6 Grain Bread Recipes

MULTIGRAIN BREAD

Steps:

• Soak 1/3 cup bulgur in 1/2 cup warm water for 20 minutes; set aside. Sprinkle yeast over 1/2 cup water. Add 2 teaspoons honey. Whisk until yeast dissolves. Let stand until foamy, about 5 minutes. Transfer to the bowl of a mixer fitted with the paddle or dough-hook attachment. Add butter and remaining 1 1/2 cups water and 3 tablespoons honey. Whisk flour with salt; add 3 cups to yeast. Mix on low speed until smooth. Mix in soaked bulgur, 1/2 cup rolled oats, 1/4 cup flaxseeds, and 1/4 cup raw sunflower seeds. Add remaining 4 cups flour, 1 cup at a time, mixing until dough comes away from sides of bowl and forms a ragged, slightly sticky ball. Butter a large bowl.
• Knead dough on a floured surface until smooth and elastic but still slightly tacky, about 5 minutes. Shape into a ball. Transfer to prepared bowl; cover with plastic wrap.
• Let dough stand in a warm place until it doubles in volume (it should not spring back when pressed), about 1 hour. Butter two 4 1/2-by-8 1/2-inch loaf pans. Punch down dough; divide in half.
• Shape 1 dough half into an 8 1/2-inch-long rectangle (about 1/2 inch thick). Fold long sides of dough in to middle, overlapping slightly. Press seam to seal. Transfer dough, seam side down, to pan. Repeat with remaining dough. Brush tops of loaves with egg wash (beaten egg white mixed with water), not butter, and sprinkle with oats and sunflower seeds. Dab tops with egg wash to help adhere. Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Drape loaves with plastic. Let stand until dough rises about 1 inch above tops of pans, 45 minutes to 1 hour. Reduce oven temperature to 400 degrees. Bake, rotating pans after 20 minutes, until tops are golden brown, about 45 minutes. Transfer to wire racks. Let cool slightly; turn out loaves. Let cool completely before slicing.

MULTIGRAIN BREAD RECIPE

Steps:

• Place cereal mix in bowl of stand mixer fitted with dough hook, and pour boiling water over it; let stand, stirring occasionally, until mixture cools to 100-105 degrees (F), about 1 hour.
• Meanwhile, whisk flours and salt together in separate bowl; set aside.
• Once grain mixture has reached 100-105 F, add honey, butter, and yeast and stir until combined.
• Let mixture sit for 5-10 minutes.
• Add flour mixture, 1/2 cup at a time, and knead until dough starts to come together.
• Cover bowl tightly with plastic wrap, and let dough rest for 20 minutes.
• Knead on medium-low speed until dough clears sides of bowl, 3-4 minutes. If it does not clear sides, keep adding 2 tablespoons additional all-purpose flour and knead until it does.
• Once it comes together, continue to knead dough for 5 additional minutes.
• Add seeds, and knead until seeds are evenly dispersed throughout the dough and dough forms smooth, round ball.
• Place dough in large, lightly greased bowl; cover tightly with plastic, and let rise at room temperature until nearly doubled in size, 45-60 minutes.
• Grease two 9×5 inch loaf pans.
• Transfer dough to lightly floured counter and divide in half.
• Stretch first piece of dough into 9×6 inch rectangle.
• Roll dough into a cylinder, and place dough seam-side down in prepared loaf pan.
• Repeat with second piece of dough.
• Spray loaves lightly with water or vegetable oil spray.
• Sprinkle both loaves in oats.
• Cover loaves loosely with greased plastic, and let rise at room temperature until nearly doubled in size 30-40 minutes.
• Preheat oven to 375 F.
• Bake until loaves register 200 degrees, 30-40 minutes.
• Transfer pans to wire rack, and let loaves cool in pan for 5 minutes.
• Remove loaves from pans, and let them cool to room temperature on wire cooling rack.

