Whole wheat breads are an acquired taste, in our opinion. Some people love them, some people learn to love them, and some people (like us) never quite warm up to their bitter, earthy flavors. Enter this new recipe. If you've never really liked whole grain breads but wish you did, you've got to give this recipe a try!
My dad is actually the mastermind behind this recipe. He took the recipe originally published in Artisan Bread in Five Minutes and gradually adapted it to his own tastes over months of baking. His final recipe combines whole wheat, rye, and white flour, along with a handful of cracked grain.
As a long-time disliker of whole wheat bread, I can vouch that this is some good stuff. The bread is sweet and nutty, with a nice texture that falls somewhere between soft and coarse. The white flour gives just enough gluten to help lift the bread and prevent it from becoming too dense. So far we've tried it fresh from the oven, with soup, in sandwiches, and as toast, and it's passed muster every time.
No-Knead Multi-Grain Peasant Bread
Adapted from the Master Recipe from Artisan Bread in Five Minutes Makes 2 loaves1 cup rye flour
1 cup whole wheat flour
1/2 cup cracked wheat, uncooked steel cut oats, sunflower seeds, or other textured grain, seeds, or nuts
4 cups white all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon yeast
3 1/4 cups (26 ounces) room temperature water
In a large bowl, mix together all the flours, salt, and yeast. Stir in the water to form a thick, gloppy batter. (If your yeast needs to dissolve in water before being added, do this in a separate bowl before combining with the flours.)
Cover the bowl and let it sit at room temperature for 8 hours or overnight. If necessary, you can refrigerate the dough after this fermentation period for up to a week. Refrigerating for a few hours also helps make the dough easier to work with and improves the flavor.
When ready to shape and bake the loaves, sprinkle your work surface with a little flour. Turn the cold dough out onto the counter and divide it in two equal pieces. Sprinkle the dough with a little more flour and shape them into round loaves or sandwich loaves, as desired. Cover and let the loaves rise for about 1.5 - 2 hours at room temperature, until nearly doubled in bulk.
A half hour before baking, preheat the oven to 450°. Put a pan in the bottom of the oven to preheat as well. If you're baking round loaves, set a baking stone on the middle rack while the oven is heating.
When the loaves have risen, quickly cut 1/2-inch slashes in the top with a serrated knife and set them in the oven. Pour a half cup of water into the pan at the bottom of the oven and close the oven door.
Bake for 30-35 minutes, until the loaves are dark brown, sound hollow when tapped on the bottom, and the interior registers 190° on an instant-read thermometer. Allow to cool fully on a rack before slicing and eating.
Related: No-Knead Bread Hack: Making a Sandwich Loaf Instead
(Images: Emma Christensen)
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This makes awesome toast. I can vouch for this personally.
I have modified a bread-maker recipe to make a delicious 7 grain loaf. I mix it in the bread maker but remove it after the dough cycle to bake it myself.
1 2/3 c water, 3 T powdered milk, 2 T olive oil. 2 T honey, 2 t salt, 3 1/2 c flour, 1 c 7 grain cereal, 1 1/4 t BM yeast. Let rise and then bake at 375 degrees for 35 minutes.
It is low fat and high fiibre. The honey taste is a wonderful treat and it toasts up beautifully. Check out my other bread recipes at www.foodmusings.ca.
I think the success of this really depends on the whole wheat flour used. I'm a big fan of Canadian Red Fife flour.
The reason you'd like this if you haven't like whole wheat bread before is that this is not whole wheat bread. 33% whole wheat doesn't count...
What I don't understand is how sandwich bread makers make such light, airy 100% whole wheat. I have never had a homemade loaf of 100% whole wheat, no matter how good, that had that lightness.
search mark bitman of the NY Times there is a no knead bread I have been making in my dutch oven its idiot proof and you can substitute with whole wheat flour.
I use and swear by this 100% ww bread recipe: http://www.thenewhomemaker.com/wholewheatbread1 It is gorgeous, light and fluffy. Two things are important to getting a good, chewy crumb with fine holes: 1 gluten in the flour - add in a 1/4 to 1/2 C of vital wheat gluten to double loaf recipes (using 4/5 Cups of flour), and 2 kneading. You have to knead bread to activate the gluten which is what gives that fantastic crumb reminiscent of French bread.
I'm starting to make everything with sourdough now and keep a local 100% ww starter and bake it into ww loaves. I have no problems at all with density or dry crumb.
This sounds terrific and want to try it on my children who won't touch anything but the white bread from this great book. Can you confirm the yeast quantity in this recipe though? The original recipe calls for 1 1/2 TABLESPOONS yeast to 6 cups of flour. Thanks.
@pinchdash - Yes, 1/2 teaspoon of yeast for this one. Since the rising time is so long, you don't need more than that!
You can increase the yeast if you want to speed things up and bake bread in just a few hours, but the flavor and texture won't be quite as good as the overnight rise.
HamiltonDoula - thanks for that link! I'm just barely getting into bread-making, and this is extremely helpful! :)
Whole grains taste so much better than the super refined stuff. Thanks for a great post.
I've just posted a recipe for besan/gram flour/chickpea flour with shallots and cauliflower. A perfect Super Food for Super Sunday Snacks at http://www.carolegbert.com.
"When the loaves have risen, quickly cut 1/2-inch slashes in the top with a serrated knife and set them in the oven"
Set them in the oven on what? A baking stone? On an oiled sheet?
@ Lucers - If you're baking a round loaf, set it on a pre-heated baking stone. A baking sheet can work if you don't have a stone, but check the bottom for burning. Once the crust is set, you can take it off of the sheet and finish the baking directly on the rack.
If you're making a sandwich loaf, you can set the pan on the rack.
I have been making this recipe the last two weeks and love it. Once time, instead of the seeds, I used pecans, golden raisins, and slightly crushed fennel seeds. It was a delicious breakfast bread with honey and butter.
Bleached or unbleached white AP flour?
In the book's recipe, that makes a difference.
I made this during the big East Coast snowstorm. The first loaf, which I baked the morning after the eight-hour rise, was absolutely delicious. I waited a few days to make the second loaf, in the spirit of Five Minutes a Day to. . . and it was not as good. It did not rise as well, and the crust was not as good. But, this is a keeper recipe, and I will make it again.
I used the unbleached white flour - I don't think it would have made a difference if I had used bleached.
Made this over the weekend, with 2 cups whole wheat/3 cups white. 1/4 cup oats and 1/4 cup quinoa. Amazingly good. May never buy bread again.
I've honestly never heard of people thinking whole wheat bread is bitter/earthy in flavor... this recipe looks great though
Beautiful pictures, real nice recipe! Will try it out!
This may be a silly question, but I can make this in my dutch oven as I would other no knead breads? And if so, do I still do the water-in-the-pan trick?