Two Whole Grain Bread (Wheat and Millet)

The weather was beautiful and cool this morning so I decided to make a quick whole grain bread for lunch today. My husband loves warm bread out of the oven. In fact, he loves it so much the bread is almost always cut too quickly. One of the best parts of this bread is how quickly it can be prepared. I frequently don’t start his bread until 2 1/2 hours before dinner. If you bake bread you know that is very little time compared to most homemade bread recipes.

This recipe is an adaptation of a recipe that was on a bag of organic whole wheat flour. The original used dairy milk and cracked rye. I have substituted almond milk and millet. I also added a little agave to give the yeast a little something to eat since the almond milk is a lower in sugar than dairy milk.

If you like full flavored whole grain breads you will like this recipe. It is a little dense but full of whole grain flavor. We like the added texture the bread has from the bulgur and millet. This bread makes a great sandwich, or toast for breakfast. It also makes nice salad croutons if you can’t eat it all in a few days. I have even used this to make breadcrumbs when it has become a little stale.

Two Whole Grain Bread (Wheat and Millet)
Makes 2 pound loaf – assumes 12 servings below

Ingredients:

¼ cup of millet
¼ cup of bulgur
2 cups of filtered water to cook the millet and bulgur
2 cups of unsweetened almond milk
1 tablespoon of active dry yeast (a package is 2-1/4 teaspoons)
¼ teaspoon of agave (to give the yeast something to eat)
1 teaspoon of kosher salt
4 ½ cups of whole wheat flour (or a mixture of whole wheat and sprouted whole wheat flours)

Directions:

Put millet and bulgur in a saucepan with a lid. Cover with 2 cups of filtered water and bring the water to a boil then turn off the heat. Let the grains sit in the hot water (covered) for 15 minutes. Then drain the grains of the excess water and allow the grains to cool to body temperature.

Warm the almond milk to between 100 and 110 degrees (I use the microwave). Add the yeast and agave to the almond milk and let stand at least 10 minutes for the yeast to activate (begin to bubble and grow).

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.

Add the yeast mixture, flour and salt to a bowl large enough to knead the bread. When the dough comes together add the cooled grains and knead them into the dough. Continue to knead until the dough begins to change texture. This bread dough is wetter than most bread dough. Don’t think you messed it up if it is stickier than normal, which is how this dough is supposed to be.

Move the dough to a greased 2 pound loaf pan and allow to rise until the dough is approximately ½ inch above the top of the pan. This will take about 30 minutes in a draft free location. I place my bread dough in the microwave to rise to avoid drafts (and nosey cats).

Bake for 45 minutes, or until the internal temperature reaches at least 200 degrees. Place on a wire rack to cool. It is best if you don’t cut the loaf until the bread has cooled at least 30 minutes or it impacts the texture. At our house we are lucky to make 15 minutes before the bread is cut, and it doesn’t seem to suffer too much. Or at least not enough for my husband to want to wait the extra 15 minutes.

Nutritional Information (assuming 12 servings):

Amount Per Serving
Calories - 187.89
Calories From Fat (7%) - 13.85

Total Fat - 1.6g
Saturated Fat - 0.19g
Cholesterol - 0mg
Sodium - 185.12mg
Potassium - 254mg
Total Carbohydrates - 38.62g
Fiber - 6.75g
Sugar - 0.2g
Protein - 7.53g

Comments:

This bread is very quick and easy to make and yet full of whole grain flavor. I tend to make this bread when my husband wants loaf bread instead of flat bread like focaccia. You can vary the grains you use in this bread. I have made this bread with all millet or bulgur, amaranth and quinoa or a combination that adds up to ½ cup of grain.