Here's a bread I make almost every weekend so we can have something nutritious to snack on when hunger hits.
My multigrain, wholegrain bread is not just divinely healthy, it's also one of the best breads you'll ever taste-- guaranteed. What's more, it is totally versatile. It works beautifully for sandwiches, makes the crunchiest toast you can imagine (the way we like it), and is great even with a topping of nothing but ol' peanut butter and jelly.
Over the past few weeks since I first came up with this recipe, I've tried shaping it all sorts of ways. As two loaves, one loaf, a loaf-shaped loaf, and a round, bulbous loaf. As you can see, I went with the last option this time, but they all work great.
The best part of this bread is, it requires very little rising time-- just two rises of an hour each. So as breads go, this one is quite an efficient guy.
I usually add molasses to the bread which gives it a great taste and a great color. I didn't this time, for no particular reason. It was still wonderful, but if you'd like some added richness do use the molasses which is full of great nutrients like iron, calcium and magnesium, among other things.
I'm going to keep this short, but for more advise on bread baking basics, refer back to this post on how to make the perfect sandwich bread. And find some of my other bread recipes here.
Enjoy, all!
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Multigrain Wholegrain Bread
Ingredients
Instructions
- Mix ¼th cup water with the yeast and set aside to become frothy, about five minutes.
- Mix the remaining cup of water, soymilk, sugar, salt, molasses and oil in a bowl.
- Add the yeast to the soymilk mixture, then add the whole-wheat flour and the vital wheat gluten flour.
- Mix by hand or in a stand mixer until just combined. Then add the buckwheat flour and the rye flour.
- Knead for 10 minutes on low speed or by hand. Keep about ½ to 1 cup of whole-wheat flour on hand to add in case the dough is too sticky. You want a smooth, elastic dough that does not break easily.
- Oil a bowl and place the dough in it, turning it around once to ensure it is coated all over with oil.
- Set aside in a warm place to rise for an hour to 90 minutes.
- Remove the dough from the bowl, punch it down, shape. If you'd like to make it in loaf pans, divide the dough into two halves, tuck the edges under for a smooth top, and place in oiled loaf pans coated with some cornmeal.
- If shaping into a round, single loaf, as I did, place on a cookie sheet lightly greased and sprinkled with cornmeal. Let the loaves rise in a warm place for two hours.
- Bake in a preheated 450-degree oven for 10 minutes. Then turn down the heat to 350 degrees and continue baking for 35 more minutes.
- Remove the loaf to a rack and allow it to cool for at least 15 minutes before unmolding.
**
Update on Lucy
For those of you who've been waiting for news on Lucy, she had her first session of chemotherapy last week. The side effects were minimal, and the site of her amputation has almost healed, so all in all she's doing pretty great.
I'll leave you with a picture of Cannoli, my neighbor's cat. Cannoli has sort of adopted our garden and loves rolling in the mulch. He's even made little mulch angels in the ground! How cute is he?
And here also is a picture of my darling Freddie, diaper and all.
Uma
wow, lovely bread. Perfectly baked. Yum!!
AMA's AnythingVegetarian
Vaishali,I saw a comment from you and before I read it on an impulse I hit the publish .I could not see it in my post though.It contained something about chromepet.Can you repost it.Thanks
Vaishali
Rachana, thanks!
A and N, It's all those grains-- rye in particular gives bread a fantastic color! Also molasses, which I recommend adding, makes the color even richer and more beautiful.
Christine, thanks.
Gita, I'm doing well, thanks for asking dear 🙂 And trust me, although bread-making sounds complicated, with the right ingredients and attention to detail it can be quite a breeze even for a new baker 🙂
Gita Jaishankar
Hi Vaishali,
How are you? I am glad to hear about Lucy. That is one cute Freddie and the cat making angels in the mulch :)...Wow your bread looks perfect, I am still in the process of mastering my skills with bread making 🙁
christine
This is a nice bread. I don't have to imagine the taste, reading the recipe can just give me the whole idea. Thanks for sharing this one. There are also many interesting bread recipe at foodista ) for those people who like baking, you can check out the website and enjoy.
Cheers!
A_and_N
The bread looks great! I love the colour. My breads don't turn this brown.
Is there something I'm missing?
Rachana Kothari
What a gorgeous looking bread 🙂 So healthy and delicious too...
Vaishali
Cool Lassie, thanks!
Richa, welcome and thanks. Glad to meet a fellow animal lover. Kudos for all the great work you're doing with animals.
Chewie sounds cute-- I love the name! Makes me picture a little pom who loves to chew on shoes! 🙂
Priya, Chitchat, thanks!
Lexi, yes, the gluten is vital in this case because otherwise the bread would be too dense and heavy, like a rock. Wholegrain flour usually has less gluten than, say, all-purpose or bread flour, and gluten is what creates the airy structure of the bread.
If you don't want to use vital wheat gluten or don't have access to it, I'd advise substituting about half the flour in the recipe with bread flour.
Amrita, thanks for your prayers-- Lucy and I appreciate it very much! 🙂
AMA, yes, it's a pretty simple recipe and quite easy. Hope you'll try it. 🙂
BangaloreBaker, yes, you read it right-- you do need a cup of vital wheat gluten flour for this recipe. It gives a huge protein boost to the bread because as you know wheat gluten has tons of protein, and it also creates a really great, airy structure for the bread.
Also keep in mind that this is a HUGE bread. 🙂
BangaloreBaker
Vaishali, bread looks awesome. I love cats, so cannoli is so cute to me. I am glad Lucy is doing better. Is this 1 cup vital wheat gluten or typo? I have never seen a recipe which calls for that much gluten in the past 5 years of bread baking. Curious to know.
AMA's AnythingVegetarian
Lovely sight to watch Freddie and Cannoli.I never tried baking bread.This is an easy one to start with I guess.
Amrita
Hey Vaishali, I am one among your readers who has started to scan your every post of late to look for news of Lucy. As the post opens, I wish for happy news and I am very relived to hear today that she has minimal side effects from chemotherapy. All the best to Lucy and the family! Best wishes and prayers.......
Lexi
This looks delicious!
1 question: is the vital wheat gluten absolutely neccessary? I know that it plays a "vital" role normally as a dough conditioner, but I don't have any on hand at the moment :
Ms.Chitchat
Awesome click, was able to visualise the spongy inside. Thanks for the update on Lucy and glad to hear she is coping well.
Priya
Healthy bread to enjoy anytime..
Richa
Hi Vaishali,
I happened upon your blog today and i am in love with it! I am a newbie food blogger.. trying to to turn vegan(i switched from non-v to eggetarian with only ethically raised and pasture fed eggs and milk.) and i love animals !I am a dog foster parent with the humane society and a death row rescue in Seattle! Fostered 5 dogs till date, and found them loving homes! I am so happy that happened upon your blog!
Lots of prayers for Lucy. She will be fine without a leg! i hope all the bad tumor cells go away and never return! Give her a hug from me and Chewie, my pom!
Cool Lassi(e)
A gorgeous looking bread that packs quite a punch with all the wholegrain goodies in it.