Eaters of Wonder Bread
Must be underbred.
So little to eat.
Where's the wheat?
- Roy Blount Jr.
That's precisely the reason why I don't consume commercial breads anymore. When they are labelled whole wheat or multigrain bread, in most of the cases (maybe in all), there is hardly any pure whole wheat let alone other grains. You can only be sure of what you have made and besides, making bread at home is neither tedious nor too time consuming if you plan correctly.
Considering our busy lives nowadays, you can bake your own bread over a span of two days and plan it according to your schedule. Make dough the first day, keep it in the refrigerator and bake the next day whenever time permits.
This multigrain bread is for times when you want a tasty, soft but not entirely a white or a dense whole wheat bread. It's made with a combination of white bread flour and multigrain flour and works perfectly for sandwiches and as toasts to be slathered with home made jam and butter. The crust is deliciously chewy (my favorite part of a bread) and crumb is moist and soft. It has got flavor, tastes whole some and healthy :)
You can use store bought multigrain flour or make your own like I do. For every kg (2.2 pounds) of wholewheat flour, add in 250 grams (9 ounces) each of sorghum flour, finger millet flour and pearl millet flour. You can add in some other flours as well like soya, buckwheat, oats. I do that as well depending on the availability. Store the leftover flour in the fridge or the freezer and it will keep well for a couple of months.
Makes one 2 pound sandwich loaf
Ingredients
320 grams / 11.2 ounces / 2 plus 1/2 cups bread flour.
190 grams / 6.7 ounces / 1 plus 1/2 cups multigrain flour.
20 grams / 0.75 ounce / 1 plus 1/2 tablespoons sugar or honey.
1 plus 1/2 teaspoons salt
1 plus 1/2 teaspoons instant yeast
2 tablespoons oil
320-350 grams / 11-12 ounces / approx 1 plus 1/3 cup water at room temperature.
Method
Click here and follow the steps till the first proofing stage. Once you knock back the dough after the initial proofing, press it by hand into a rectangle about 8-10 inches long and 6 inches wide.
Form the dough into a loaf as shown here.
Lightly oil a 8 1/2 by 4 1/2 inch bread pan. Place the shaped dough in the pan, spray or brush with oil and cover with a cling film.
Once the dough is nearly double it's size, preheat the oven to 180 degrees C / 350 degrees F. Bake the bread in the preheated oven until all the sides are evenly browned and it sounds hollow when thumped on the bottom of the bread. If you have a food thermometer, it should register at least 95 degrees C / 190 degrees F when inserted in the centre of the bread.
Once the bread is ready, immediately remove it from the pan and place it on a wire rack to cool completely, preferably overnight. You can rub some butter on the bread as soon as you take it out of the oven for a soft crust. Enjoy fresh, warm and healthy home made mutigrain bread!
Happy Baking!!!
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