FM's Multigrain Bread

I've written before about my love for Great Harvest Bread Co..
I told you that one of my favorites is their Nine Grain loaf. It's made with a mix of hard red wheat, soft white wheat, rye, barley, corn, millet, oats, flax, and buckwheat. It is hearty and moist, with a great nutty flavor to it. I could eat an entire loaf in one sitting if I let myself! The other day I was standing in the grocery store and happened to walk through the organic section which has a shelf of different flours and grains. A bag of barley flour caught my eye, which reminded me of my beloved Nine Grain bread and I decided that I should try experimenting with some of the different grains in my weekly bread making. I grabbed the bag of barley flour, as well as a bag of wheat bran and flaxseed meal and threw them into my cart.
Yesterday I rolled up my sleeves and pulled out my ingredients, thought for a minute, and then got to work. The dough I created was nice and elastic with a bit of texture from the different grains.
I let the dough rise twice--the first rise done in an oiled bowl, and the second after the dough had been shaped and placed into a loaf pan.
Then the dough went into the oven for 40 minutes until it was a nice golden brown color and tapping on the top of the loaf produced a nice hollow sound. I let the bread cool for about 10 minutes in the pan and then turned it out onto a wire rack to finish cooling.
The bread smelled so good however, that I was unable to wait much longer for it to cool. I sliced off a piece while it was still quite hot and slathered it generously with butter.
The verdict? Mmmmmm...delicious! It embodied many of the qualities that I love so much in the Nine Grain bread--hearty and moist with a nice texture and nuttier flavor.
After the bread had cooled I sliced off another piece and toasted it this time. It was equally fabulous toasted. The only thing I wish I'd been able to do differently was add sunflower seeds, but I didn't realize I didn't have any until I had already started mixing up the ingredients!

FM's Multigrain Bread
Makes 1 loaf

1 1/2 cups water
1 Tbsp. sugar
2 1/4 tsp. active dry yeast (1/4 oz. packet)
3 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup barley flour
1/2 cup wheat bran
2 Tbsp. flaxseed meal
1 1/4 tsp salt
3/4 tsp balsamic vinegar
Oil for bowl

1. Pour water into a large microwave-safe bowl and heat to 120 degrees Fahrenheit (you can test it with your finger: it should be hot, but not so hot that you can't keep your finger in it). Stir in the sugar, then add yeast. Let sit a few minutes until foamy.

2. Add 2 1/2 cups of the all-purpose flour, the barley flour, wheat bran, flaxseed meal, salt, and vinegar to the yeast mixture and mix well with a wooden spoon.

3. Add the last 1 cup of flour and stir in as much as possible. Turn out onto lightly floured surface and knead for 5 minutes. The dough will be smooth and elastic, not sticking to your hands (but maybe sticking slightly to the counter).

4. Oil the bowl and place the dough in it, rolling it in the oil. Cover lightly with plastic wrap and let rise until it doubles in size, about one hour.

5. Punch down the dough and shape into a loaf. Place in a greased loaf pan and cut 2 or 3 slashes on the top with a sharp knife. Cover again lightly with plastic wrap. Let rise one hour.

6. Heat oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit. Bake for 40 minutes, or until crust is golden brown.

7. Let cool in pan for 10 minutes, then turn out onto a wire rack and let cool completely.


Coming Tomorrow: Giveaway of a FM favorite!