I love to make homemade bread, and my husband and kids love it when I do! Making bread can be very laborious, but the taste of sweet butter melted on warm bread with blackberry jam makes it worth the work!
This recipe was taken from a cookbook- “Feeding the Whole Family: Cooking with Whole Foods” by Cynthia Lair. It is a fantastic recipe that you can change depending on what grain you have on hand or prefer for your family.
It takes about 2 days to make the bread because of the time you allow your grain to soak. I am going to break this recipe apart into a few days- therefore you can start on it if you want today!
Day 1: Wheat Bread Starter Dough Here is what you need:
2 cups cooked, whole grains (at the bottom there are links to 2 great sites with more info about whole grains)
2 cups water
1/4 c. olive oil or melted butter
1 TB sea salt
1 TB yeast
1 cup whole wheat flour
Step 1: 
I chose to use a grain called Kamut. Here is my 2 cups cooked Kamut ready to go in the blender!
Blend cooked grains and water in a blender until creamy; pour into a large mixing bowl.
Step 2:
Mix in oil, salt and yeast.
Step 3: 
Add enough flour (1 cup-ish) to make the mixture look thick like cooked cereal.
Step 4: Cover the bowl with plastic wrap or a damp cloth and leave for 12-24 hrs at room temperature. Once the dough is fermented it can be refrigerated for up to 1 week before using it to make bread.
Here are a few great sites that talk more about different grains and how to use them.
As I have made this bread with you in the past and know the smell of it in my oven my mouth is already watering! Im coming to your house this week!
And, you are right….it is worth all the work (which is actually pretty darn easy, a lot of waiting more so) for some hot bread, warm butter and blackberry jam. Yum!
Though I made all our homemade bread for years, I stopped a few years ago when we were eating less bread as empty nesters. I want to do it again, but I have been slow in getting started because I only want to make soaked grain bread. Or sourdough. Or sprouted grain bread. I’m eager to try this recipe. But I’m wondering about a couple of things: what is the purpose of cooking the grain before starting? This isn’t a sourdough starter, is it? Thanks!
Hi Susie,
Nope, this is not a starter. I think the purpose here is two fold.
1. Precooking the grains allow you to grind them in an average blender, as many people do not have the capability to grind thier own grain. This dough does soak, ferment, actually but after the grains have been ground. If you grind your own you could skip the precooking and simply make flour out of the whole berries and then ferment the dough.
2. This recipe is used often when you have leftover cooked grains. I make is often when I have served buckwheat, millet or oats for breakfast and have leftovers. The leftovers go into the bread!
Hope that helps.
Katie
Thanks, Katie! That idea (of allowing the regular kitchen blender to do the job) did cross my mind after I asked. And I like the idea of using leftover grains!