We sell lots of multi-grain bread. No wonder. Bits of wheat, barley, oats, and other grains make for great bread adding flavor, nutrition, and a wonderful chewy texture. Now you can make your own multi-grain or cracked wheat bread. It’s easy. Start with your favorite recipe and alter it with a whole grain mixture. Here’s how.
A quick perusal of your baker’s shelves will tell you how popular multi-grain bread is. But it’s not hard to bake—you can make your own. You can use any recipe and add the cracked grain mixture though traditionally, a whole wheat recipe is used. The following instructions and recipe will tell you how.
With most cereal mixes, 1/3 cup to 6 tablespoons of cereal per loaf is about the right ratio. If you want soft cereal bits in your bread, soak the cereal for an hour in hot water before starting the bread. It’s not necessary but a nice touch. If you are baking bread in your bread machine on a three hour cycle, the long cycle will tend to soften the grains without pre-soaking.
Because both the bran in the whole wheat and flour and the sharp edges of cereal tend to cut the gluten strands as they develop, a couple tablespoons of added gluten is a good idea. Always use a quality, high-protein content bread flour. Your bread will never be better than the flour that you use.
