This recipe is truly the Bests Homemade Multigrain Bread I’ve ever baked. After years of searching for a multigrain bread that I can bake at home, I found “the one”. The flavor is perfect, and the texture bakes up light yet chewy, without being tough. This makes perfect toast, grilled cheese sandwiches– or any kind of sandwich.
The not-so-secret ingredient is using a packaged 7-Grain hot cereal. I bake this every other Sunday, because I freeze one loaf for later while enjoy one loaf with our morning toast.
I don’t think that anyone would argue that fresh baked bread is hard to beat. Baking homemade bread does take a little bit of practice, I know. For some, the thought of working with yeast makes them nervous. I was once of of “them”.
Past loaves I’ve baked in past years, were best used as paper weights or a door stop. I’ve made loaves that didn’t rise, or were under baked inside. At last, I have conquered my fear of working with yeast and I have come to love it! Bread baking is a science, but if you read the directions a few times– follow them without making any kind of deviations– the odds are in your favor that you will have success!
I stopped eating white bread a long time ago, once I reached adulthood and no longer had PBJ’s in my lunch box. I switched over to eating whole wheat bread — preferably a multigrain bread. But, finding a commercially made one hasn’t been easy. The cost of quality bread is sky rocketing! My favorite brand of bread has becoming harder to find, as well.
At last, I found the bread recipe that is exactly what I am looking for in a multigrain bread– flavorful, a little chewy but not tasting like wood and it’s perfect for my morning toast. This is it, my readers! I have made this four times, since I took these photos– and, as I am typing this post, I have two more loaves proofing before being baked. That’s how much I love this recipe!
I’m a big fan of Bob’s Red Mill products– and the vital ingredient for this bread is the 7-Grain Hot Cereal. I couldn’t find it at any of my grocery stores, but I managed to order mine on Amazon. NOTE: I did find the 10-Grain Hot Cereal at one of my grocery stores, and I’ve used it for this recipe with good results as well. (You can also use Arrowhead Mills brand, as an option.) Using this hot cereal is pure genius, because it contains wheat, rye, triticale, oats, oat bran, barley, brown rice and flaxseed.
Add boiling water to the hot cereal mix, stirred and cool to about 100F– this takes about an hour.
Once cooled, add honey, melted butter and yeast (Preferred brand is SAF Instant Yeast, but Fleischmann’s Active Dry Yeast works as well) and stirred a bit.
Using the low setting a stand mixer, let the machine mix this until it formed a ball– then cover it with plastic. The term for this is called “autolyse” by letting the dough rest for 20 minutes. Cook’s Illustrated describes this term as:
Autolyse, a resting period just after the initial mixing of water and flour that gives flour time to hydrate. This combination also made the dough less tacky and therefore easier to work with. The result was a loaf that baked up light yet chewy, without being tough.
There are three ways to knead dough– with your hands and some elbow grease, with a bread machine or (my favorite) with a stand mixer. For Christmas, my husband encouraged me to upgrade my Kitchen Aid Tilt Model Stand Mixer for Bowl-Lift Kitchen Aid Pro Stand Mixer. I have to say that this machine is amazing for bread baking! I love the “pig-tail” attachment that kneads dough better than I imagined was possible. WARNING: You will be seeing a lot more bread dough recipes in the coming weeks, because I’ve been baking a lot of them! The dough is ready for it’s first “proof” (rise).
At this point, you can add either pumpkin or sunflower seeds. I’ve tried it both ways– and our personal preference is sunflower seeds.
It takes about an hour for the dough to have doubled, so now it’s time to shape the loaves.
Gently press the dough into a large rectangle, cut it in half…
Then, rolled it and shaped it into a loaf — then spray a little oil and roll the loaves into some oatmeal flakes, then set it into bread pans.
The plastic-covered (or damp towel) covered pans are going to proof for about another hour.
Perfect! A light touch of my finger has the dough feeling tender and proofed enough to bake. Preheat the oven to 375F.
Perfect! 200F is just the right temperature to know that the bread has baked properly. Oh, the aroma!
