This recipe is definitely a hearty, wholesome, tasty bread. When I bake bread -- which is all of the time, this is the bread I almost always bake. It is so good when it is freshly warm & sliced and buttered with real organic butter...Or dunked into a bowl of homemade soup -- any kind -- lentil soup, split pea soup, vegetable soup, minestrone -- on a cold winter day or evening sitting in front of a fire, you will think you are in heaven! Toast it for breakfast in the morning and top it with fresh organic peanut butter or try spreading it with honey butter. This bread also makes a tasty nutritious sandwich that sticks to your ribs.
When I am using my bread machine (good ole, R2D2 -- one of the original Sears Kenmore bread machines -- now discontinued. My bread machine is at least 15 years old and just won't die!). I only make 1 loaf (1 loaf is a good 2-21/2 pound loaf and really fills the machine when rising -- 2 loaves would over-flow). I do not bake bread in the bread machine. I did it when I first got my bread machine and my kids were in school. I could set it up in the morning and program it to bake, so that there was a fresh loaf of bread waiting for them to eat as a nutritious after school snack. The quality of the crust is infinitely better if you shape, rise and bake it in a regular bread baking pan in a regular oven.
If I am making more than 1 loaf, then I use my KitchenAid Professional 600 mixer with a dough hook. You cannot completely leave this unattended, but mixing and kneading in the mixer with a dough hook, seems to take less time than mixing & kneading completely by hand.
If I am stressed and in need of taking some time for therapeutic rejuvenation, then I mix and knead the bread by hand and I can make 1 or more loaves this way
I have read that the best quality bread (in this order) is: 1) bread mixed & kneaded in a bread machine and then baked in a regular oven; 2) bread mixed and kneaded in a mixer with a dough hook; 3) mixed and kneaded by hand.
I love mixing & especially kneading bread by hand -- it just totally adds to the spirituality of baking bread -- quite simply, it is therapeutic and relieves stress. However, if you need to use your time more efficiently and multi-task, then I suggest you program your bread machine to mix only and to program in the kneading and rising times, add your ingredients and let it work, while you attend to other things. Then when it is ready to shape and put into a pan, cover with a towel, and put it in a warm draft-free place to rise.
If you have a stove (cook-top/oven in 1 appliance), then you could put it on top of the stove, in the back and let it rise while you are pre-heating the oven for baking the bread. I have double electric wall ovens, so I set one of the ovens for proofing and put my bread in there to rise - I set a timer for the rising time. Then I set the second timer so I know when to begin pre-heating the second oven for baking the bread. When the bread is risen, I turn off the proofing oven and put the bread into my baking oven and re-set the timer for the baking time. If I am really efficient and am cooking/baking other things -- I can bake 'whatever' in one oven, while I am proofing (rising) my bread and then when 'whatever' I am baking is done and if my bread is finished rising, I can place it in the "baking" oven. I just love having 2 wall ovens!
Bread that is hand mixed & kneaded still tastes wonderful -- and has that extra spiritual & sensual oomph added, that you can't quite put a finger on when you are eating it, but you know it is there. So, don't completely discount hand mixing and kneading your bread. I first learned to make bread this way and have developed a feel for and a sense or intuition for my bread dough no matter how I mix/knead it because of this.
Get yourself a copy of "Laurel's Kitchen" by Laurel Robertson, Carol Flinders, and Bronwen Godfrey (has all kinds of wonderful vegetarian recipes). The section on bread baking is a good how-to bread baking guide, plus she adds in good information about and how to select ingredients. Laurel Robertson has a wonderful, earthmother, nutritious, sensual, and wholisitic approach to cooking. I currently have a 1983 edition, because I gave my 1976 edition to my daughter, Jaimie. When you get your copy, make sure you read the entire first chapter, Giving the Gift of Life -- both parts - Laurel's Kitchen and The Keeper of the Keys. I guess I am just an old hippy at heart!
Another good book to read and to help discover the spiritual essence of bread baking is "The Tassajara Bread Book" by Edward Espe Brown. My copy is much older than the 2009 version listed here. In fact I think my copy was probably a first edition version and is in paperback. I no longer have it, since Jaimie also claimed it several years ago. This book almost takes a Buddhist zen-like approach, but it is very, very satisfying to make bread from recipes in this book. I used this book when I had 4 little kids, living in Sagniaw, Mi and I was making at least 6 loaves of bread every Saturday. This was before we went to live in Papua New Guinea, where my 5th child was born and I was still making bread on a regular basis. This book is also where I learned the sponge method in bread baking.
Well, enough gab -- here's the recipe:
Sunflower Oatmeal Bread
1 tablespoon active dry yeast
11/2 cups organic whole wheat flour (I generally add about 1/4 cup+ ground flax seeds or flaxseed meal to make up the entire amount of the flour -- this adds fiber and extra nutrition)
1/2 cup old-fashioned organic rolled oats (oatmeal), uncooked
1/2 cup organic hulled sunflower seeds (can be raw or roasted)
2-3 tablespoons vital wheat gluten
1 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons sugar (I use either turbinado sugar or organic cane sugar)
3 tablespoons non-fat dry milk
3 Tablespoons butter
1/8 cup honey
1 cup + 3 tablespoons warm water
1 cup+ organic unbleached white flour
A. This is the order to add the ingredients if you are using a bread machine. I generally add everything but the last cup of flour and turn on the bread machine to begin mixing.
B. When these first ingredients are thoroughly mixed, I then begin slowly adding the unbleached flour until the mixture forms a soft dough -- not sticky, but not too stiff either. I then turn off the bread machine and then turn it back on and let the machine knead through a whole cycle.
