At Mariposai's suggestion, I'm opening this thread to discuss whole wheat/whole grain breads. I'm addicted to Great Harvest Bread Company's Dakota and high-5 fiber breads, and my store just went out of business (sigh). Holly suggested buying in bulk (at another store 28 miles from my house) and freezing. I've never been a fan of frozen bread, but then I've only tried frozen commercial loaves. High quality whole grain breads are probably a whole different story. At any rate, I'd be interested to see if others on the list make their own whole grain breads? Do you make in bulk and freeze? I tried a whole grain bread yesterday, and it was practically crawling out of the mixer before I could add enough flour. I ended up splitting it into two batches mid-mixing (oh what an ooey gooey mess!). I've never seen whole grain bread rise as well as this batch, and it was tasty, but I was uttering unprintable expletives during the process. Of course, I shouldn't have been trying to make a new soup recipeand cook my weekly oatmeal simultaneously, but that is another story........ I will probably halve the recipe and give it another try.

Go here... http://www.kingarthurflour.com/shop/landing.jsp?go=Home and buy a bag of this co.'s wheat flour. Or maybe you can find it in a store. Then, ditch your bread machine and make a loaf of bread the old fashioned way using the recipe on the back of the package. You'll get your hands dirty, but will have a great loaf of bread. I make it 4 loaves at a time and have family members and friends lining up to get a loaf. I use molasses in mine. Good luck!

Oh Steve, violence! I love it. They won't even put their bread recipes on their website. If I make the trip I will ask about the possibility of getting dough. I would probably mess that up as well..... Rich - I did use the King Arthur whole wheat flour which is locally available - good stuff! I'll have to see if I still have the bag and look for the recipe. I used molasses in the loaves I made yesterday. First time I've done that, and it was pretty good. I must admit that I'm wimping out and using the Kitchenaid mixer - my hand/wrist strength leaves a lot to be desired. I didn't use a bread machine, though ;-). Dave - your Vitamix blender sounds intriguing. I like kitchen gadgets - I'll have to google it. Thanks, guys!

That web site as my mouth watering. Thanks.

Sue, thanks for starting this thread. I am one of those who is addicted to eating homemade bread...warm out of the oven with lots of local honey on the top (I am glad the carbo depleting Sun God is not reading this). I am lucky enough to own a wheat mill ( a small electric one) so I just buy the wheat (Montana red being my favorite one) and make two loaves at the time, which is enough for my family for one work week. I also have made several loaves in advance and froze them up to one month. The bread once defrosted seemed to be no different than a day all bread. It sure is more satisfying than the store bought ones. A recipe? well that is going to take a bit more time to post since I make them just by feel and do not follow a certain recipe. I will see what I can come up with next time a make a batch. If you have the time, making by hand is the way to go. It is so relaxing and mind healing to knead the bread...try it and you will love it.

The dough changes as you knead it and once you get used to it, can tell when it's ready to be set aside to rise. By hand is a great way to make bread, you should try it Sue. Holly, you probably killed the yeast in the loaf that came out so hard. Water that's too hot is all it takes...

Steve - I don't have any little kids. Will beating up on the dog and husband give me the same results? Tim - there are some pretty good books out there with recipes for bread machines (Electric Bread I and II among others). My bread machine is still packed somewhere which is why I'm trying to manage without one. OK Rich, I'm going to have to try your way - is it cheating if I use the mixer up until the point when I start kneading?? Holly - I think Rich is right - you smote the little yeasty beasties. The loaves I made Sunday were crawling out of the pans when I put them in the oven. I've never had such light whole grain breads from scratch. Happy baking!

I'm gonna 2nd the King Arthur's ~ only all of my mixing & kneading is now done w/my professional grade Kitchen Aide (Yay!)(& cheaper than a Hobart!) I just throw stuff in the bowl, turn it on & basically come back & get in in 10-15 mins to put in a greased bowl to rise....& I haven't had a single dud batch yet Pros: ya can't beat fresh-out-of-the-oven! you can experiment to your heart's desire ~ adding nuts, sunflower seeds, flax, etc..... you can make extra dough & freeze ahead of time Cons: the whole process (not counting grocery shopping for supplies, etc) usually takes about 2 hrs per complete batch.....