Carefully remove the loaves from the pan, and set on a cooling rack. As tempting as it seems, resist slicing into the bread before it has cooled. For one, slicing into hot bread can have the potential of “smooshing” the loaf.
I have owned a Presto Bread Slicing Guide and electric knife for decades. They aren’t made any longer (but I’ve seen them on eBay for around $30.00). I love mine, because I get even and perfect slices every time!
Just be sure to use a serrated knife. My favorite bread knife is this one. I like to slice both loaves, wrap them in plastic wrap and then foil. They freeze beautifully!
TASTING NOTES: Hands down, this bread is a clear winner! The more I make this dough, the more I appreciate the beautiful texture of working with it. I find that the small amount of kneading that I do (to incorporate the sunflower seeds) reminds me of the Play Dough of my youth.
BREAD BAKING SIMPLE TIPS: Here are a few bread baking tips that help me to be more successful. Don’t be discouraged if some of your attempts fail. Learn from them and you will get better and better. My best instructions have been from watching videos on America’s Test Kitchen (I have a paid all-access subscription). King Arthur Flour is one of my favorite recipe sources, plus their Baker’s Hotline is free to call–and the bakers are always super helpful and friendly.
- Read the recipe, thoroughly, and mentally “rehearse” the steps in your mind’s eye
- Make sure that your yeast isn’t out of date (I store mine in the refrigerator or the freezer)
- Mise en Place (“Mess in place”) will help with your success. I have an assortment of bowls so I can measure everything out, in advance.
- Yeast likes to be cozy and warm. The best temperature for dough to “proof” is between 70F-80F. I turn on my oven setting to WARM for three minutes, then shut it off. Or, you can proof dough in your microwave (turned off, of course).
The Best Multigrain Bread
Ingredients
- 6 ¼ ounces 7-grain hot cereal mix 1 1/4 cups; Recommended Bob's Red Mill
- 20 ounces boiling water 2 1/2 cups
- 15 ounces unbleached all-purpose flour 3 cups; plus extra for dusting work surface
- 7 ½ ounces whole-wheat flour 1 1/2 cups
- 4 tablespoons honey
- 4 tablespoons unsalted butter melted and cooled slightly
- 2 ½ teaspoons instant yeast
- 1 tablespoon table salt
- ¾ cup sunflower seeds or pumpkin seeds (unsalted)
- ½ cup old-fashioned rolled oats or quick oats
Instructions
INSTRUCTIONS
- Place cereal mix in bowl of standing mixer and pour boiling water over it; let stand, stirring occasionally, until mixture cools to 100 degrees and resembles thick porridge, about 1 hour.
- Whisk flours in medium bowl.
- Once grain mixture has cooled, add honey, melted butter, and yeast and stir to combine. Attach bowl to standing mixer fitted with dough hook. With mixer running on low speed, add flours, 1/2 cup at a time, and knead until dough forms ball, 1 1/2 to 2 minutes; cover bowl with plastic and let dough rest 20 minutes. Add salt and knead on medium-low speed until dough clears sides of bowl, 3 to 4 minutes (if it does not clear sides, add 2 to 3 tablespoons additional all-purpose flour and continue mixing); continue to knead dough for 5 more minutes. Add seeds and knead for another 15 seconds. Transfer dough to floured work surface and knead by hand until seeds are dispersed evenly and dough forms smooth, taut ball. Place dough into greased container with 4-quart capacity; cover with plastic wrap and allow to rise until doubled, 45 to 60 minutes.
- Adjust oven rack to middle position; heat oven to 375 degrees. Spray two 9 by 5-inch loaf pans with nonstick cooking spray. Transfer dough to lightly floured work surface and pat into 12 by 9-inch rectangle; cut dough in half crosswise with knife or bench scraper. Shape loaves, spray a light coating of neutral oil and roll over oats to coat; cover lightly with plastic wrap and let rise until almost doubled in size, 30 to 40 minutes. (Dough should barely spring back when poked with knuckle.) Bake until internal temperature registers 200 degrees on instant-read thermometer, 35 to 40 minutes. RRemove loaves from pans and cool on wire rack before slicing, about 3 hours.
