Fluffy Homemade Grain Bread

Okay, so I really hadn’t intended to even post this…  But it turned out SO well I had to share.  If you read my original bread post, you might remember that I suggested adding things to the plain bread dough, such as eggs, milk, bread, grains, herbs, spices, and aromatics.  Today I was feeling in a multigrain mood.  I had some gorgeous bulk grains in the cupboard and I just started throwing them in with my dough.  But grain bread tends to turn out heavy and dense, so I decided to combat this density in several ways.

First, I added twice the yeast I normally do to a loaf of bread (and twice the sugar – both to help the yeast feed and for flavor).  Then I added milk, butter, and an egg to the bowl.  I also made good use of my electric stand mixer (gasp!)…  Since I’ve typically found it difficult to hand-knead grain breads, I don’t think I’ve done enough kneading in the past.  This was definitely the time to use some mechanical help in my breadmaking…  I’ve actually been using the stand mixer more, as an experiment, in about half the bread I’ve baked over the last month or so, and found that most of the time it’s more trouble than it’s worth for my regular bread (I also like feeling the texture in my hands, the old fashioned way).  But the stand mixer did such an excellent job with this dough, and it got mixed thoroughly!

The full effect was incredible.  And so worth sharing.  You could really do this with any grains, in any combination, but I’d reccommend keeping the total amount of grain at under 7 tbsp per loaf (the 6 tbsp in my bread was about perfect, but could be added to if you like – much more than an additional tablespoon will be less breadlike and more sconelike in texture).  Soooo…  You have a whole new recipe for bread.  You’re welcome. 🙂

Fluffy Homemade Grain Bread

• 1 tbsp active dry yeast
• 2 tsp dark brown sugar
• 1 1/4 cup warm water
• 1 1/2 tbsp milk
• 1 1/2 tbsp butter
• 1 egg
• 2 – 2 1/2 cups wheat flour
• 1 1/2 – 2 cups white flour
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 1/2 tbsp millet seeds
• 1 1/2 tbsp flax seed
• 3 tbsp wheat berries (because I love wheat berries!)

Soooo…  If you’ve never made bread before, check out my Basic Bread recipe before making this (because I’m just going to gloss over the basics).  Ready?  Let’s bake!

Put the dough hook on your stand mixer.  Put the yeast and sugar in the stand mixer’s bowl and pour the warm water over them.  Let the yeast proof for 7-10 minutes.  Meanwhile, put the milk and butter in a small microwavable bowl and microwave it for between 30 and 45 seconds, stirring to help incorporate the butter.  You want the butter to melt completely, and you want the milk to be warm, but you DON’T want it to be HOT.

After the yeast has finished proofing, add a cup of wheat and a cup of white flour, the salt, the milk and butter, and the egg to the bowl.  Put the mixer on low (2 or 3), and mix until everything is incorporated.  Add the seeds and another cup of wheat flour to the bowl and mix on medium-low (3 or 4) until fully incorporated.  This was all I needed to make a nice smooth dough that was fairly sticky, but you may need to add more flour (especially if it’s a humid day).

Turn up the speed on your electric mixer to medium (5 or 6) and knead your dough for 7-10 minutes.  Your dough may pull away from the sides early and creep up the hook; if it does, take it off and push it down.  You want the hook to stretch and pull the dough, not just roll it around against the side of the bowl.

Once the dough has been kneaded, remove the bowl from the stand and put it in a warm place.  Cover it with a towel and let it rest for 30 minutes.  Shape it and place it in the loaf pan, and preheat the oven to 450 degrees.  Let the bread rise for another 30 minutes and place it in the preheated oven.  Bake it for 20 minutes or until it is golden brown and sounds hollow when thumped.

Beautiful grain bread... What you can't see in this photo is the incredible fluffy texture of the bread itself.

Gorgeous!

Edited on July 1; I hope this won’t repost on your Reader, but I couldn’t NOT fix where I somehow typed that I added milk and “bread” (instead of milk and “butter”) to the dough.  Just…  No.