You can make great whole grain breads! Often it's as simple as substituting a whole grain blend for part of the flour in your favorite bread recipe. You may need to adjust the liquid a little but other than that, it can be a straight substitution. If you want a 100% whole grain bread, start with your favorite whole wheat bread recipe. You can make great whole grain breads by starting with a white flour recipe and substituting the whole grains for part of the white flour. The result will be a lighter bread, sometimes an almost white bread, with a high fiber and nutrient content. Of course, you can use part white flour and part whole wheat flour.
2 1/3 cups water at 105 degrees2 cups rolled grain cereal mix- Add 1 ? cups raisins and 2 teaspoons good quality cinnamon. Double the honey.We have not tested this recipe in a
bread machine. If you wish to use your bread machine, cut the recipe in half and use the dough setting.An easy and tasty variation of banana bread is made by adding chocolate chips into the batter. Chocolate taste blends well with bananas and the chips themselves hold their shape in the bread. The only thing you have to remember is to put the chocolate chips just before pouring the mixture into the pans. Adding some chopped walnuts is also a good idea, although it is a bit risky, because in case you decide to go for it you�ll have to be absolutely sure that none of your guests is having a nut allergy.This recipe makes two very nice loaves in 5 x 9-inch bread pans. The loaves weigh about 1 3/4 pounds each.2. Place the dough in a large greased bowl and turn once to oil all sides. Cover the bowl with plastic and let the dough rise until doubled, about one hour.3. Turn the dough onto a lightly greased work area. Deflate the dough by gently folding and pressing most of the air from the dough.- Rolled oats.Another thing you would like to know is that prepared banana bread freezes well also, so when you are next making a loaf, just make some more, pack it tight and freeze it. Afterwards you can use it anytime you decide. It makes a great hostess present to take along when you're invited to somebody�s house. So next time you are out for groceries, get some extra bananas and try preparing a loaf or two of banana bread � it�s easy to make and most people enjoy it. What�s more it�s also easy to have on hand, as it freezes well.So how much do you add? That's matter of preference. We make these breads professionally and for chopped grains, we use as little as 1/3 cup per loaf and for rolled grains, we use a cup or more per loaf.1. Combine the grain blend, the water, and the yeast in the bowl of your stand-type mixer. Add the honey and the dry milk. Add about half of the flour and combine with the dough hook until the dough starts to come together. Add the butter and salt. Add more flour in several additions, beating after each, until a soft dough ball has formed. You should use about five cups of flour. Beat with the dough hook for four minutes at medium speed or until the gluten is developed. The dough should be soft (but not too sticky to handle), smooth, and elastic. Water absorption may vary depending on environmental conditions and the flour you use.6. While the bread is still rising, preheat the oven to 350 degrees.Your choice of chopped or rolled grains will create very different breads. Rolled grains almost disappear leaving tiny flecks of fiber in the bread and a creamy color (if you are using white flour). Rolled whole grains add flavor, texture, and richness to your breads. These breads are chewy and moist, keep exceptionally well, and tend to be less crumbly. Cracked grains add chewy nuggets to your bread but the texture and color tends to be the same.The following recipe is a nice starting point. It has about 30% whole grain blend but is light enough in both texture and color that picky kids will eat it. For those of us that like a little substance to our bread, this fits the bill. This is a delightful bread.5. Cover lightly with greased plastic wrap or place the loaves in a large food-grade plastic bag and set aside to rise until doubled, about one hour. Rise times will vary with conditions, especially temperature--yeast is very sensitive to temperature.Directions1 teaspoon saltNote: Milk contains an enzyme that retards the growth of yeast. High heat treatment destroys that enzyme resulting in taller loaves of bread. High heat treated dry milk can be purchased online.- Cracked grains. If you want chewy nuggets in your bread, choose a coarse chop. If you want the whole grains to blend, use a fine chop. Again these can be bought at natural food stores or online.- Add 3/4 or one cup shelled sunflower seeds. The blend has sunflower seeds in it but at this concentration, it is not many. The seeds will absorb a bit of the moisture so be prepared to reduce the flour slightly.1 teaspoon quality dough conditioner or per producer's recommendation7. When the bread has risen, place the loaves on the center rack of the oven and leave as much room for the air to circulate around the loaves as possible. Bake for 35 to 40 minutes or until the bread is done and well-browned. If you have a probe-type thermometer, the internal temperature should reach 190 degrees. Once baked, immediately remove the loaves from the pans and cool them on a wire rack.And it's simply exciting, what you can add to your bread recipe, items like this:- Instead of two cups grain blend, use four. Reduce the flour by about two cups.You can also use overripe bananas in these recipes and what�s more we often get them cheaper, don�t we? Of course we can freeze some too. Freezing bananas is easy � just peel and mash the amount you need, then put in a plastic bag or an air-tight container and straight into the freezer. Next time you are making banana bread just take the frozen bananas out and put them in the mixture.1 7-gram packet of instant yeast, SAF or equal2 tablespoons butter, softenedUse this recipe as a base recipe for other breads using rolled whole grains. You might try the following combinations, adjusting the flour to make a soft, almost sticky dough of the right consistency.- Instead of white bread flour, use 100% stone ground whole wheat.- Rolled grain blends. Use mixtures of rolled oats, wheat, barley, rye and others. These can be bought at natural food stores or online.- Instead of white bread flour, substitute half white and half stone ground whole wheat.Prepare two bread pans by greasing the inside of the pans including the rims.It is in fact so easy to make banana bread that you can even use your children to help you with it. You can get them to peel and mash the bananas. Then just let them mix the ingredients with their little hands. All the ingredients are soft enough you can leave the mixer standing in its place while the kids are having fun. Another good thing about it is that it�s easy to clean up after making banana bread as the majority of are for one bowl mixtures.4. Divide the dough in two with a knife. Using your hands, form a cylinder by pulling the dough around the center and tucking the seams together on the bottom, thus gently stretching the surface of the dough. Pinch the seams together to keep them from opening as the loaf expands. Place seam side down in a prepared pan and repeat with the second loaf.Ingredients
7. When the bread has risen, place the loaves on the center rack of the oven and leave as much room for the air to circulate around the loaves as possible. Bake for 35 to 40 minutes or until the bread is done and well-browned. If you have a probe-type thermometer, the internal temperature should reach 190 degrees. Once baked, immediately remove the loaves from the pans and cool them on a wire rack.
Author: Dennis Weaver
