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A full explanation of what ripe dough is, and what to look for at each stage along the way, is presented in A Loaf for Learning, the section that precedes this one.

Another alternative for tough scheduling challenges: the electric breadmaker. Refer to Bread Machines, starting.

Rockbottom Essentials

These few things are essential. There is much, much more about each of these ingredients elsewhere in the book and for more information, refer to the pages noted. But whatever recipe you choose in this book, please follow the simple guidelines given here.

FLOUR

Freshness Whole wheat flour, unlike white flour, is perishable and must be fresh to make good bread. If you buy packaged flour and can’t read the “pull date” on it, ask your storekeeper. Don’t try to make bread with whole-grain flour that has been on the shelf for more than 2 months. If you are in doubt, taste a pinch. There should be no bitterness. When you get the flour home, refrigerate it, wrapped airtight. The day before you bake, take what you will need out to come to room temperature before you use it.

Type To achieve a light loaf of yeasted bread you need flour that is high in protein. Look for “bread” flour or flour milled from hard red spring wheat, hard red winter wheat, or hard white wheat. Hard red spring wheat usually makes the lightest loaves. If none of these are on the bag, but there is a nutrition profile, look for a protein content of 14% or more, by weight. “All purpose” flour and pastry flour make tender quick breads, muffins and pancakes, but they do not have enough gluten protein to make light yeasted breads.

Grind A very fine grind will make the lightest loaves, all other factors being equal, but many people prefer coarser stoneground flour for flavor and texture in some breads.

More about flour and milling.

YEAST

We call for active dry yeast because it is available everywhere and is reliable. The usual amount called for is two teaspoons, which is one packet. If you prefer moist yeast, one cake is the equivalent of one packet. Moist or dry, if the yeast is not fresh—within its expiration date, and properly stored—it cannot raise your bread.

More about yeast.

OIL OR BUTTER

Make sure it is fresh: rancid fat will spoil your bread. We strongly recommend storing both oil and butter in the refrigerator.

More about fat in general. More about butter.

WATER SALT & SWEETENERS

Any water that is good to drink—not extremely hard or soft—will do fine. Normal table salt is adequate for baking. For sweetening, we usually call for honey, but if you prefer something different there are many possibilities, and within bounds, they will all work.

More about water, salt, and sweeteners.

Whole Wheat Breads

In areas of the Eastern Hemisphere where wheat will grow, bread has provided the satisfying staff of life for many centuries. Then as now the characteristics of the grain vary with climate and locale, and in response to the qualities of their local wheat people have developed innumerable different kinds of bread, from chapathi to challah, bagels to baguettes.

Europeans coming to America brought their love for bread with them. The new land had vast expanses of good soil perfect for growing wheat, and grow it they did. To deal with all that wheat, the roller mill was invented, and its pure white flour revolutionized breadmaking. In time there were generations of bakers who assumed that their flour would be the same from bag to bag, year to year. From then until now in the United States “flour” meant white flour and bread was white bread—puffy, uniform, undistinguished.

But things are changing. With the new consciousness of the importance of nutrition, with the demand for better cooking and eating, and with the increasing pressures of sheer economics (both personal and global), people are coming to require more from their bread. We celebrate this development; it is the reason for this book.

In the pages that follow you will find recipes for all sorts of whole-grain breads. In this particular