Outstanding Artisan Multi-Grain Bread!

 I have been the lucky recipient many times of fabulous home made loaves of fresh bread. My neighbor Sandy Macdonald, from many years back used to bring over her fabulous whole wheat bread and delicious rolls.  During the holidays my friend Pam Tibbitts would gift us with her amazing cinnamon rolls – they were to die for!  My neighbor Melissa Jones has brought over loaves of deliciously perfect whole wheat bread at Christmas. Lori Cluff, just up the hill from me, takes the cake for some of the most delicious breakfast and cinnamon rolls in all of Utah! You just can’t ask for a more heart warming treat than to hear the doorbell ring, and find a generous neighbor with a warm loaf of goodness in their hands.  Making bread reminds me so often of the sacrifices that were made for  and bestowed upon me by my Mom, grandmothers and the many other wonderful women that I have had the privilege of knowing.  What is it about making our own bread that seems to bring out the creativity, gratitude, artistry and yes, even spirituality in us?

Last month, as I walked through Bush Park in Salem, Oregon with my grandsons, my daughter and her new baby girl, I marveled at how incredibly GREEN it is there in Oregon.  I am so attuned to red cliffs and a bit of green here and there that I was thoroughly amazed at how beautiful the park was with its’ lovely flowers and huge trees, with their limbs outstretched like arms, welcoming us into the park.  The boys played by the meandering creek, threw rocks and ate hundreds of ripe blackberries growing wild by the banks of the creek, while Lisa and I enjoyed the sounds of their laughter and pushed the baby stroller. While visiting my daughter, we made delicious fresh peach jam and lots of really wonderful multi-grain bread. This multi-grain bread recipe is one that Lisa got from Eric Sorensen, which he had adapted from someone else, then Lisa adapted it to fit her preferences and I re-formulated it a bit  more. It is without a doubt one of the best bread recipes I have ever tasted.  I made a few slight changes to the recipe, cutting down on the time it takes to make it and have added a few new ingredients. You can really jazz up the amount of whole grains you use by simply substituting the grains and seeds you prefer. It is an easy recipe with very consistent results.  Oh ~ and it freezes and thaws very nicely without tasting “frozen”. To freeze: allow the bread to completely cool after baking, then slice into ½ thick slices and put in a thick plastic bag and put in the freezer.  Give it a try ~ I am confident you and your family will enjoy the finished product!  This recipe makes about three 1 ¾ lb loaves or quite a few little loaves and dinner rolls.

Ingredients:

3 cups warm water

1 ½ Tablespoons instant yeast

1/3 cup granulated sugar (may substitute honey)

1/3 cup honey (may use 2/3 c. honey and NO sugar if desired)

1/3 cup canola or veggie oil of choice

1 to 2 Tablespoons of butter

Dry ingredients:

1 Tablespoon kosher salt

1½ Tablespoons “Vital Wheat” gluten

½ cup rolled oats

3 c. white whole wheat (Prairie Gold White Whole Wheat Flour)

2 c. red whole wheat – (red is just regular whole wheat flour)

¼ cup whole flax seed

1 ½ Tablespoon ground flax seed

1 Tablespoon black/blue poppy seeds

1 Tablespoon chia seeds

1 Heaping Tablespoon hulled raw pumpkin seeds (pepita’s)

3-4 cups all-purpose flour (King Arthur’s Unbleached All-Purpose)

Notes:  You can purchase the Vital Wheat Gluten and chia seeds, poppy seeds, flax seeds, pepita’s – hulled pumpkin seeds, and other grains at Dixie Nutrition, Natural Grocers, and at any health and nutrition store.  I like the addition of the flax to the bread as it is really good for you and adds a nice chewy texture to the bread as does the poppy, chia seeds, and pepita’s.  I used 1/3 c.sugar and 1/3 c. honey in the recipe, but feel free to use just honey – 2/3 c. honey. Vital Wheat Gluten gives the bread a very nice texture and makes the bread quite a bit lighter, not so typically heavy.  I also used White Whole Wheat Flour and regular hard red whole wheat flour – 3 cups white whole wheat and 2 cups regular red whole wheat flour. I really like combining the “Prairie Gold White Whole Wheat Flour” with the standard hard red wheat flour as it gives the bread a lighter color and less dense texture. Prairie Gold flour is available at Wal-Mart.

Directions:  Place three cups of warm water in your mixing bowl and add the yeast and sugar.  Give the mixture a stir and let the yeast work its magic while you get out the rest of the ingredients.

Place 5 cups of whole wheat flour, the salt, the Vital Wheat Gluten, rolled oats, whole flax seed, ground flax seed, poppy seeds, pepita’s and chia seeds into a bowl and gently mix with a spoon.

Place 3-4 cups of all-purpose flour into a separate bowl and set aside until needed. Add the butter, honey and oil to the yeast mixture and using a dough hook start the mixer blending the ingredients. Slowly add spoonfuls of the first bowl of dry ingredients – whole wheat flour, seeds and grains, etc.

Now start adding the all-purpose flour – about ½ cup at a time.  You may need only 3 or 3 ½ cups flour or you may need all four cups – depends on the weather.  Last week I used 4 cups – today I only used 3 ½ cups. Allow the mixer to knead the bread thoroughly, about 5-7 minutes.  You may also add only a small portion of the all-purpose flour using the mixer and then knead the dough by hand, slowly adding the rest of the flour. When the dough is kneaded, place the dough in a greased bowl and allow to rise until double.

Punch down the dough and remove the dough from the bowl.  Cut the dough into 3-4 pieces for loaves and/or rolls.  Shape the dough pieces into loaves and place in loaf pans.  Let the dough rise again – about an hour, or until double

Pre-heat your oven to 350 degrees.  Place your bread pans of dough in the oven.  Bake for 26 to 30 minutes, depending on your oven, or until the bread is a beautiful golden brown.  You may also use a thermometer:  stick the thermometer into the bread and if it reads 180 to 185 degrees your bread is done. Lisa uses a thermometer to check if her bread is done and her bread comes out perfectly baked every time! When bread is done remove the pans from the oven, let the bread cool down for a couple of minutes and then remove bread from pans and place the bread loaves on cooling racks.  Rub a stick of butter over the top of the crust if you like!

Let’s go do some fabulous multi-grain bread making homework!