Whole Wheat Seed Bread

Bake your own breakfast bread with whole wheat flour and 8 types of seeds in under 3 hours! Perfect recipe if this is your first time baking bread :)

I never thought I would bake bread, let alone come up with a recipe that my family and guests love having for breakfast every week. Five years ago, I would pick any loaf from the grocery store that seemed healthy with labels reading whole wheat, multigrain, sprouted etc. .

One day, I picked up a whole wheat raisin-cinnamon loaf which quickly became my go-to bread for making sandwiches for breakfast. About an year ago, I ordered a sandwich in a restaurant and loved it so much that I bought their bread. It was fresh and loaded with seeds which gave nice crunch and a whole new taste to the bread.

Watching the whole world bake their own bread during the pandemic, I slowly got into baking with my new stand mixer. I combined both of my favorite breads and came up with this whole wheat cinnamon-flavored seed bread.

I must tell you that this is a 90% whole wheat bread with 10% all purpose flour which prevents the formation of a dense loaf. It is not the lightest of breads, but has a lovely sweet cinnamon flavor and is loaded with raisins, walnuts, dried cranberries, chia seeds, flax seeds, pumpkin seeds, sesame seeds and hemp seeds.

My guests loved it when I served this bread for breakfast and I now make it almost every week. You can make it on a weekend for the week ahead or simply bake it, wrap it in a newspaper, tie with some twine and gift it to someone you care.

WHOLE WHEAT SEED BREAD

Yield 1 loaf

Prep time 30 min

Cook time 30 min

Wait time 90 min

Total time 150 min

INGREDIENTS

2 1/2 cups Whole wheat flour

1/4 cup All purpose flour

2 tsp instant yeast

1 tsp salt

2 tbsp sugar

1/4 tsp cinnamon powder

2 eggs (at room temperature)

1 cup milk (heated to 120 -130 F)

2 tbsp olive oil

1/3 cup dried cranberries

1/3 cup raisins

1/3 cup chopped walnuts

2 tbsp chia seeds

2 tbsp flax seeds

2 tbsp sesame seeds

2 tbsp hemp seeds

2 tbsp pumpkin seeds

Additionally, 1/4 cup of the above seeds for topping

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Into a stand mixer attached with dough hook, add whole wheat flour, all purpose flour, yeast, salt, sugar, cinnamon powder, dried cranberries, raisins, walnuts, chia seeds, flax seeds, sesame seeds, hemp seeds and pumpkin seeds. Mix at low speed for a minute to combine the above ingredients.

2. Heat milk to 120 - 130 F (It took me about a minute and a half in the microwave to bring refrigerated milk to this temperature. But every microwave is different and it's best to use a food thermometer for best results. I use meat thermometer which comes handy when making yogurt, ice-cream etc.). Add the warm milk into the mixer bowl and continue mixing on low speed.

3. Add 1 egg (at room temperature) and olive oil and mix on high for 2 minutes. (If stand mixer is not available, knead the dough with hand for about 10-12 minutes on a floured surface. I haven't tried this recipe by hand kneading but it is said that 2 minutes of stand mixer-kneading is equivalent to ten minutes of hand kneading.

4. Gather the dough, shape it into a rough ball. Place it in the same mixer bowl and cover with a towel. Keep the bowl in a warm place and allow the dough to rise for about 30 minutes. If you live in a cold place like I do, place it in the oven with the light on (do not turn on the oven yet!).

5. Shape the risen dough into a loaf.

6. Prepare egg wash by mixing 2 tbsp of water into a beaten egg. Brush the loaf with egg wash. Sprinkle seed mixture on the top and gently press them so they stick to the loaf.

7. Grease a loaf pan with oil and line with parchment paper. (Cut two large strips of parchment paper and place them along the length and width so that each side has a flap. You can simply lift the flaps to unmold bread later.)

8. Place the dough in the loaf pan and cover it with a towel. Put the pan back in a warm place for a second rise. This takes about 1 hour.

9. Preheat the oven to 375 F and bake the bread for 30 minutes. Allow to cool before removing it from the pan. Cut into slices and enjoy.