Although we bake a lot of different breads, we've settled on three recipes as our everyday breads. One of them is this recipe that came off the back of the King Arther bread flour package:

English Muffin Bread

1/2 cup cornmeal
6 cups bread flour]
5 tsp active dry yeast (or two envelopes)
1 tbls sugar
2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp baking soda
2 cps milk
1/2 cup water

Grease two loaf pans. Sprinklw with cornmeal, distriubte evenly to coat. Discard any excess.

In a bowl combine 3 cups flour, yeast, sugar, salt and baking soda. Heat mile and water until very warm. Stir into the dry ingredients, adding up to 3 cups flour until a stiff batter is formed. Pour into the prepared pans.

Cover and let rise about 45 minutes.

Bake at 400F for 25 minutes.

Note: this will make two standard sized (one pound) loaf pans, which are actually smaller than regular bread. If you use the larger pans, as I do, increase all the ingredients by 50%.

Hi KYH,

I hope you get that kitchen with all the lovley extras one day soon! You do dream big I must say:D

I am interested in this recipe, can you let me know how the bread turns out? Is it real dense like an English Muffin? Just kind of on a kick right now to discover as many different breads as I can.

I love dark pumpernickle, but have always been a wee bit intimidated to try my hand at it, I know that sounds silly, but I just hate to buy all the good flour and stuff to make it and then find out it is not at all what I am used to (which of course is store bought!) which I love. Have you any knowledge of that type bread baking? (Rye, Pumpernickle, etc.)

Thank you, Cathy

Cathy, whole grain breads can be a bit more difficult that white breads. Too often they turn out barely risen, chewy bricks. All has to do with gluten development and enzyme action. This gets worse with things like pumpernickel, which have heavy flavorings like molassas.

Best bet is to start with what are called "transitional" breads. These are doughs that use regular white bread flour as well as whole grain. With these, you get the gluten development from the bread flour with the taste of the whole grains.

BTW, most store bought (if you mean at the market, rather than at a bakery) "whole wheat" "multi-grain" and other whole grain breads actually are transitional. Check the labels if you don't believe me.

Also, you can substitute up to 25% whole grain flour in any bread recipe with no poor effects.

As you progress to true whole grains there are ways of increasing gluten development. Sometimes additives do it, and many people go that route.

A better bet, in my experience, is to get a copy of Peter Reinhart's new book "Whole Grain Breads." After much experimentation, consultation with other artisan bakers, and using more than 300 field testers, he came up with ways to use delayed fermentation and preferments with whole grains. The results are spectacular.

I'd never been successful getting a whole grain bread to rise properly and give me the light, open crumb you find in store-bought bread. But from the first, using his techniques, all that changed. I've made four different breads from his book, and they all came out perfect.

Thank You KYH I will sure have to get a copy of that book. I am so glad we have help available to us for such things. Man if I ever get started on baking homemade Rye, Pumpernickle and such....WOW I don't know what might happen!

Thanks so much, Cathy

Thanks for the recipe. Whenever I try to bake biscuits they always seem to come out tough. Is it a lack of butter?