Frugal Homemade Whole Wheat Bread

The cost of a loaf of bread may not be on your target for cutting costs. But learning how to make your own everyday homemade bread for toast, sandwiches and more is easier than you think and it could save you some money. Read on to discover our frugal recipe for whole wheat bread.

Frugal Homemade Everyday Whole Wheat Bread

The reason Bill created this recipe for whole wheat bread? Well, I like to eat so-called light bread to keep calories and carbs in check. If you’ve ever bought one of these light bread loaves in the store, then you know that they can be significantly more expensive than regular loaves of bread.

What you might not know is what ingredients the manufacturers use to keep the bread light and lower in carbs and calories. I didn’t until Bill pointed it out. It is food-grade wood pulp. Yes, I was willingly eating wood pulp all those years just to keep my weight in check.

Once we discovered this ingredient, which we most definitely did not want to continue consuming, and decided it was time to trim our budget, Bill created a homemade bread recipe. He had two goals. One, create something that tasted delicious and still achieved a lower carb count than a regular loaf of bread, such as sourdough bread. And two, create a recipe that could save us some money.

In the end, he succeeded on many fronts. He created a delicious everyday bread that we’re still enjoying and he’s saved us from having to buy $4 and $5 loaves of commercially baked sandwich bread. The only drawback? The calorie count per slice just can’t compete with that wood pulp-infused bread — 99 calories for our bread versus 45 calories for the other bread — and I’m OK with it. The nutritional value is similar to Dave’s Killer Bread, which is what we’ll get at Costco as a supplement when he hasn’t had time to make a new loaf of bread.

Ingredients

• 2 cups whole wheat flour
• 1/2 cup wheat germ
• 2 teaspoons salt
• 2 tablespoon honey Substitute sugar if need be.
• 4 1/2 teaspoons yeast Or two packages active dry yeast.
• 2 cups water Warm.
• 1 cup buttermilk Room temperature.
• 2 tablespoons olive oil Divided evenly.
• 3 1/2 cups bread flour

Instructions 

• Mix half (1 cup) of the warm water, the yeast and the honey. Set aside and allow the yeast to activate. It should begin to bubble in about five minutes.
• I use a power mixer on its lowest setting, but you can follow these steps in a large bowl mixing by hand. Mix all of the remaining dry ingredients – the bread flour, the whole wheat flour, wheat germ and salt until combined.
• Add half (1 tablespoon) of oil, buttermilk and the yeast solution.
• Add the remaining water a little at a time until you get a workable dough.
• Use the remaining oil to coat the surface of the dough ball.
• Transfer the dough into a mixing bowl and cover with a clean moistened towel. The dough will about double in size, so be sure to choose a large enough bowl.
• Place the dough in a warm area. It should double in an hour or so.
• After it rises, divide the dough in half and shape each piece into a thick log about eight inches long. Place each log into a 9×5 loaf pan that has been treated with cooking spray or lined with parchment paper.
• Cover the pans with a moist towel and allow for a second rise of about 30 minutes.
• Preheat the oven to 375 F.
• Bake for 35-40 minutes or until golden brown on the outside.
• Remove the loaves from the oven and let them cool in the pan for 10 minutes. If need be, carefully run a butter knife around the perimeter of the pan to gently separate the loaf from the pan. Transfer the loaves to a cooling rack.
• Wait until they are fully cooled before slicing.

Notes

When shopping for wheat germ at the supermarket, keep the following in mind: you’ll find it in the cereal aisle, not the baking aisle. Also, after you open the wheat germ, if you have leftovers — and you most likely will — you must store it in the refrigerator. An opened wheat germ container cannot go back in the pantry.

If you decide to try your hand at making homemade bread, you’re going to need a way to slice it for sandwiches, toast and more. I strongly recommend you invest in this bread-slicing template, which I’ve included in our list of the best gifts for cooks and bakers.

You slide the load of bread in and it literally provides a template and guide for slice thickness. Note: this only works when cutting rectangular loaves of bread. It won’t work for a loaf of sourdough made in the Crock Pot or traditional sourdough that you bake in a Dutch oven.