Baguettes and Whole Wheat Flaxseed

I finally found a French bread recipe I really like! I think the secret is in quality ingredients. I've always heard that, but always tried to skimp. This recipe called for a small amount of semolina flour (usually used for pasta). I also used real bread flour like a good girl. Otherwise, it's very basic--yeast, milk, salt, butter, olive oil. Once you mix it all together the sponge is immediately beautiful and smells divine. I love kneading dough! It's so hard to describe. I just zone out and get peaceful and go to my happy place. It feels really good in your hands. I think bread tastes better if it's been kneaded by hand. It needs touch.

The only real problem I had with this was it was such a large recipe--10 cups of flour! It makes 3 long French loaves or 6 baguettes. I didn't have enough pans. Also, this recipe said to just "shape it into a long French loaf." Okay. Other recipes say to roll it up like a jelly roll. My first tries did not stay very round-- I think I need a baguette pan to get that classic shape. So these were flatter on the bottom. But the texture inside was perfect! Chewy outside (thanks to the cast iron pan full of boiling water in the bottom of the oven) and perfect on the inside. Really tasty too! My kids wanted to eat it all afternoon. And I didn't mind. It's real food. How did you like it?

I've tried quite a few different whole wheat recipes and I'm still trying to find one I like. I practiced with this one yesterday, and it turned out good, but not REALLY good. I tinkered with it a bit. The initial recipe had whole wheat alone (many w.w. recipes call for half white flour for a lighter texture and taste), honey, egg, butter, milk, yeast, salt. It didn't have any sweetness to it, and was slightly dry. But, it made a really good pb&j! On my second try I added molasses for a sweetner, along with the honey, because I think all that whole wheat masked the honey flavor. Also I increased the olive oil and butter just a little, hoping to moisten it. But the biggest thing was that I added some flaxseed meal to make it taste a little nuttier. The first recipe was kind of one-dimensional--I think that's where people get turned off to whole wheat--it's just dry and boring, unless you add some things to make it a deeper flavor. How did you like it?

However, last week I did a multi-grain that was amazing! (see previous post) I wasn't quite ready to debut it yet. Next time I'm thinking the multi-grain, sourdough, or a country oatmeal. And pie, for July! What are your thoughts?

Please post your comments--I really want honest feedback! Also if anyone has a good whole-wheat recipe, let me know. Sometimes Grandma's recipe is the best.