Soft Grain Bread Recipes

SOFT WHITE BREAD

Steps:

• Place the warm water and sugar in a large bowl and sprinkle the yeast on top. Set aside for 5 minutes to allow the yeast to proof.
• Add the butter and 2 cups of the flour, and beat on medium speed for 3 minutes.
• Stir in an additional 1 1/4 to 1 3/4 cups of flour, along with the salt, mixing until the dough gathers itself into a ball and pulls away cleanly from the sides of the bowl.
• Continue to knead, adding an additional 1/2 to 3/4 cup flour, until the dough is smooth and elastic (about 10 minutes).
• Place the dough in a large greased bowl, and cover loosely with plastic wrap. Allow it to rise in a warm place until doubled in size (30 to 45 minutes).
• Lightly mist a 5 cup loaf pan with non-stick spray.
• Punch down the dough and shape it into a loaf.
• Place the dough in the prepared pan, cover it loosely with greased plastic wrap, and allow it to rise in a warm place until doubled in size (30 to 45 minutes).
• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
• Uncover the dough and bake for 40 to 45 minutes, or until the loaf sounds hollow when lightly tapped.

SOFT SPENT GRAIN SANDWICH BREAD

Steps:

• Stir all ingredients together.
• Let sit at room temperature, loosely covered, for 12-16 hours
• Mix all the ingredients together in a big old bowl or in the bowl of your stand mixer.
• Cover loosely, and let stand until very bubbly on top and almost doubled in volume, about 4-5 hours.
• Dump the rest of the ingredients in with your sponge. Start with the lesser amount of water.
• Mix until the dough comes together, adding water if necessary. The resulting dough should be smooth, only slightly sticky and fairly extensible.
• Once the dough is mixed, knead by hand for a good 15 minutes or for about 7 minutes on medium-low speed on the stand mixer.
• Shape dough into a smooth ball and put right back in your bowl. Brush the top with olive oil and cover.
• Let the dough rise in a warmish place until doubled in bulk, about 3-3 1/2 hours.
• Evenly press the gases out of the dough, fold it over on itself several times, and divide the dough into two equal parts. Each of my loaves scaled at 21.7 ounces, but yours will vary depending on how much water you ended up adding.
• Shape each half into a rectangle and then roll up, tucking the ends of the cylinder you've just made under.
• Place the dough, seam side down, in lightly sprayed bread pans. Mine were 4 1/2" by 8 1/2".
• Let the dough rise until almost doubled in bulk, another 1 1/2-2 hours. Preheat the oven to 375F.
• Brush the loaves evenly with the egg wash. You can slash the tops of the loaves with an oiled razor or just leave them alone.
• Bake on the lowest rack for about half an hour, or until the internal temperature of the bread is around 205F and the loaf sounds hollow when you thump it.
• Let the loaves cool on wire racks for at least an hour before slicing and devouring.

SOFT & EASY 10 GRAIN SANDWICH BREAD RECIPE

Steps:

• Combine multi-grain cereal and 1 cup of water in a small pan. Cook over medium-low heat, covered, for 10 minutes, or until soft.
• Remove from heat and stir in butter until melted then add the remaining 1 cup of water, honey, and salt. Cool to lukewarm (Use cold water to speed this process).
• In a mixer combine the 2 cups of whole wheat flour, yeast, cereal mixture and eggs. Beat at low speed 1 minute, scraping bowl, then beat at high speed 2 minutes.
• Using a dough hook (or by hand), stir in 3 cups unbleached flour to make a soft dough.
• Knead with hook 3 minutes (or by hand 5-8 minutes), using remaining flour, if needed. (NOTE: don't add too much flour at this point when using the 2 cups whole wheat - the dough will still look sticky on bottom and sides of mixing bowl, but will not be sticky to the touch.*)
• Place in a greased bowl, turning to grease all sides. Cover and let rise until double, 1 to 1 ¼ hours.
• Punch down and turn out onto a lightly floured surface. Divide in half, cover and let rest 5 minutes.
• Shape into 2 loaves and place in 9x4-in pans. Cover and let rise in warm place until doubled, 45 to 60 minutes.
• Combine the egg yolk with 1 Tb. water and brush on tops of loaves. Sprinkle with sesame or poppy seeds.
• Bake at 375 degrees for 30-35 minutes. Turn out of pans and let cool completely on racks before slicing.