SOFT MULTIGRAIN BREAD

Steps:

• Place cereal mix in a large heatproof bowl (you can also use the bowl of your stand mixer). Pour boiling water on top. Let the mixture cool until a digital thermometer reads about 110°F (43°C). This usually takes 20 minutes. Pay attention to the temperature because if it's too hot, it will kill the yeast. If it became too cool, however, it's not a problem- the dough may just take a few extra minutes to rise.
• Whisk the yeast, sugar, and all of the warm water/cereal mixture in the bowl of your stand mixer fitted with a dough hook or paddle attachment. Cover and allow to sit for 5-10 minutes or until foamy and bubbly on the surface.
• Add the butter, salt, and 1 cup (about 130g) flour. Beat on low speed for 30 seconds, scrape down the sides of the bowl with a rubber spatula, then add another cup of flour. Beat on medium speed until relatively incorporated (there may still be chunks of butter). Add all of the remaining flour and the seeds/nuts (if using), then beat on medium speed until the dough comes together and pulls away from the sides of the bowl, about 2 minutes. If it seems too sticky, add more flour, 1 Tablespoon at a time until it begins to pull away from the sides of the bowl. *If you do not own a mixer, you can mix this dough with a large wooden spoon or rubber spatula. It will take a bit of arm muscle!*
• Keep the dough in the mixer (and switch to the dough hook if you used the paddle) and beat for an additional 2 minutes OR knead by hand on a lightly floured surface for 2 minutes. Dough is soft, yet heavy.
• Lightly grease a large bowl with olive oil or nonstick spray. Place the dough in the bowl, turning it to coat all sides in the oil. Cover the bowl with aluminum foil, plastic wrap, or a clean kitchen towel. Allow the dough to rise in a relatively warm environment for 1-2 hours or until double in size. (I always let it rise on the counter. Takes about 2 hours. For a tiny reduction in rise time, see my answer to Where Should Dough Rise? in my Baking with Yeast Guide.)
• Grease a 9×5 inch loaf pan.
• When the dough is ready, punch it down to release the air. Lightly flour a work surface, your hands, and a rolling pin. Roll the dough out into a large rectangle, about 8×15 inches. It does not have to be perfect- in fact, it will probably be rounded on the edges. That's ok! Roll it up into an 8 inch log and place in the prepared loaf pan.
• Cover shaped loaf with aluminum foil, plastic wrap, or a clean kitchen towel. Allow to rise until it's about 1-2 inches above the top of the loaf pan, about 1 hour. (See photo above for a visual.)
• Adjust oven rack to a lower position and preheat oven to 350°F (177°C). (It's best to bake the bread towards the bottom of the oven so the top doesn't burn.)
• Bake for 35-40 minutes- if you notice the top browning too quickly during bake time, loosely tent the pan with aluminum foil. How to test for doneness- give the loaf a light tap. If it sounds hollow, it's done. For a more accurate test, the bread is done when an instant read thermometer reads the center of the loaf as 195°F-200°F (90°C-93°C).
• Remove from the oven and allow bread to cool for a few minutes before slicing and serving. Feel free to let it cool completely before slicing, too.
• Cover leftover bread tightly and store at room temperature for 2-3 days or in the refrigerator for up to 10 days.

WHOLE-GRAIN BREAD

Steps:

• Stir whole-wheat flour, bran, and 1 cup water in a bowl. Let stand 30 minutes.
• Stir milk and 1 tablespoon sugar in a bowl until sugar dissolves. Stir in yeast. Let stand until foamy, about 5 minutes.
• Put whole-wheat flour mixture, milk mixture, remaining 3 tablespoons sugar, the cornmeal, 3 tablespoons oats, the ground flaxseed, and salt into the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the dough hook; mix on medium-low speed until combined. Add 2 1/2 cups bread flour; mix until dough is tacky, but not sticky, about 2 minutes (if dough is too sticky, add more flour, 1 teaspoon at a time). Continue kneading until dough is soft and elastic, about 5 minutes more.
• Coat a large bowl with cooking spray. Add dough to bowl; turn to coat. Cover loosely with plastic wrap. Let dough rise in a warm, draft-free place until doubled in bulk, about 1 hour (or refrigerate overnight; bring to room temperature).
• Turn out dough onto a work surface; shape into a loaf about 9 inches long. Using a spray bottle, mist with water; sprinkle top with remaining 2 teaspoons oats and the whole flaxseed. Coat a 9-by-5-inch loaf pan and a piece of plastic wrap with cooking spray. Transfer loaf to the pan, and cover lightly with the plastic wrap. Let stand until doubled in bulk, about 45 minutes.
• Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Mist oven with water; place loaf in oven. Bake 5 minutes; mist oven again. Continue to bake, rotating pan once, until well browned, 25 to 30 minutes. Unmold bread onto a wire rack; return to oven, and bake directly on oven rack 5 minutes more. Remove from oven; let cool completely on rack.

SEVEN GRAIN BREAD I

Steps:

• Place ingredients in the bread machine pan in the order suggested by the manufacturer.
• Select the Medium Dark Crust setting, and press Start.

