Did you know that you can make the perfect whole grain breads at home by simply substituting a part of the flour in your whole grain blend mix? Yes, it is that simple. All you need to do is adjust the quantity of liquid used. You don’t need to scout around for bread recipes to do so. All you need is a store bought whole grain blend. By mixing equal quantities of white flour and whole grains together you can produce lighter colored bread with a high fiber and nutrient content.
Here are a couple of things you can add to whole grain blend.
Cracked grains – Cracked grains give a nice chewy texture to the bread. If you want a smooth uniform texture, go for finely chopped cracked grains.
Rolled grain blends – This consists of a nutritional mixture of barley, wheat, oats, rye and more. Adding rolled grain to your blend will create the ultimate health food.
Whole seeds and nuts – These include flax, sesame, poppy, pumpkin and more. When combined they add an excellent flavor to the bread.
Whole grain berries – If you want your bread to have a chewy texture, use whole grain berries made out of wheat. Bear in mind that the whole grain berries should not be too hard. In order to soften them, you could either cook them for about half an hour or soak them overnight.
Now that you are familiar with how to enrich your whole grain bread recipes, you can start out by experimenting with your own ingredients. The following is a recipe that you can use as a base for future bread preparations.
Basic whole grain bread recipe:
Ingredients
• 2 cups of rolled grain cereal mix
• 2 1/3rd cups of water
• 3 tablespoons of honey
• 7 grams packet of instant yeast
• 5 cups of high protein bread flour
• 1 teaspoon of salt
• 2 tablespoons of softened butter
• ½ cup of Baker’s Dry Milk
Method:
Grease two bread pans. Pour the grain blend, water and yeast into a large mixing bowl. Now add the dry milk and the honey together to the mix. When the dough starts coming together, add half of the flour as well as the salt and butter. Continue adding flour to the mixture at regular intervals and mix vigorously until the mixture becomes a soft dough ball. Using a dough hook beat the mixture at medium speed for about 5 minutes. The resultant dough should be soft and elastic and not too sticky to the touch. Now place the dough in the prepared greased bowl and cover it with baking paper and allow it to rise. Deflate the dough by gently folding it and releasing the air. Using a knife, divide the dough into two pieces. Shape the dough into a cylinder with your hands by pulling the center and tucking it into the seams. Now cover the dough using a plastic wrap or bag and let it double up. This would take about an hour to do so. Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 350 degrees. When the oven is ready, place both loaves inside it, allowing enough room in between for the air to circulate. Bake the loaves for about 40 minutes till they are both well browned. Once done, remove them from the pan and allow them to cool on a wire rack.
