CONTEST: Whole Wheat Bread Recipes

I went grocery shopping yesterday. And guess what? I didn't buy any bread. I have a loaf in my freezer and a nearly complete loaf in the pantry, but from here on out, I plan to make my own bread instead of buying it from the store.

Dill's parents got us an awesome manual wheat grinder and some loaf pans for Christmas. I specifically asked for the wheat grinder because I have a ton of wheat sitting out in my garage, practically begging to be turned into flour and then baked into delicious loaves of bread.

I know, you're thinking, Who asks for a wheat grinder for Christmas?! A health-conscious Mormon mom, that's who! Most homemade breads have a handful of simple ingredients. Have you looked at the ingredients list on a loaf of store-bought bread? It's crazy! It often contains high fructose corn syrup and a whole bunch of other unpronounceable additives to make it sweet, spongy and long-lasting. And it's expensive -- you'll spend well over $3 for a loaf of the most natural bread.

Not to mention, have you ever smelled the aroma of homemade bread wafting through the air? HEAVEN. That's reason enough to make your own.

I'm excited to put this wheat grinder to use and make some delicious bread. But, there's a problem: I have no idea where to start! I've never made bread. Ok, I've made cinnamon rolls and bread-like products, but I've never made a loaf of actual bread before. You know, the kind you slice up and slather peanut butter all over. Never done it.

So, this is where you guys come in. I want you to send your best whole wheat bread recipes to momtheintern at gmail dot com. If you have one on your personal blog, feel free to send me a link, too. I am going to try them all and then Dill, Bubs and I will decide which one we like best. And by best, I mean it is both delicious and relatively easy to make.

Winner gets a $10 gift card to Sprouts Farmers Market or Target, your choice. Sprouts is my favorite farmers market-type store because their produce is local, very fresh and oh-so-cheap! They also sell lots of gluten-free, lactose-free, all-natural and vegetarian items. You can get a TON of good stuff for $10. And Target ... who doesn't love Target?

Here are the contest rules:

1. The bread recipe must primarily use whole wheat flour. It can also include white flour or lesser-known kinds (like maybe rye flour), but I want the majority of it to use wheat flour. No white recipes, please.

2. It cannot require a bread machine. Sorry, I don't own one of those. Just an oven and some loaf pans.

3. It does NOT have to be original, meaning it doesn't have to be your own invention. It can be a long-time family recipe, one you got from a friend or one you've used and loved for ages. But please, don't just pull one off of Allrecipes.com unless you've tried it for yourself and can personally testify of its goodness. I mean, anyone can Google for bread recipes, right?

Since I've never done a contest before and I don't know how many people (if any) are going to enter, I'm just going to leave the contest open for a while. No deadline just yet. I'll be sure to let you know when one is coming up.

Let's see what you've got!