Here’s the second in this series on hearty, healthy grainy breads. Last week’s was from English Dietitian, Dominique Ludwig. This week’s recipe is from Irish cooking personality, Clodaugh McKenna (Think Goldie Hawn meets an Irish kitchen). Clodaugh is often seen on TV in the UK. She travels between her homes/kitchens in London and the countryside of Ireland.
Back to the bread. The first time I made this, I thought, “this looks like a mess.” Boy was I wrong. Upon completion and cooling, I tried a slice with unsalted butter and orange marmalade. The recipe makes two loaves. I slice both loaves and put them in a freezer bag to make pulling out a slice at a time to toast. Consider a slice a perfect afternoon snack with smashed avocado. Here you go!
Healthy Loaf Bread Recipe
Ingredients
-unsalted butter to butter loaf pans
-3 1/2 cups whole wheat flour
-1/2 cup wheat germ, plus more for dusting
-1/2 cup unbleached flour, plus more for pastry cloth when shaping loaves
-1 cup wheat bran
-1/2 cup ground flaxseed
-1 Tablespoon spirulina powder (if you don’t have this, you could omit from recipe)
-1 1/3 cup steel cut oats
-2 teaspoons sugar in the raw or other natural sugar
-2 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
-4 1/4 buttermilk
TOPPING
-2 teaspoons (1 per loaf) wheat germ
-2 teaspoons (1 per loaf) sesame seeds
-2 teaspoons (1 per loaf) pumpkin seeds
Method
1. Preheat oven to 450 degrees F. Lightly butter two loaf pans (5x9 inches), then dust with wheat germ.
2. Pour all dry ingredients into a large bowl and mix together.
3. Make a well in the center of the dry ingredients and, using a wooden spoon or spurdle, gradually stir in the buttermilk, until a moist dough forms.
4. Divide the dough between the prepared loaf pans. Smooth the tops and, using a flowered knife, making a large cross on each one. Sprinkle with the remaining wheat germ, sesame seeds and pumpkins seeds.
5. Place loaf pans in the oven and bake for 8-10 minutes at the 450 degree temperature then turn heat down to 275 degrees F and bake for an additional hour.
6. Remove the loaf pans from the oven and let cool on a wire rack for about 10 minutes, then turn out onto the rack, letting bread cool completely.
7. The loaves should keep for a week in an air tight container, or slice and freeze as mentioned in the introduction paragraph above.
