what's for breakfast this morning {clean eating homemade bread}.

i love homemade bread.  i love the way it tastes.  i love working with dough with my hands.  and i especially love the way it makes my house smell while it's baking.

i started making my own bread last year.  one of my parents best friends makes the worlds most delicious bread.  so so so good.  i'm not a skilled bread maker, by any stretch of the imagination, and i just couldn't get my bread to live up to hers.  aaaand i was doing it by hand, so i ended up stopping just before i had emmy because i couldn't keep up with it.

enter: my bread maker.

a friend of mine had mentioned on her blog that she used a bread machine to mix her dough.  i immediately began asking her questions, and got her bread recipe to try.  my brother-in-law found a used sunbeam bread machine this summer at a yard sale.  twenty big ones, people.  i was super excited.

i love this recipe because it's super clean and healthy.  and even better?  it's seriously delicious.  i make one loaf each week and it makes the perfect breakfast toast.  we also use it for sandwiches as well.  bella loves it.

my process is super easy.  i throw everything in my bread maker, turn it to the dough setting and that gives me about an hour and a half to forget about it.  then i can bake it off in my oven to get the shape i like, and to allow that heavenly smell to waft through my house.  perfect.

here's my recipe, taken from my friend, amy.

clean-eating homemade bread

* 3 1/2 c. flour (i use half whole wheat white and half whole spelt.  perfect combo)
* 2 c. old fashioned oats
* 1/3 c. ground flaxmeal
* 2 heaping T. vital wheat gluten
* 2 heaping T. yeast (i store my yeast in a mason jar in the freezer)
* 1 1/2 t. salt
* 1/3 c. olive oil
* 1/3 c. honey (i pour mine to overflowing)
* 1 2/3 c. warm water

- throw everything in your bread maker.  turn it to the dough setting.  it will mix and knead the dough and do the first rise for you right in your machine.
- on a floured surface, press dough out into a rectangle using your fingers.  fold dough like a letter; bring bottom up 1/3 of the way, then bring top portion over and all the way down, sealing edges with your fingers.  this makes a pretty loaf shape and i've found it helps prevent holes in the middle of my bread.
- cover with a towel and let rise in a warm place for about 20 minutes, or until desired height.
- bake at 350 for 30-40 minutes.  this is where it's taken some experimenting for me... i found that if i cooked my bread for a full 40 minutes (covering the top with a sheet of tinfoil about 15-20 minutes into the baking process to prevent it from getting too brown) the middle of my bread was less likely to fall and stands up better for slicing.

i store my bread in either tin foil or large ziploc bags in our "bread drawer".  you'll need to use it within a week because it will dry out.  you may find (like me) you'll need to cut it into thick slices so it doesn't crumble (one of the downfalls of an all-wheat bread).

i love making bread for my family.  it's such a simple task but it feels so meaningful and special.  and, let's be honest.  it's just freaking GOOD!  just ask my picky two year old who scarfs it down like it's going out of style.

enjoy!
now i'm looking forward to breakfast.