Multi- Grain Bread

This loaf packs in just about every grain you can fit into a bread dough: whole wheat flour, rye flour, cracked wheat, 7-grain cereal, wheat germ, bran, and sunflower seeds. It’s dense with texture and nutrition, and the molasses gives it a dark, earthy sweetness that ties all those grains together.

The cracked wheat and 7-grain mixture get a head start by soaking in boiling water with the molasses and oil. This softens the hard grains so they don’t stay crunchy in the finished bread and releases their starches, which helps bind the dough. Let that mixture cool completely to room temperature before combining with the other ingredients or you’ll kill the yeast on contact.

The bread machine handles the kneading (two cycles), but the baking happens in the oven in regular loaf pans. That gives you better crust development and a more traditional shape than the machine’s tall, cylindrical loaf. After the second knead, divide the dough, shape into two loaves, and let them rise until doubled.

Kitchen Tips

• All ingredients must be at room temperature before mixing. Cold ingredients slow the yeast dramatically in a heavy dough like this
• The dough will feel heavier and stickier than white bread dough. That’s normal with this many whole grains
• Check the loaves at 35 minutes. They should sound hollow when tapped on the bottom
• Slice thin. This bread is dense and a thick slice can be overwhelming

Variations

• Swap molasses for honey for a milder, lighter flavor as the recipe suggests
• Add flax seeds or chia seeds to the grain soak for extra nutrition
• Roll the tops in rolled oats before the final rise for a rustic bakery-style finish