Whole Grain Morning Loaf Recipes

WHOLE-GRAIN MORNING LOAF

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Coat a 10-by-5-inch loaf pan with cooking spray. Wrap apple in paper towels; squeeze out liquid.
• Whisk together the flours, wheat bran, wheat germ, baking soda, spices, and salt.
• Stir together apple, yogurt, applesauce, honey, eggs, and vanilla with a rubber spatula in a large bowl. Fold in flour mixture. Fold in dates and nuts. Pour into pan. Sprinkle with flaxseed.
• Bake until a cake tester comes out clean, 50 to 55 minutes. Let cool in pan on a wire rack 15 minutes. Unmold.

WHOLE-GRAIN ARTISAN FREE-FORM LOAF

Steps:

• In bowl of a 14-cup food processor with dough attachment, or heavy-duty stand mixer with paddle, combine whole wheat flour, all-purpose flour, yeast, salt and wheat gluten. Add 4 cups lukewarm (100 degrees) water and mix just until well blended, about 2 minutes; dough will be very wet and loose.
• Transfer dough to a container with a slightly vented lid, or a bowl covered loosely with plastic wrap. Allow dough to rise at room temperature until it begins to collapse, about 2 hours; longer rising times (even overnight) will not harm dough. After rising, cover securely and refrigerate, and use dough over the next 14 days. Do not punch down or knead dough at any time.
• To bake: Prepare a baking peel by sprinkling liberally with cornmeal, or line a large baking sheet with parchment paper. Tear off a 1-pound (grapefruit-size) mass of dough, and dust very lightly with flour. Quickly shape into a ball, stretching surface so that it is smooth. Stretch ball gently to elongate it, and place on baking peel. Cover loosely with plastic wrap and set aside to rest for 90 minutes for refrigerated dough, or 40 minutes for fresh unrefrigerated dough.
• Thirty minutes before baking, heat oven to 450 degrees with a baking stone placed on middle rack, and an empty broiler tray on a lower rack or bottom of oven. Just before baking, use a pastry brush to paint top of loaf with water. Sprinkle with seeds if desired. Slide loaf onto pizza peel or place on baking pan and put in oven. Quickly pour 1 cup hot water into broiler tray in oven, and close door. Bake until richly browned and firm to touch, about 30 minutes; adjust baking times as needed for larger or smaller loaves. For best texture, allow bread to cool before serving.

MULTIGRAIN LOAF (BY THE CANADIAN LIVING TEST KITCHEN)

Steps:

• Preparation:
• Starter: In large bowl, dissolve sugar in warm water. Sprinkle in yeast; let stand until frothy, about 10 minutes. Stir in flour, stirring until mixture is consistency of thick pancake batter, about 2 minutes. Cover with plastic wrap; let stand in warm place until bubbly and puffy, and wheaty aroma develops, 8 to 12 hours.
• Stir in 3-1/4 cups (800 mL) of the flour, warm water, honey and salt to make soft sticky dough.
• Turn out onto generously floured surface; knead, dusting with as much of the remaining flour as necessary to prevent sticking, until smooth and elastic, about 8 minutes. Form into ball; place in greased bowl, turning to grease all over. Cover dough with plastic wrap; let rise in warm place until doubled in bulk, 1 to 1-1/2 hours.
• Grease 9- x 5-inch (2 L) loaf pan; set aside.
• Punch down dough. Shape into ball; cover and let rest for 10 minutes. Press into 11- x 8-inch (28 x 20 cm) rectangle. Starting at short end, roll up into cylinder; pinch along bottom and ends to seal. Fit, seam side down, into prepared pan. Cover with clean tea towel and let rise in warm place until doubled in bulk, 1 to 1-1/2 hours.
• Topping: Dust top of loaf with flour. Slash top lengthwise down centre, starting and ending about 1 inch (2.5 cm) from edges of pan. Bake in centre of 375°F (190°C) oven until instant-read thermometer registers 215°F (102°C) and loaf is golden and sounds hollow when tapped on bottom, 50 to 60 minutes. Transfer to rack; let cool.
• Additional Information
• Variations
• Unbleached White Loaf:
• Replace multigrain bread flour with unbleached white bread flour. Replace buckwheat honey with mild liquid honey.
• Whole Wheat Loaf:
• Replace multigrain bread flour with whole wheat bread flour.