Notes
Nutrition
looks yummy and you make it sound easy!
thanks for mentioning the option of covering the dough with a towel. I”m trying to cut back on single use materials, particularly plastics. I’m also a fan of America’s Test Kitchen/CI/Cooks Country and I’ve debated the best way to communicate with them about cutting back on plastic and foil. As one of the most popular cooking shows around, they could be a leader in being more sustainable in the kitchen.
The Cerial is very very thick after cooling!!! Should it be that way???
So the dough is also VERY stiff!!!
Used Bob’s Red Mill 7 grain hot cerial!!!
What is the dough suppose to be like????
Yes, as you can see if the photo, the cereal is thick after cooling. I did not find the dough to be very stiff. Sometimes, you have to add a little bit of water until the dough becomes pliable… and I do mean no more than 1 Tbsp. at a time. I have made this recipe multiple times, and it’s turned out perfect. I hope it worked for you.
This is definitely the best multigrain bread! We love it! Thanks for sharing your recipe and tricks!!
I only have a small problem, my bread does not rise consistently every time. Once I made the two loafs the same way, one of them rised properly while the second loaf was a lot lower and therefore much denser. Would you have any idea as of why?
Thanks a lot!
Gosh, I am not sure why that is happening to you! I’m assuming you are using the same yeast? I tend to proof my dough inside my oven, to make sure it’s free from drafts and that it’s warm enough. Some folks turn on the oven light. I preheat mine on warm for 1-2 minutes, then shut it off. I use SAF instant yeast, which is my favorite brand. I get consistently good results. Thank you for the positive feedback. I love this recipe!
Do you divide your dough evenly? If not, that might be the reason for different sized loaves. I find it helps to weigh the dough and divide evenly.
With the lock-down and the Wuhan virus taking its toll I have turned to baking breads and have found this one to excellent! I am so happy to have found this website! I agree the Kithen-Aid mixer is fantastic for making bread(make sure to have the pigtail attachment.)
I agree 100%. I really like this recipe. I also agree about the pigtail attachment. That’s why I upgraded My Kitchen Aid mixer to the lift up model. I’m so glad that I did!
I just bought King Arthurs multi grain for making bread. Can I substitute it for the other grains in this recipe? It does not require soaking.. Thank you.
Gosh, I can’t answer that. I followed the recipe exactly as written. I think it’s the texture and hydration of the hot cereal that is key to success. So, I doubt it would work.
Have you tried adding raisins and cinnamon? I am looking for a multi-grain oatmeal cinnamon raising bread recipe, as the loaf I had been purchasing at the store (artisan local bakers) has gone up to $6.00 a loaf. I have read that adding cinnamon to a yeast recipe requires a longer rising time. Do you have any comments on any of this? I appreciate your time in responding.
I have not made the bread yet, so no rating.
Hello! I haven’t tried converting this recipe into a cinnamon raisin bread. That is one of my favorites! I’m not aware of cinnamon needing more proofing time. I proof by “looks” and I don’t rely on a set time. I’m currently looking for a cinnamon raisin bread that has egg in it. A whole grain one would be interesting! Sorry, I’m not much help. Thanks for stopping by.
Could you tell me if this wonderful bread could be made in the bread machine?
Thank you so much, Mary
Honestly, I can’t say for sure. I haven’t used a bread machine in years– though I think they are wonderful! I would guess that I’d follow all the steps up until the “autolyse” is completed. Then put the dough into the machine to knead and bake. Please let me know if you try this, and report back!
For me, the dough was very wet and then stuck to the pan, even though I’d prepared it well. Can you tell me what’s in your 7-grain blend? I made my own blend as we don’t have such a product in New Zealand. That might have affected my mixture.
I’m sorry that you had trouble. If you google “Bob’s Red Mill” they list all ingredients for their products. I used their 7-grain cereal.
In your original directions you don’t mention adding the salt. You go right to letting the dough rise. I added the salt per the recipe directions after the 20 minute rest. It was very hard to incorporate the salt
evenly. Although the loaves raised well and the bread is good, some slices were very salty. Why can’t the salt be added to the flour mixture?
