Multigrain bread

One thing I have noticed about this new diet is that we've been eating a LOT of bread. And it's not cheap. The good stuff is pricey! And my kids can go through a loaf a day! So, I've decided that I need to get back to basics and start making my own!

I used to make homemade bread all the time. In fact, when I was a teenager, one of my weekly chores was to bake bread for my family for the week. I've gotten out the habit as an adult because it is pretty time consuming, but if I can make large batches, I think it will save us quite a bit. And I will know exactly what is going in to it, so I will have a lot more control over what we are eating.

I made my old recipe a few weeks ago and froze a few loafs. We went through those pretty quick, but I noticed that it was pretty crumbly and a little tough to make sandwiches out of. Plus, the stuff we've been getting at the store is multi-grain, and that's probably better for us, right?

So, I looked for recipes for multigrain bread and came across this one.

The idea of making my own multigrain flour blend was really intriguing, so I decided to try it. 

I used: 

• chia seeds
• flax seeds
• brown rice
• quinoa
• steel cut oats

(You could really use as many different grains as you want!)

I put them in my blender (new!) and put it on the highest setting. It didn't take long before I had about two cups of multigrain "flour". I was impressed. 

I do have a wheat grinder, and I think it would have worked, but it's kind of a pain to get out, and clean, so I just used the blender. It worked.

One of the things we are supposed to avoid is white flour. So, I decided to use whole wheat flour instead. It turned out pretty dense, and didn't rise as much as I thought it would, but I still think it was pretty good. And, I didn't have any vital wheat gluten, so I left that out.

Here's the recipe that I did (I'm not sure about the amounts of each grain I used. I pretty much just put a little of each into the blender):

Homemade Multigrain Bread (makes 2 loaves)

Ingredients:

• 2 cups of your multigrain mix
• 2 3/4 cups boiling water
• 4 Tablespoons coconut oil
• 1/3 cup honey
• 4 1/2 teaspoons yeast
• 4 cups whole wheat flour
• 1 teaspoon salt

In a large bowl (I used by Bosch mixer) mix together multigrain mix and boiling water. Wait for it to cool - about 20 minutes. Mix in coconut oil and honey. Mix in yeast.  (I think next time I will try proofing the yeast ahead of time. It would probably make the bread rise better). Add flour, a 1 cup at a time until not quite sticky. Add salt. Mix (knead) for 5-10 minutes or until smooth. Allow to rise until double. (About 45 minutes) Punch down. Form into loaves and put into greased pans (I used coconut oil). Sprinkle with oats if desired. (I forgot to do this. oops.) Allow to rise until double again. (About 30 minutes). Bake at 375° for 40 minutes.

The taste was actually really good! I had a piece right after it came out of the oven because I couldn't give it to the kids without making sure it was good, right?? And I made a sandwich with it for lunch with a little hummus, some spinach leaves, bell peppers, and tomato slices. Yummy!

And the kids liked it too!

My two loaves - one almost gone!

Close up of the good stuff!