Artisan Whole-grain Bread

5 from 3 votes

This loaf of whole-grain bread is loaded with nutritious whole grains, soft and moist but still chewy on the inside with a crispy crust. Simple and easy no-knead recipe.

Prep Time15 mins

Cook Time20 mins

stretch and fold 1 hour, rise time 1 hour2 hrs

Total Time2 hrs 15 mins

Course: Breakfast, Side Dish

Cuisine: American

Servings: slices

Calories: 107kcal

Equipment

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Baking Steel
large baking sheet without a lip

Ingredients

4½ cups flour 567 grams all purpose flour
1½ tsp salt
1 tsp yeast instant
1 cup whole grains (plus about 1/3 cup more for coating the outside) see notes for information on whole grains
2 cups water

Instructions

To adjust the portions, click on the number of serving and a slider will pop up. Adjusting the slider up or down will automatically calculate the amount needed for each ingredient.
Mix all the ingredients together with a mixing spoon. The dough will be very rough and shaggy
Let dough rest 15 minutes
Make an oil slick on the counter and do 4 stretch and folds at 20-minute intervals as demonstrated in this YouTube Video. Click here.
After the last stretch and fold, place the dough in an oiled bowl and cover with plastic wrap.
Let the dough rise until nearly double - about an hour.
After the dough has doubled remove it from the bowl and split in half. Form each rustic loaf as shown in the video. click here Much of the gas in the dough should remain in the loaf to give it small air pockets after baking.
Gently roll the dough in the whole grains to lightly coat the outside of the loaf. Misting the wholegrains with water helps them adhere to the loaf.
Place loaves on a large parchment-lined baking sheet without a lip. If you don't have one without a lip you can bake the loaves on the baking sheet.
Loosely cover the loaves with plastic wrap and let loaves rise until nearly double. About 45 minutes. Preheat oven to 450 degrees while the loaves are rising,
Just before baking make 3 horizontal slashes with a sharp knife. Mist the loaves with water from a spray bottle.
Place loaves on baking steel by sliding them off the baking sheet. Mist loaves every 60 seconds for the first 3 minutes of baking.
Bake loaves for 12 minutes at 450 degrees and then decrease the temperature to 400 degrees and bake another 20-25 minutes or until the internal temperature reads 210 - 212 degrees on an instant-read thermometer. If the loaves start to over-brown loosely tent them with foil. If your oven has a hot spot move the loaves around to allow them to brown evenly.

Notes

Whole grains: I make my own mix of whole grains. I use what I have handy at the time I make the mix. I mix together equal parts of any combination of cracked wheat, rolled oats, steel cut oats, hulled sunflower seeds, pumpkin seeds, flax seeds, I love to use the ancient grains farro, amaranth, teff, freekeh, millet, and kamut. If you can find cracked varieties of the ancient grain use them. If not I briefly pulse a mixture of ancient grains in the vitamix or blendtec blender to break them up. This helps them absorb moisture and soften. If you have only a few of the suggested grain use what you have. There is no perfect combination. It is a matter of what you have and what you like.

Sprinkle about 1/3 of a cup of the whole grains on your work surface to roll the loaves in. You can use more or less depending on how many whole grains you want on the outside of the loaf. Egg wash or a little corn syrup and water(dairy-free) also work well for helping the grains adhere to the loaf. Brush them on, don't put them in a spray bottle.

Notes: If you don't have a baking steel you can bake the bread on the sheep pan. The steel will give a crispier crust.

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Nutrition