SOFT MULTIGRAIN BREAD

Steps:

• Place cereal mix in a large heatproof bowl (you can also use the bowl of your stand mixer). Pour boiling water on top. Let the mixture cool until a digital thermometer reads about 110°F (43°C). This usually takes 20 minutes. Pay attention to the temperature because if it's too hot, it will kill the yeast. If it became too cool, however, it's not a problem- the dough may just take a few extra minutes to rise.
• Whisk the yeast, sugar, and all of the warm water/cereal mixture in the bowl of your stand mixer fitted with a dough hook or paddle attachment. Cover and allow to sit for 5-10 minutes or until foamy and bubbly on the surface.
• Add the butter, salt, and 1 cup (about 130g) flour. Beat on low speed for 30 seconds, scrape down the sides of the bowl with a rubber spatula, then add another cup of flour. Beat on medium speed until relatively incorporated (there may still be chunks of butter). Add all of the remaining flour and the seeds/nuts (if using), then beat on medium speed until the dough comes together and pulls away from the sides of the bowl, about 2 minutes. If it seems too sticky, add more flour, 1 Tablespoon at a time until it begins to pull away from the sides of the bowl. *If you do not own a mixer, you can mix this dough with a large wooden spoon or rubber spatula. It will take a bit of arm muscle!*
• Keep the dough in the mixer (and switch to the dough hook if you used the paddle) and beat for an additional 2 minutes OR knead by hand on a lightly floured surface for 2 minutes. Dough is soft, yet heavy.
• Lightly grease a large bowl with olive oil or nonstick spray. Place the dough in the bowl, turning it to coat all sides in the oil. Cover the bowl with aluminum foil, plastic wrap, or a clean kitchen towel. Allow the dough to rise in a relatively warm environment for 1-2 hours or until double in size. (I always let it rise on the counter. Takes about 2 hours. For a tiny reduction in rise time, see my answer to Where Should Dough Rise? in my Baking with Yeast Guide.)
• Grease a 9×5 inch loaf pan.
• When the dough is ready, punch it down to release the air. Lightly flour a work surface, your hands, and a rolling pin. Roll the dough out into a large rectangle, about 8×15 inches. It does not have to be perfect- in fact, it will probably be rounded on the edges. That's ok! Roll it up into an 8 inch log and place in the prepared loaf pan.
• Cover shaped loaf with aluminum foil, plastic wrap, or a clean kitchen towel. Allow to rise until it's about 1-2 inches above the top of the loaf pan, about 1 hour. (See photo above for a visual.)
• Adjust oven rack to a lower position and preheat oven to 350°F (177°C). (It's best to bake the bread towards the bottom of the oven so the top doesn't burn.)
• Bake for 35-40 minutes- if you notice the top browning too quickly during bake time, loosely tent the pan with aluminum foil. How to test for doneness- give the loaf a light tap. If it sounds hollow, it's done. For a more accurate test, the bread is done when an instant read thermometer reads the center of the loaf as 195°F-200°F (90°C-93°C).
• Remove from the oven and allow bread to cool for a few minutes before slicing and serving. Feel free to let it cool completely before slicing, too.
• Cover leftover bread tightly and store at room temperature for 2-3 days or in the refrigerator for up to 10 days.

RUSTIC MULTI-GRAIN BREAD

Steps:

• In a large bowl, combine 2 cups all-purpose flour, whole wheat flour, rye flour, sugars, yeast and salt. In a small saucepan, heat the milk, water and oil to 120°-130°. Add to dry ingredients; beat until smooth. Stir in enough remaining all purpose flour to form a soft dough. , Turn onto a floured surface; knead until smooth and elastic, about 6-8 minutes. Place in a greased bowl, turning once to grease top. Cover and let rise in a warm place until doubled, about 1 hour. , Punch dough down. Turn onto a lightly floured surface; divide into four pieces. Roll each into a 15-in. rope. Twist two ropes together; pinch ends to seal. Repeat with remaining dough. Place in two greased 9x5-in. loaf pans. Cover and let rise until doubled, about 45 minutes. , Bake at 375° for 30-35 minutes or until golden brown. Remove from pans to wire racks to cool.

SOFT WHEAT BREAD

Steps:

• Place all ingredients in the order listed into a bread machine. Use the dough setting and let the machine do all the kneading. My machine mixes everything, lets the dough rest, then rekneads, then rises. Takes about an hour and a half.
• Once the machine beeps, punch the dough down and remove to a lightly floured surface. I lightly kneaded and then shaped into a loaf. Place in a greased bread pan and put someplace to rise for an hour. I used my oven and just didn't turn it on. Removed from the oven after an hour.
• Heat oven to 325 and bake in the center of oven for 30 minutes.
• Remove from oven and rub a tablespoon of butter all over top crust. Allow to initially cool by placing pan on a rack. Then turn the pan on its side and the loaf will come right out (as long as you thoroughly greased the pan that is).
• I was not able to let the loaf fully cool -- as I must have the end piece while still warm :) My bread knife sliced it perfect and it held its shape anyways.