Whole grain flavor is so much better than whole wheat
- I know carbs are uncool these days and we have readers here who are pretty divided about whether they want to shun carbs completely or if they want two or three bread recipes a week.
- This time anyhow, we're going to make the latter group happy.
- I figured if I was going to have a second helping of bread this week, I'd have to make it just a bit healthier. Carbs, but whole grain carbs.
- This bread is just a tiny bit sweet from the honey and it tastes great toasted, but it's perfect for sandwiches as well as just as a snack bread. My carnivores tell me it tastes good with meats as well, so this is a perfect bread for all your needs.
- There's lot of fiber in this one so it's really kind of good for you.
- By the way, I've been playing a lot with the Hipstamatic app on my phone and got this great antique-looking shot of today's bread.
- Honey Multigrain Bread
- 4 1/2 teaspoons of yeast
- 2 1/4 cups of warm water
- 5 tablespoons of honey
- 4 tablespoons of unsalted butter, melted
- 3 cups of whole wheat flour
- 1 cup of milled flax seeds
- 1 cup of flour
- 4 teaspoons of coarse salt
- 1/3 cup of bulgur
- 1/2 cup of rolled oats
- 1/2 cup of flaxseeds
- 1 egg white
- Soak the bulgur in 1/2 cup warm water for 20 minutes.
- Sprinkle the yeast over another 1/2 cup of water. Add 2 teaspoons of the honey. Whisk all of this until the yeast dissolves. Let the mix stand until it's foamy.
- Put it all in a bowl and add butter and the remaining 1 1/2 cups of water and 3 tablespoons of the honey. Whisk the flour with the salt. Add 3 cups of the mixture to yeast.
- Use a mixer at low speed to combine all of this until smooth. Mix the soaked bulgur, the rolled oats, and the flaxseeds all together into the batter. Add the remaining 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 this dough on a floured surface until smooth and elastic but still tacky. Shape the dough into a ball. Transfer it to the buttered bowl and cover.
- Let the 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 x 8 1/2-inch loaf pans. Punch down the dough and divide in half.
- Fit the dough into the loaf pans. Brush the tops of the loaves with beaten egg white mixed with water and sprinkle them with the oats.
- Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Bake for 45 minutes, rotating the pans in the oven after 20 minutes.
- Transfer the baked loaves to wire racks and let them cool a bit before turning the loaves out of the pans.
Vegetarian.
