State St. Wheat Bread

State St. Wheat is soft, sliced, and packaged. It’s very different from the crusty breads we usually make, so we want to explain why we’re baking it (and why we’re excited about it!). We’ve set out to create a pure and simple whole grain sandwich bread that has a broad appeal—familiar flavor, familiar texture, familiar shape—but is healthier than mass-produced, grocery-store bread because of our ingredient choices and baking techniques. Our goal is to bring this bread to more people in our community. At the Bakehouse, we freshly mill Michigan-grown, organic soft white wheat from Kischnick Farms near Frankenmuth and combine it with stone-ground, high-extraction, hard red spring wheat flour that we get from our friends at Janie’s Mill in Ashkum, Illinois. We take the extra step to lightly cook (scald) a portion of that freshly milled soft white flour for added sweetness and moisture. All of that goes into a naturally leavened dough with a touch of Michigan honey and olive oil for a same-day fermentation that keeps the flavors mild. The loaves get a gentle bake in our convection ovens to achieve a thin, relatively light-colored crust. The result is a flavorful grain-forward sandwich loaf that has a tender and moist crumb.