This bread is incredible. It is soft and fluffy on the outside with just enough crispy crust on the outside. I found the seven-grain hot cereal mix at Winco in the bulk section. You can also look in the cereal isle near the oatmeal. Just make sure you are buying hot cereal mix. Bob's Red Mill and Arrowhead Mills are two brands to look for.
Multigrain Bread
1 1/4 cup (6 1/4 ounces) seven-grain hot cereal mix
2 1/2 cups boiling water
3 cups (15 oz) all-purpose flour (not bread flour)
1 1/2 cups (8 1/4 oz) whole wheat flour
1/4 cup honey
4 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted and cooled*
2 1/2 teaspoons instant or rapid-rise yeast
1 tablespoon salt
Optional (I omitted): 3/4 cup unsalted pumpkin seeds or sunflower seeds
1/2 cup (1 1/2 oz) old-fashioned rolled oats or quick oats
*If you’re using salted butter, just decrease the additional salt by just a bit.
Instructions
Place cereal mix in bowl of stand mixer fitted with dough hook and pour
boiling water over it; let stand, stirring occasionally, until mixture
cools to 100 degrees and resembles thick porridge, about 1 hour. Whisk
flours together in separate bowl.
Once grain mixture has cooled, add honey, butter, and yeast and mix
on low speed until combined. Add flour mixture, 1/2 cup at a time, and
knead until cohesive mass starts to form (*note: some at high altitudes
have noted they have not needed all of the flour, go by look and feel
and stop adding flour if you need to!) 1 1/2-2 minutes; cover bowl
tightly with plastic wrap and let dough rest for 20 minutes. Add salt
and knead on medium-low speed until dough clears sides of bowl, 3-4
minutes (if it does not clear sides, add 2-3 tablespoons additional
all-purpose flour and knead until it does. Don’t add more!) continue to
knead dough for 5 more minutes. Add seeds (if using) and knead for
another 15 seconds. Transfer dough to lightly floured counter and knead
by hand until seeds are dispersed evenly and dough forms smooth, round
ball.
Place dough in large, lightly greased bowl; cover tightly with
plastic and let rise at room temperature until nearly doubled in size,
45-60 minutes.
Grease two 9×5 inch loaf pans. Transfer dough to lightly floured
counter and divide in half. Press 1 piece of dough into 9×6 inch
rectangle, with short side facing you. Roll dough toward you into firm
cylinder, keeping roll taut by tucking it under itself as you go. Turn
loaf seam side up and pinch it closed. Repeat with second piece of
dough. Spray loaves lightly with water or vegetable oil spray. Roll
each loaf in oats to coat evenly and place seam side down in prepared
pans, pressing gently into corners. Cover loaves loosely with greased
plastic and let rise at room temperature until nearly doubled in size
30-40 minutes. Dough should barely spring back when poked with knuckle.
Thirty minutes before baking, adjust oven rack to middle position and
heat oven to 375 degrees. Bake until loaves register 200 degrees,
35-40 minutes. Transfer pans to wire rack and let cool for 5 minutes.
Remove loaves from pans, return to rack, and let cool to room
temperature, about 2 hours, before slicing and serving.
Storage: Bread can be wrapped in double layer of plastic wrap and
stored at room temperature for up to 3 days. Wrapped with additional
layer of foil, bread can be frozen for up to a month.
For those without a stand mixer, Cook’s Illustrated recommends:
“Stir wet and dry ingredients together with a stiff rubber spatula until
the dough comes together and looks shaggy. Transfer the dough to a
clean counter and knead by hand to form a smooth, rough ball, 15-25
minutes, adding additional flour, if necessary, to prevent the dough
from sticking to the counter. Proceed with recipe as directed.”
Recipe Source: Cook's Illustrated
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