)
1 T. salt
1 T. sugar (choose organic sugar, then you know it's vegan!)
3 cups all-purpose flour
3 cups whole wheat flour
cornmeal or extra flour for dusting

1. Mix together the water, yeast, salt, & sugar in a large bowl. Let stand until the yeast is dissolved.                                                                                               

2. Gradually add both flours 1 cup at a time to the liquid and mix thoroughly (use a fork & hands).

3. Knead it. (I usually use a dough hook attachment on a stand mixer, but you can do it by hand too.) Knead for about 5 minutes or until the dough has a smooth surface and feels tough.

4. Take the dough out of the bowl. Clean the bowl and grease it (use a little olive oil, margarine/butter, or a non-stick baking spray). Return the dough to the greased bowl. Cover with a clean dish towel. Leave to rest 1-2 hours or until the dough doubles in size. The picture below is what it should look like after resting. It should feel soft and airy.

5. Knead it a little bit with your hands to knock out air bubbles. Split the dough ball in half. Shape into 2 loaves. Put parchment paper on a baking sheet and sprinkle with corn meal or a little flour. Place the loaves on the sheet and sprinkle a little more cornmeal or flour on top. Brush with a little water. Cut a few slits (at least 3) along the loaves, preferably with a serrated knife. Leave to rest for another 5 minutes.

6. Do not preheat oven. Fill an oven-safe container (I use a glass baking dish) with about 1 inch of hot water and place it on the bottom rack of the oven. Put your loaves into the oven and set your oven to 400F degrees. Bake 35-40 minutes.

7. Allow bread to cool a little before slicing (but it's delicious still warm from the oven, so try some before it cools completely!). Cool completely before sealing in an air-tight container to keep your bread fresh longer.

8. Makes great toast or sliced sandwich bread!