Homemade whole grain bread makes your house complete, like a snoozing dog at the hearth and a cozy cat in your lap. Domestic bliss can be had! We as human beings salivate at the very odor of bread baking. It saturates the kitchen and draws us back to one of man’s first cultivated foods.
And who doesn’t clamor for that first end piece? Still hot, steamy and crunchy at the same time, yielding nutrition with each fragrant bite. A little butter, a little honey, and heaven on earth is within your grasp. All in a simple loaf of whole grain bread.
Notes:
- This recipe includes oats, bulgur wheat and quinoa for a soft, sliceable multi grain loaf that makes great sandwiches or toast. Don’t be concerned about the specific grains. These work admirably of course, but you can use more or less of any of these or omit them all (sub in more whole wheat) and make a simple whole wheat bread. If substituting a dry grain for the bulgur wheat or quinoa, add ¼ cup water per substitution.
- In this recipe we instruct you to let the dough rest for 30 minutes before adding the rest of the flour and kneading. This step is called autolyzing and I have found it extremely helpful with whole grain bread recipes. This step allows those toothsome grains to fully absorb needed moisture, thus shortening the kneading time for your dough.
- The sugar in this recipe serves two purposes: it helps the yeast develop more quickly and sweetens the loaves. If you don’t want your bread sweetened you can reduce the sugar by half, or eliminate it and expect a slightly longer time to rise.
- Knead the dough until it is not at all sticky and doesn’t stick to a lightly floured surface during kneading. “Smooth and elastic” means the dough should look smooth and pulling a portion of the dough yields a stretchy looking knob that stays connected to the rest of the dough.
- Test whether the loaf is ready to go into the oven by gently poking it with an index finger. A dimple should easily remain where you poked it.
- This recipe makes two loaves, each around 3 pounds. Use a scale to even out their weights. This helps you because both loaves should cook at the same rate and be done at the same time when their weight is similar.
Best Multi Grain Bread
This recipe includes oats, bulgur wheat and quinoa for a soft, sliceable multi grain loaf that makes great sandwiches or toast.
Ingredients
Instructions
Prepare Grains
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Cook or prepare any grains to be used
A. Using a small mixing bowl soak the bulgur in 1/3 cup boiling water until softened, about ½ hour.
B. Cook the quinoa: in small saucepan bring 2/3 cup water to a boil. Add quinoa and simmer for 15 minutes.
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Make the Bread Dough
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Combine honey, water and oil in a saucepan and heat to 120° Stir to completely dissolve the honey.
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Mix 2 cups Whole Wheat flour, Oatmeal, Bulgur, Quinoa and salt together in a mixing bowl.
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Add the water/honey mixture to the flour and stir until mixed completely. Let rest for ½ hour.
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Proof the yeast in a small mixing bowl with ¼ cup warm water (110°F) for 10 minutes. Yeast should bloom and begin to expand. An extra teaspoon of honey or sugar will speed it up if you like.
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Pour yeast into flour mixture and mix for 3 minutes.
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Stir in (or use dough hook attachment) remaining whole wheat flour and enough white flour to form a ball that pulls away from the sides of the mixing bowl.
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Turn out onto a floured surface and knead until dough is smooth and elastic, adding flour to keep the dough from sticking. If using a dough hook, process for an additional 4 minutes, adding flour as necessary to achieve a smooth, elastic dough that does not stick to the fingers when pinched and resists separating from the dough when pulled. Finish the kneading by hand for best results.
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Place in a large greased bowl, turn over and cover loosely.
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Let rise until double in bulk, about 1 hour.
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Punch down and divide dough evenly into 2 loaves. (Tip: For an attractive interior grain, gently stretch the dough for each loaf into a rectangle the width of your loaf pan, then roll the rectangle tightly to fit the pan. Pinch the ends and fold under any excess.)
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Place loaves into two 9”X5” pans. Cover loosely and let rise 45 minutes to 1 hour, or until a finger poked gently into the side of one loaf leaves an impression.
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Bake in a preheated 375°F oven for 40 – 45 minutes. Bread is done when golden brown and internal temperature is 190°