C. I let the dough rise and then knead a bit more and then I remove it and knead it a bit. I shape it and put it into a greased bread pan.
D. I then let it rise about another 45-60 minutes -- until it has just about doubled and makes a nice rounded loaf of bread.
E. Then bake it in a 375 degree oven for about 25-30 minutes. You have to gauge this. It will be pretty brown, but not burned. You want it cooked all the way through without any doughy spots in the middle -- dense dough like this sometimes needs extra baking time.
F.You remove it from the oven and turn it out of the pan onto a rack to cool.
If I am using my KitchenAid mixer or mixing by hand, I use the following order:
G. In a small non-metal bowl, mix the yeast, the sugar and 3 tablespoons of the warm water together. Do not use a metal spoon or it will react with the yeast. Let it sit for about 5-10 minutes until it gets all foamy.
H. In the meantime, mix the rest of the warm water the dried milk and add the butter (melted) and the honey together.
I. In a large mixing bowl, add the whole wheat flour/flaxseed meal, salt, oats & sunflower seeds together. Then add the foamy yeast mixture and stir and then slowly add the rest of the warm liquid mixture (water, dried milk, melted butter & honey).
J. Then start stirring in the unbleached flour until it takes shape and continue to work in flour and knead it on a floured surface. Spend a lot of time kneading and working in the flour -- add more if needed, but try to be sparing with the flour. Use it to keep the dough from sticking everywhere and eventually it will be a nice soft non-sticky dough.
K. When the dough is a nice soft, but not sticky dough, grease the bowl and put the dough in it and cover with either a towel or greased plastic wrap. Set the bowl of dough in a warm spot and let the dough rise until doubled -- about an hour or so.
L. Punch it down and then knead it some more. Shape and put it into a greased bread pan.
Then follow steps D, E. & F from above.
You can double this recipe to make 2 loaves, but I do not recommend using the bread machine method.
As I stated before, I probably make this bread recipe more than any other recipe that I have. Anytime anyone eats at my house and I serve this bread, I invariably get asked for the recipe. Sharing bread recipes is tricky, however, because, unless someone is familiar with making bread -- even from a mix in the bread machine, making bread is not like any other kind of baking or cooking -- but for me, it is probably the most rewarding and satisfying thing to make. Gifts of bread are truly gifts from the heart! Enjoy!
Well, enough gab -- here's the recipe:
Sunflower Oatmeal Bread
1 tablespoon active dry yeast
11/2 cups organic whole wheat flour (I generally add about 1/4 cup+ ground flax seeds or flaxseed meal to make up the entire amount of the flour -- this adds fiber and extra nutrition)
1/2 cup old-fashioned organic rolled oats (oatmeal), uncooked
1/2 cup organic hulled sunflower seeds (can be raw or roasted)
2-3 tablespoons vital wheat gluten
1 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons sugar (I use either turbinado sugar or organic cane sugar)
3 tablespoons non-fat dry milk
3 Tablespoons butter
1/8 cup honey
1 cup + 3 tablespoons warm water
1 cup+ organic unbleached white flour
A. This is the order to add the ingredients if you are using a bread machine. I generally add everything but the last cup of flour and turn on the bread machine to begin mixing.
B. When these first ingredients are thoroughly mixed, I then begin slowly adding the unbleached flour until the mixture forms a soft dough -- not sticky, but not too stiff either. I then turn off the bread machine and then turn it back on and let the machine knead through a whole cycle.
C. I let the dough rise and then knead a bit more and then I remove it and knead it a bit. I shape it and put it into a greased bread pan.
D. I then let it rise about another 45-60 minutes -- until it has just about doubled and makes a nice rounded loaf of bread.
E. Then bake it in a 375 degree oven for about 25-30 minutes. You have to gauge this. It will be pretty brown, but not burned. You want it cooked all the way through without any doughy spots in the middle -- dense dough like this sometimes needs extra baking time.
F.You remove it from the oven and turn it out of the pan onto a rack to cool.
If I am using my KitchenAid mixer or mixing by hand, I use the following order:
G. In a small non-metal bowl, mix the yeast, the sugar and 3 tablespoons of the warm water together. Do not use a metal spoon or it will react with the yeast. Let it sit for about 5-10 minutes until it gets all foamy.
H. In the meantime, mix the rest of the warm water the dried milk and add the butter (melted) and the honey together.
I. In a large mixing bowl, add the whole wheat flour/flaxseed meal, salt, oats & sunflower seeds together. Then add the foamy yeast mixture and stir and then slowly add the rest of the warm liquid mixture (water, dried milk, melted butter & honey).
J. Then start stirring in the unbleached flour until it takes shape and continue to work in flour and knead it on a floured surface. Spend a lot of time kneading and working in the flour -- add more if needed, but try to be sparing with the flour. Use it to keep the dough from sticking everywhere and eventually it will be a nice soft non-sticky dough.
K. When the dough is a nice soft, but not sticky dough, grease the bowl and put the dough in it and cover with either a towel or greased plastic wrap. Set the bowl of dough in a warm spot and let the dough rise until doubled -- about an hour or so.
L. Punch it down and then knead it some more. Shape and put it into a greased bread pan.
Then follow steps D, E. & F from above.
You can double this recipe to make 2 loaves, but I do not recommend using the bread machine method.
As I stated before, I probably make this bread recipe more than any other recipe that I have. Anytime anyone eats at my house and I serve this bread, I invariably get asked for the recipe. Sharing bread recipes is tricky, however, because, unless someone is familiar with making bread -- even from a mix in the bread machine, making bread is not like any other kind of baking or cooking -- but for me, it is probably the most rewarding and satisfying thing to make. Gifts of bread are truly gifts from the heart! Enjoy!
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