Multigrain Bread

Soft and tender, this multigrain bread is so delicious, full of many different grains that is perfect for sandwiches and toast.

This multigrain bread has so many different grains and two different flours, honey and butter, so it has extra flavor and texture. The process is quite simple and results in a tender loaf, not dense at all. If you have a stand mixer, there's hardly any work involved at all.

I have my standard recipe for regular white bread, and I love it. It's so simple to make and always comes out so well. I've also wanted to find a good recipe for a whole wheat multigrain bread as well. The problem with most whole wheat recipes is that the bread is so dense and hard, and that's not what I was going for. I also didn't want to be perusing many aisles in several specialty stores looking for all the different grains that the recipe would need. As soon as I gave this recipe from American's Test Kitchen a try, my husband and I were both very pleased with the results and I've been making it for several years now. It's so rewarding to take out a warm and fragrant loaf of bread from the oven, and the smell that wafts throughout the house is amazing.

The bread has whole wheat, rye, barley, oats, triticale and flaxseed grain and additional all purpose flour to make it soft. It's perfect to enjoy with a bowl of soup and sandwiches. My favorite is to use it for all kinds of toast - simply with butter or avocado toast, smoked salmon toast, cream cheese and arugula and so much more. The options are endless.

Ingredients:

Scroll to the bottom of the page for the printable recipe with measurements or use the Jump To Recipe button at the top of the page.

• 5 or 7-grain hot cereal mix (more details about the hot cereal mix below)
• boiling water
• unbleached all-purpose flour
• whole-wheat flour
• honey
• butter
• instant dry yeast
• salt
• old-fashioned rolled oats or quick oats

Hot Cereal/Oatmeal is the secret to great multigrain bread

This multigrain hot cereal mix is the perfect answer to multigrain bread. This 5 grain hot cereal mix has a combination of whole wheat, rye, barley, oats, triticale and flaxseed grain. Sometimes you can also find 7 grain hot cereal mix.

Instead of gathering many different grains and dealing with them all separately, the hot mix cereal gives us a simple solution. Here we have numerous grains and we only have to deal with them once. Isn't it genius? Plus, using the warm and hydrated "oatmeal" makes the bread so soft and tender too.

Multigrain Bread Video

How To Make Multigrain Bread

1. Pour the boiling water over the hot cereal mix and set aside for about an hour, until it cools to approximately 100 degrees Fahrenheit.
   • During that time, the cereal will hydrate and soften, soaking in all that water.
2. Meanwhile, in another large bowl, combine the two flours together.
   • Using half the amount of whole wheat as all purpose flour, will keep the bread nice and soft.
3. Once the cereal has cooled,  add the honey, melted butter and yeast. Mix to combine.
4. Gradually add the flour to the liquid ingredients.
   • In a stand mixer with a dough hook attachment, mix the dough on low speed, slowly adding in the mixed flours. Mix for about 2 minutes, until the dough forms a ball.
   • Add the salt and knead the bread dough for about 7 minutes, until the dough has pulled away from the sides of the bowl.
   • If you've mixed if for 3-5 minutes and it's still sticking to the bowl, add 3 Tablespoons more flour.
5. Set the dough aside, covered, to rise until doubled in size, about 40 minutes.
   • Coat the bowl and the dough in oil, so it's easier to get out of the bowl after it rises.
   • Cover the bowl with plastic wrap or a towel while it's rising so it doesn't dry out.
6. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit. Grease 2 bread pans with oil.
7. When the dough has doubled in size, cut the dough in half and roll each into a loaf. (More details instructions below.)
8. Lightly spritz each loaf with water or oil and roll in the oats, just enough for the oats to adhere to the bread.
9. Place the bread loaves into the loaf pans and set aside to rise until double in size, for another 40 minutes or so.
10. Bake for 35-40 minutes in the preheated oven. Cool the bread in the loaf pans for about 5 minutes before taking them out of the loaf pans and onto a cooling rack.

Shaping the Bread

1. When the dough has risen and is double in size, lightly sprinkle your counter with flour, then remove the dough from the bowl.
2. Divide the dough in half.
3. Flatten each half into a rectangle (the width of the rectangle should be about the same size as the length of your bread pans.)
4. Roll up the rectangle into a loaf, tightly.
5. Lightly spritz the dough with water, oil or melted butter.
6. Spread out the old fashioned or quick oats onto the counter, then roll each loaf on all sides in the oats. Pat the oats onto the bread dough so it adheres. Place the bread into the prepared baking pans to rise.

Storing and Freezing the Bread

I have a detailed blog post all about how to freeze bread, you can get a lot more info there. But, here's the quick version.

Store the bread at room temperature or in the refrigerator for longer storage.

If you have a small family, you can freeze the second loaf. Wrap it securely in a freezer ziplock bag or even vacuum seal it for longer storage. Freeze for up to 3 months.

Then simply thaw and serve; it will stay fresh perfectly. Another option is to share the second loaf with your friends or neighbors. I'm sure your thoughtfulness will be appreciated. Who wouldn't love a fresh loaf of homemade bread?

What To Serve With the Bread

• This multigrain bread is perfect to serve with a warm bowl of soup, like Chicken Noodle Soup or Borsch and make it into sandwiches.
• I love using this bread for avocado toast topped with poached eggs. So good!
• It's also wonderful to use for Smoked Salmon and Cucumber Sandwiches or Salmon Gravlax Sandwiches.

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