Easy Whole Wheat Bread

Baking bread is SO satisfying!

The inspiration and base for this easy yeast bread recipe comes from Jenny Can Cook and her whole wheat bread recipe https://www.jennycancook.com/recipes/simple-whole-wheat-bread/. I encourage you to check out her other recipes – each is fabulous! I use a plant-based milk in mine and add some extra ingredients to make this bread my own and make it more nutritious. This bread is on my bread making rotation often!

I make this in my (old Braun or Boesch – I have both) mix master, as the original recipe suggests, and as the original recipe also suggests, you can also just mix it by hand in a bowl with a wooden spoon and a strong arm. Kneading it by hand will take a bit longer – about 150 turns.

These are the additional ingredients I include:

Flax Meal – a powerful antioxidant and high in fiber, flax seeds have been cultivated since ancient times – as early as 3000 BC in Babylon. Its health benefits have been widely studied and researched since. Flax seeds contain Omega 3 fatty acids which promote heart health. Omega 3 Fatty Acids Did you know flax seeds are what egg laying chickens are fed to up the Omega 3 content in their eggs? Rich in lignans – the fiber content – benefits digestion and is a plant-based form of estrogen. The nutrient combination in the tiny but mighty flax seed is attributed to lowering cholesterol, keeping arteries healthy, lowering blood pressure and preventing certain cancers.

Oat Bran Oat bran is the outside casing of the oat grain. Because of its health benefits being more widely known these days, it’s available to purchase at many grocery stores and at health food stores. Oat bran is a powerful antioxidant, is rich in fiber, protein and selenium and is an easy, healthy, nutritious addition to baked goods, breads and even sprinkled on salads. It can be cooked on its own or added to oatmeal. It is cholesterol free and studies have shown that it supports a healthy heart, healthy blood sugar levels and a healthy bowel!

Oat Milk is a great alternative plant-based milk when wanting to reduce your dairy intake. It is thicker in consistency than almond milk (a popular plant-based milk alternative) and acts like milk for frothing and in baked goods. It is vegan, and being made from oats, is nut free. Commercial oat milk is often fortified with riboflavin (VitB2) and VitB12. Oat milk (and oats) is high in beta glucan, a soluble fiber. When ingested, beta glucan creates a gel-like substance within the gut that binds to cholesterol to reduce its absorption and this in turn supports the lowering of blood cholesterol levels, especially levels of LDL (bad) cholesterol, which has been linked to heart disease.

Hemp Hearts are rich in essential fatty acids, are a high-quality protein source, contain VitB, phosphorus, potassium, magnesium, calcium, iron and zinc.

Walnuts - High in omega 3 fats, antioxidants, and phytosterols. Walnuts are good for your heart, can help protect against cancer, and are good for your brain aiding in reducing depression and the risk of age-related diseases, such as cognitive decline.

As always, when you make this recipe, I would love to see your creation so please post a photo of your Easy Whole Wheat Bread goodness and tag my IG account #RenataCollective or leave a comment with your thoughts!

Prep Time: 15 minutes / Rise Time: 35-45 minutes / Cook Time: 30 minutes / Makes: 1 Loaf

Ingredients

2 Cups Whole Wheat Flour
1/2 Cup All-Purpose Flour
¼ Cup Flax Meal
¼ Cup Oat Bran
1½ Tablespoons Hemp Hearts
2½ teaspoons (1 packet / 7g) Instant Yeast
2 Tablespoons Sugar
1 teaspoon Sea Salt
1 Cup Oat Milk
2 Tablespoons Grape Seed Oil – Alternate: Olive Oil
1 Egg
2/3 Cup Walnuts – chopped
¼ Cup Additional All-Purpose Flour

How its Made

Prep your loaf pan by lining it with parchment paper – overhanging the long edges for ease of removing the bread once it’s baked.
Heat the milk to 120°F, testing the temp with a food thermometer. Set aside.
In your mix master (or in a large bowl if doing by hand), add the whole wheat flour, all-purpose flour, flax meal, oat bran, hemp hearts, yeast, sugar and sea salt. Mix together until blended well.
Stir in milk, then the oil and then the egg.
Beat on high for 2 minutes if using the mix master. If stirring by hand, mix until the dough comes together smoothly. It will be a little wet.
Add 1/4 cup all-purpose flour and mix on low speed until the bread dough forms a smooth mass. Same if mixing by hand.
Prepare the place you will knead the dough – a cutting board or your counter – by sprinkling some all-purpose flour on and spreading it around with your hands.
Scrap the dough out of the bowl and knead it 50 turns (150 turns if you mixed by hand). Do this by putting the heel of your hand into the dough and pushing the dough away from you, then folding the dough back into the center. Turn the dough 90 degrees and knead again (see photos). Continue doing this for the 50 (or 150) turns.
Form the dough into a ball. Take a clean tea towel and cover the dough ball where you kneaded it. Let it rest for 10 minutes.
After the 10 minutes, stretch the dough into a rectangle and roll it up to form the shape that will go into the prepared loaf pan (see photo). Jenny’s and the loaf pan I use are both a standard 8½” x 4½” x 2¾” loaf pan.
Cover the dough in the loaf pan with the tea towel and place it in a warm spot to rise. It needs to be 1 inch above the pan. This should take about 35 minutes, depending on how warm the spot is. It might take more time. Be patient.
Preheat your oven to 375°F.
Bake the bread for a total of 30 minutes. After15 minutes, cover the top of the loaf with a foil tent so that the bread doesn’t become too brown and crusty. Continue baking for the remaining 15 minutes.
Remove the pan from the oven and let the bread cool for 15 minutes. If you put parchment paper in the pan as I did (see photos) loosen the bread on the sides where there was no parchment paper, by gently inserting a sharp knife between the bread and the pan and moving it from side to side. Remove the bread to a cooling rack and let it cool. You can slice this bread after it has cooled a half hour or so.
(Photos to follow of my bread sliced!)