I looked at my recipe card, to make sure that I didn’t make a mistake with instructions. I see I didn’t! “Add salt and knead on medium-low speed until dough clears sides of bowl, 3 to 4 minutes (if it does not clear sides, add 2 to 3 tablespoons additional all-purpose flour and continue mixing); continue to knead dough for 5 more minutes.” I’m sorry you had problems with saltiness. I’ve made this bread multiple times, and never had that problem! I use coarse salt, FYI. This recipe, as stated, comes from America’s Test Kitchen. Maybe they can answer your question better, since they are the developers?
It’s a method to ensure that the daily doesn’t kill the yeast before it has a chance to get going.
Thanks very much for this recipe. I’ve been looking for a good multi grain bread recipe. The only difference in the way I made it was that I only had a bag of Bob’s Red Mill 6 grain cereal. It worked just fine and the taste is wonderful. The dough is just gorgeous to work with.
It is my pleasure to share recipes that have worked for me! I’m glad to read that the 6 grain cereal worked just fine. Thanks for stopping by!
I wonder if adding some extra gluten or something like king Arthur’s whole grain bread improver would give more consistency in rise for the folks mentioning dense loaves.
It’s worth a try. I’ve made this bread several times and never had a dense loaf. Hmmm….
I have my double batch proofing in my oven as I type this. I am using Bob’s Red Mill 10 grain because that’s all I could find when I was shopping. I have made this a few times and it is always wonderful. The dough is nice, and bread always delicious.
Thank you for the feedback. I’m sure that the 10 grain is just fine. I love this bread, and it always turns out perfect.
All I can say is THANK YOU! I followed your directions and the bread came out even better than I expected. I’ve never had a bread containing wheat flour turn out so high. I love it. I will continue to make this recipe. Thank you for sharing.
You are so welcome. I love hearing success stories. Thank YOU!
Recipe – 5-stars. My ability to exercise – 3-stars.
Recipe – well written with excellent instructions. The bread is delicious, with great flavor and texture.
My ability to execute – questionable at best. Maybe I’m just not cut out for loaf baking and should stick with sourdough boules. After mixing, I hand shape for about 8 mins to get into smooth tight ball. I get dough to double in first rise after about an hour and 20 minutes. It’s airey when I dump it on the counter. After dividing, I shape using the King Arthur method. Typically the dough sets in the bread pan at about ⅓ to ½ full. Then I let it rise until doubled, about 45-60 mins. Sometimes this is over the top of the pan, sometimes not. Either way, I’m not getting the oven rise to really make a tall loaf. If there’s something I’m missing, I would love to know so I can do this recipe justice.
This is delicious and has a great texture! I toasted the cereal in a pan before making, but don’t know if it made any difference to the flavor. I made as directed, but let the cereal rehydrate too long and found I needed to add a bit more water to hydrate all the flour. My fault for not paying attention. That said, all went well. I made sure both rises were nice and full. Gorgeous, flavorful loaves. I will make this again. Thanks for the fabulous recipe! 🍞🍞🍞
Thank you for the positive review. This is one of my favorite bread recipes. You can’t go wrong with Americas Test Kitchen recipes!
I don’t have a stand mixer, but I do have an old Cuisinart Classic Food Processor that says it can mix typical bread dough, which it defines as dough made from at least 50% white flour. Has anyone tried making this mix in a food processor?
Have you ever tried making dinner rolls out of this recipe?
No, I haven’t! It’s worth a shot. Let me know if you do.
I’ve made this bread twice now and its the best yeasted recipe i’ve found. I add extra sunflower and pumpkin seeds (3/4 C combined), plus a TB each of flax, black sesame and white sesame. I would also like to add some chia for added nutrition, but am not sure how to do this knowing they require extra water. I was considering adding to the hot mash first, then adding additional water to it after it cools if it seems too dry. I know how wet im used to the 5 grain cereal mix being after the cool down, so I could try and recreate that moisture level. Got any better ideas?
Americas Test Kitchen is one of my most trusted recipe sources. I’ve also made this bread several times, with great results. I’m afraid that I’m unfamiliar with chia, as nutritious as it is. I’m just not a fan of the texture. I wish I could offer helpful ideas, but I’m at a loss. Sorry!