We all know that smell.
The smell of fresh bread baking.
Its such a good smell. I don’t think I will ever get tired of it.
One new skill I wanted to master this year was making bread. I didn’t want to buy bread from the store anymore. I wanted to make my own.
So after a few different attempts I came across a recipe I really liked. I changed a couple little things to make it perfect for our family.
As times are changing and home life is (and has been for the past few years) normal, I was ready to make the change in how we get our bread.
I honestly wasn’t happy with the ingredients in the store bought bread and when I found an organic one with better ingredients I couldn’t justify spending so much on a single loaf.
Last fall when the garden was finished and the weather was getting cooler I started experimenting with the original bread recipe I had found in a cookbook from the library.
The original recipe only called for white flour, but it fell apart easily.
One day I was mixing up a batch and decided to try some whole wheat flour mixed with the white. Guess what?! It held its shape much better!
It took a few trys mixing different amounts of whole wheat and white but I finally got it and it is honestly my favorite bread.
We had a loaf of store bought bread in the freezer that I had saved for post baby. After not having that type of bread for several months I couldn’t believe we ate it for as long as we did. It tasted so bad compared to the homemade.
I have been making this recipe weekly for the past several months and I actually enjoy making it so much I look forward to bread making day. Something about the process of simple ingredients getting mixed together with my hands and rising to becoming something so delicious for my family has me coming back for more week after week.
Since it is a busy time of year I have started making 2 batches at a time and freezing the extra, that way I know we won’t run out and be tempted to grab a loaf at the store.
I hope you try it and fall in love with the process (and the bread) as much as I have.
Here is a video I made showing how easy it is to make! Join me in the Kitchen to make Aunt Julie’s Bread
About the name…
My mom had my nephew when she was dropping off some plants she had babied while I was recovering from having our little boy when I gave her a hunk of bread to take with her. She gave some to him and they both really enjoyed it. While she was giving him some of the bread she said ‘Aunt Julie’s bread is so good’ and he agreed 🙂
Aunt Julie’s Bread
Yield: 2 loaves
2 enve. Active dry yeast (that is equal to 4 1/2 tsp)
2 cups very warm water, 110 to 115 degrees
1/3 cup sugar
1 Tablespoon salt
2 eggs, beaten
1/4 cup oil
2 cups whole white flour
4-5 cups white flour (we use unbleached, organic)
In a bowl, dissolve yeast and sugar in warm water. Let sit about 5 minutes.
Add salt, eggs, oil, whole wheat flour and 2 cups white flour. Stir until smooth.
Add in enough white flour until you get a soft dough that isn’t to sticky (I don’t usually need the full 5 cups).
Turn dough out onto a floured surface. Knead until smooth and elastic, about 6 minutes, you can add more flour if needed while kneading. After about 6 minutes form into a ball and place in a greased bowl, remembering to turn once so top is greased.
Cover bowl with a tea towel and let rise in a warm place until doubled, about one hour.
After that hour, punch down dough. Divide dough in half. I like to slightly flatten the one half into a rectangle. Then roll the dough up, like a jelly roll, and set into greased 9″x5″ loaf pans.
Cover and let rise until doubled, about another hour.
After that rise bake at 375 degrees for 20 to 25 minutes. To check for doneness, tap the top; if it sounds hollow it is done.
Immediately turn out of the pans and cool on wire racks.
Enjoy!
