Reviewed: Jun. 23, 2012

I've made this recipe (or closeto it) three times now and it is growing on me, quickly. The crumb is wonderful if one keeps the dough wet and the flavor is the Real Thing. It includes all of the components of a tasty bread and minor variations to accommodate the pantry are no-brainers. I did not have and what bran the first time so I substituted more wheat germ. I often don't have dry milk, but substituting fluid milk is fine if you keep an eye on the total fluid. Sesame seeds don't agree with me, so I just omit them. The texture is good for sandwiches, for toasting and for o rdinary munching. No fan of sugar, I sub honey (calculated) and vary the wheat gluten a little depending upon the flour(s) used. For the nocice baker, this recipe is easy. For the more advanced folks, with a better grasp of ingredients and their interactions, it is modification friendly. A salute to Ms. Westrup! I suspect that a LOT of work went into developing the recipe published here. Thanks!! If I could add one tip it would be to keep the hydration high and avoid adding to much flour. The dough should remain stickey.

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Reviewer:

Cedarglen

Reviewed: Jan. 19, 2012

Pretty good, I like all the fibre. Mine turned out a little bit crumbly and not near as high risen as the picture, also I did not knead in the last cup of flour, was already getting tough. I will try it again though! I did like the one suggestion of turning one of the loaves into cinnamon bread, its just the two of us we dont need 3 loaves at a time!

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Reviewer:

LauraCavers

Reviewed: Jun. 10, 2011

This is a wonderful recipe. I think the person who gave it one star and said it was horrible did not follow the directions correctly. And the vital wheat gluten to flour ratio is correct, if you look at the package directions. I cut the recipe in half and made two smaller loafs, and baked for 24", each weighed 1#5oz. Also, I didn't have wheat bran on hand so used ground bran cereal flakes.

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Reviewer:

doctorannie

Reviewed: Jan. 24, 2011

A most excellant bread. Wonderful to slice, sweetly nutty flavor. Just the right crunch. Dense, but light at the same time. This recipe is a keeper. Makes terrific sandwiches. Thanks!

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Reviewer:

Cindy

Cooking Level: Expert

Home Town: Willowick, Ohio, USA

Reviewed: Mar. 31, 2009

I didn't have powdered milk - so I substituted the water for 1% Milk and omitted the powdered milk. I made it into 2 freeform loaves and 1 loaf pan. This is absoulutly delicious!! A great sandwich bread!

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Reviewer:

laurabora

Cooking Level: Expert

Home Town: Farmingville, New York, USA

Living In: Geneseo, New York, USA

Reviewed: Feb. 27, 2009

I halved this recipe and made it in the bread machine on the whole wheat cycle. It made a nice large loaf with good texture. I enjoy the hearty taste, and will definitely make it again.

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Reviewer:

LADYSLEW

Cooking Level: Expert

Home Town: Frederick, Maryland, USA

Living In: Baltimore, Maryland, USA

Reviewed: Feb. 19, 2009

Nice bread. I subbed flax seed for wheat bran, as I didn't have any, and decided (on a lark really--I have no good reason) to sub 1/4 c honey for the 1/4 c brown sugar. I used my breadmaker to mix the dough, and I halved the recipe to 20 servings, and ended up with 2 small loaves of bread. I had to add a bit more flour and a bit more water to get the consistency right, but it was more like a tbsp or so each so it wasn't much at all. This is a pretty full bodied bread. It baked up very dark brown--no need for an egg wash here! I baked for 40 min at 375 and I put the dough in bread pans, covered in plastic, and placed in the fridge overnight. It rose well enough in the fridge and I just set out the bread pans while the oven was preheating so didn't let it rise at room temp. I don't think I like the sesame seed flavor so much, but otherwise I think it's good. I'd make again and sub poppy seeds or sunflower seeds--some seed I like better! I can tell right now that bf won't like it but he's a plain white bread guy. Thanks for the recipe!

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Reviewer:

pomplemousse

Cooking Level: Intermediate

Home Town: Pendleton, Oregon, USA

Living In: Dumfries, Virginia, USA

Reviewed: Jan. 17, 2009

I'm just getting my feet into making breads, This one so far has been the best one for me. But i may be getting better at it. My ace in the hole is my friend across the street from me she's been cooking for a long time and gives me pointers.

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Reviewer:

John Nasuta

Reviewed: Oct. 5, 2008

I was very disappointed with this- It was by far the worst bread I have ever made!! Something obviously went wrong since everyone else seemed to rave about this... Consistency was near perfect at the end of step 2, but adding the extra flour just dried it out and made it tough to work with! I had to and some extra water and didn't even bother to add the last 1c of flour. The dough was way too dense and it never even rised!! I baked it and it still didn't rise it just turned out like a brick! I did taste it and it tasted alright... I have never made bread with vital wheat gluten before so I did some research and I think that 1/2c was too much, there should have only been 4 tsp per loaf which would have translated to 1/4c of gluten! Also I think the flour needs to be cut by 1-2c... Since it is a wheat recipe I would suggest cutting the bread flour by this amount... I will try this again, only as a base but I will definitely only be making one loaf as per the modifications I already stated, and maybe some more...

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Reviewer:

mwingham

Reviewed: Mar. 16, 2008

This was my best success yet! I didn't have any wheat bran, so substituted bran flakes cereal (no raisins). It worked just fine. I still feel like this bread lacks just a little bit of flavor, perhaps depth would be more accurate. I like to experience bread, not just eat it. All in all, a great recipe though.

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