Monday, May 11, 2009

Honey Wheat Bread

I'm fascinated by this concept.
Wheat bread that's white?

I wonder if I could trick my husband Andy into eating it.

He is a staunch White Bread Only eater.

After our daughter Anna was born, I read an article about the health benefits of feeding children whole grains. It stated that if children grow up eating wheat bread, they will prefer the taste of it over white bread.

So I tried it with Anna.

Now she's 2 (and a half) years old, eating wheat bread, and doesn't know the difference.

Now that I'm making my own bread, I've wondered if I could get Andy to compromise...

So I tried this one with half white flour, half wheat flour.


Honey Wheat Bread (1 2 lb loaf, 4 hours)

1 2/3 c water, room temperature
2 tsp butter or margarine, softenend
1/4 c honey
2 tsp salt
2 1/4 c whole wheat flour
2 c bread flour
2 tsp yeast

1. Add water, butter, and honey to bread machine bowl.
2. Add flours and salt.
3. Make a well in the flour. Pour yeast into the well.
4. Snap bowl into bread machine. Select wheat cycle and desired crust. Start!

Notes:
*The original recipe also called for adding 2/3 c slivered, toasted almonds with the dry ingredients. The bread was delicious without them, but they would add some crunch to it.

VERDICT:
Cost: Storemade cost $2.29, homemade cost exactly $1.00
Overall: This homemade bread wins. I tried the Sara Lee loaf when it first came out and remember thinking, "Hmm, this is okay tasting, but nothing special." This homemade loaf definitely wins in both the taste and cost categories. It was best warm out of the bread machine.
Andy tried it. He said, "It's okay. It's still too dark." He is a man of few words when it comes to food. I thought it was excellent bread. It was soft, yet hearty - a perfect blend of wheat and white. Contrary to Andy's comment, it was a light-colored bread. It wasn't as good with grilled cheese as the white bread, but the honey in it made it a perfect compliment to peanut butter. I would be satisfied eating this bread every week. Time will tell if Andy will feel the same...

My Inspiration: Oster Bread Machine manual, modified

Click here for a link to anything you could possibly want to know about White Wheat bread. It made me want to hunt down some white wheat flour and try it out.

A couple people have asked about making the bread recipes by hand instead of a bread machine. I'm working on finding out if there's a reasonable way to do it!

2 comments:

  1. The bread looks delicious!!!! I wish I liked wheat bread maybe this recipe will help. I'm going to try it.

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  2. Yum! I tried this bread Monday and it was delcious. My husband and I have been buying the exact bread you mention in your post. Now I will be making this often! Thanks for another great recipe!

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