6-GRAIN BREAD

Steps:

• Place all ingredients in your bread maker. Mix on dough cycle. When cycle is complete, remove from bread maker and shape into 2 large or 3 medium loaves. Let rise and bake in a 350 degree oven for about 22 minutes. Enjoy!

NORDIC WHOLE-GRAIN RYE BREAD

Steps:

• On Day 1, make the starter: In a medium-size bowl, mix 3/4 cup warm water with the buttermilk or yogurt. Whisk flour and yeast together, add to the buttermilk mixture and use your hands to mix together until sticky and moist; add more warm water as needed. Cover tightly and set aside at cool room temperature overnight, or up to 24 hours.
• Also on Day 1, soak the grains: Mix 4 cups cold water with the rye berries (or meal) and sunflower seeds. Cover and set aside at cool room temperature overnight, or up to 24 hours.
• On Day 2, make the bread: Drain the soaked grains in a colander. Measure 35 ounces/1,000 grams of the grains and place in a deep bowl. Add 14 ounces/400 grams of the starter and mix well. (Any remaining starter can be saved to use with other bread recipes.) Add the flour, salt, malt (or molasses), yeast and 2 cups water. Mix dough firmly by hand to combine. The dough should be grainy, but quite runny and wet, almost like a thick batter. To achieve that texture, add cold water, 1/4 cup at a time, mixing after each addition. To test: When a walnut-size piece of dough smeared on the rim of the bowl slides slowly and smoothly down the inside, like a snail leaving a trail, the dough it is wet enough.
• Thickly butter 3 medium or 2 standard-size loaf pans. Divide the dough evenly among the pans, filling them about half full. Cover and let rise at room temperature until dough almost fills pans, about 2 hours. (Dough will not rise more during baking.)
• Heat oven to 450 degrees. Bake loaves for 10 minutes, then reduce heat to 360 and bake until firm and glossy brown, 80 minutes to 2 hours more depending on size and moisture content of loaves. Let cool completely in the pans before turning out. Bread freezes well, and lasts for at least a week at room temperature, wrapped in paper.

SEVEN GRAIN BREAD II

Steps:

• Place ingredients in the bread machine pan in the order suggested by the manufacturer.
• Select Whole Wheat Bread cycle, and Start.

FIVE-GRAIN QUICK BREAD

Steps:

• Heat oven to 375°F. Grease cookie sheet with shortening or cooking spray. Reserve 1 tablespoon of the cereal.
• In large bowl, mix remaining cereal, the flours, brown sugar, baking soda, cream of tartar and salt. Cut in butter, using pastry blender (or pulling 2 table knives through ingredients in opposite directions), until mixture looks like course crumbs. Stir in raisins.
• In small bowl, beat egg and buttermilk with wire whisk until well blended. Reserve 1 tablespoon buttermilk mixture. Stir remaining buttermilk mixture into dry ingredients, stirring just until mixture is moistened. On floured surface, knead dough 5 or 6 times until dough is combined and holds together.
• On cookie sheet, shape and press dough into 7-inch round. Cut large X, 1/4 inch deep, into top of dough, using sharp knife. Brush top of dough with reserved buttermilk mixture; sprinkle with reserved cereal.
• Bake 30 to 35 minutes or until top is golden brown and loaf sounds hollow when tapped. Cool slightly before serving.

MAKE 6 LOAVES OF WHOLE WHEAT BREAD IN ONE HOUR!

Steps:

• If grinding your own wheat, begin there (I use a hard white winter wheat, but red wheat is good too. Grinding the wheat using a NutriMill only takes about 4 minutes and it only has one ingredient: wheat!).
• With dough hook in place on your Bosch mixer, place water, dough enhancer, gluten, oil, honey, yeast, and 6 cups flour in the bowl. On the Bosch mixer, flip the switch over to "M" to incorporate.
• Add another 7-8 cups of flour and salt and turn the speed on the mixer to "1".
• Continue adding flour 1/2 cup at a time until dough cleans the edges of the bowl (takes just a minute or two).
• Continue kneading dough on speed "2" for another 6-8 minutes.
• Oil your hands and lightly oil a spot on a clean surface. Divide the dough into six equal portions and shape into loaves.
• Put loaves into greased pans and let rise until double in size (about 20 minutes).
• Bake at 350 degrees for 30-40 minutes (internal temperature should be about 195 degrees and the outside will be nice and golden).