Crusty Multi-Seeded Wheat and Grain Bread -— Almost No-Knead

Homemade bread, there's nothing quite like it! And, the almost no-knead varieties are so easy.  Just plan ahead as they need at least 8 hours to ferment and a two hour rise time + one hour bake time.  Crusty and delicious on the first day, they make fabulous toast in the days after. I started out making a basic recipe and keep experimenting. Here's my latest version . . .

Crusty Multi-Seeded Wheat and Grain Bread -— Almost No-Knead

4 to 5 tablespoons grains & seeds (any combination such as: rolled oats, rolled barley or rye flakes, pumpkin seeds, raw sunflower seeds, etc.) – divided use

2 cups bread flour

1 cup white whole wheat flour

1½ teaspoons salt

¼  teaspoon instant or rapid-rise yeast

¾  cup + 2 tablespoons water, room temperature

6 tablespoons mild-flavored beer

1 tablespoon distilled white vinegar

1 to 2 teaspoons flax seed + a few extra to sprinkle over top

Vegetable oil spray

1. Place selected grains and seeds on a baking sheet. Bake in a preheated 350° oven until lightly toasted, about 5 minutes – watch carefully! Cool.
   
2. Mix the flours, salt, and yeast together in the work bowl of a mixer.
3. Add the water, beer and the vinegar. Mix, adding most of the toasting seed combination (save some for adding to the top of loaf right before baking) + flax seeds.
   
4. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and allow it to sit at room temperature for at least 8 hours or up to 18 hours.
5. Lay a piece of parchment paper on the counter and spray it with the vegetable oil spray.
6. Transfer the dough to a lightly floured work surface and knead 10 to 15 times. Shape the dough into a ball by pulling the edges of the dough into the middle.
   
7. Transfer the dough, seam side down, to the center of the sprayed parchment paper; then spray the surface of the dough with the vegetable oil spray.
   
8. Pick up the dough by lifting the parchment paper overhang and lower it into a heavy-bottomed Dutch oven. Let any excess parchment paper hang out over the edge of the pot. Cover the pot loosely with plastic wrap and allow the dough to rise at room temperature until it has doubled in size and does not readily spring back when poked with a finger, about 2 hours.
   
9. Adjust an oven rack to the middle position. Remove the plastic wrap from the pot.
10. Using a sharp knife, a razor blade or a bread lame (pictured below), make long, ½” deep slashes along the top of the dough; lightly spray with vegetable oil spray and top with remaining seeds.
    
11. Cover the pot and place it in the oven. Heat the oven to 425°. Bake the bread for 30 minutes. Note: Bread is placed into a cold oven; set the timer for 30 minutes at that point—do not wait until the oven preheats.
12. Remove the lid from the pot and continue to bake the bread until the loaf is a deep brown and registers 210° on an instant-read thermometer inserted into the bread, about 20 to 30 minutes longer.

    

    Above: Bread after 30 minutes -- it was baked with the lid on.
    Below -- Bread after being bakes another 30 minutes with the lid off. Notice thermometer inserted to check the internal temperature.

    
13. Using the parchment paper overhang, carefully remove the bread from the pot. Transfer the loaf to a wire rack and allow it to cool completely . . . if you can wait that long. Best eaten the first day but makes fabulous toast for days afterwards. Store lightly wrapped leftover bread in refrigerator (wrap in plastic wrap or place in a bag that is only partially sealed.)
    

Other Almost No-Knead breads include:

Almost No-Knead Bread (basic loaf)

Almost No-Knead Cranberry-Pecan Bread

Almost No-Knead Oat Bread

Almost No-Knead Walnut & Rosemary Bread 

Almost No-Knead Crusty Pumpkin Bread

Recipe without photos . . .

Crusty Multi-Seeded Wheat and Grain Bread -— Almost No-Knead

4 to 5 tablespoons grains & seeds (any combination such as: rolled oats, rolled barley or rye flakes, pumpkin seeds, raw sunflower seeds, etc.) – divided use

2 cups bread flour

1 cup white whole wheat flour 

1½ teaspoons salt

¼  teaspoon instant or rapid-rise yeast

¾  cup + 2 tablespoons water, room temperature

6 tablespoons mild-flavored beer

1 tablespoon distilled white vinegar

1 to 2 teaspoons flax seed + a few extra to sprinkle over top

Vegetable oil spray

1. Place selected grains and seeds on a baking sheet. Bake in a preheated 350° oven until lightly toasted, about 5 minutes – watch carefully! Cool.
2. Mix the flours, salt, and yeast together in the work bowl of a mixer.
3. Add the water, beer and the vinegar. Mix, adding most of the toasting seed combination (save some for adding to the top of loaf right before baking) + flax seeds.
4. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and allow it to sit at room temperature for at least 8 hours or up to 18 hours.
5. Lay a piece of parchment paper on the counter and spray it with the vegetable oil spray.
6. Transfer the dough to a lightly floured work surface and knead 10 to 15 times. Shape the dough into a ball by pulling the edges of the dough into the middle.
7. Transfer the dough, seam side down, to the center of the sprayed parchment paper; then spray the surface of the dough with the vegetable oil spray.
8. Pick up the dough by lifting the parchment paper overhang and lower it into a heavy-bottomed Dutch oven. Let any excess parchment paper hang out over the edge of the pot. Cover the pot loosely with plastic wrap and allow the dough to rise at room temperature until it has doubled in size and does not readily spring back when poked with a finger, about 2 hours.
9. Adjust an oven rack to the middle position. Remove the plastic wrap from the pot.
10. Using a sharp knife, a razor blade or a bread lame, make long, ½” deep slashes  along the top of the dough; lightly spray with vegetable oil spray and top with remaining seeds.
11. Cover the pot and place it in the oven. Heat the oven to 425°. Bake the bread for 30 minutes. Note: Bread is placed into a cold oven; set the timer for 30 minutes at that point—do not wait until the oven preheats.
12. Remove the lid from the pot and continue to bake the bread until the loaf is a deep brown and registers 210° on an instant-read thermometer inserted into the bread, about 20 to 30 minutes longer.
13. Using the parchment paper overhang, carefully remove the bread from the pot. Transfer the loaf to a wire rack and allow it to cool completely . . . if you can wait that long. Best eaten the first day but makes fabulous toast for days afterwards. Store lightly wrapped leftover bread in refrigerator (wrap in plastic wrap or place in a bag that is only partially sealed.)

Multigrain Rolls/Buns -- filled with seeds, grains, whole wheat flour & more

I'm getting ready for my high school class reunion and need buns to serve with pulled pork. Previously, I've made Potato Puff Rolls and Hawaiian Rolls and had every intention of purchasing a multigrain roll for the third option . . . but I couldn't find what I wanted so it was back to the kitchen. And, that's fine as Barry was trimming and browning the pork that we'll slow-bake tomorrow in pork stock. 

I adapted a King Arthur recipe for slider buns, that I had made before, to create the recipe that follows . . .

Multigrain Rolls/Buns      Makes 20

1 ½  cups water heated to 120°  4 tablespoons softened butter 2 large eggs ½  cup granulated sugar 2 ½ teaspoons salt 2 tablespoon instant yeast About 1/4 cup+ grain flakes (I used a combination of rye and barley flakes which are similar in appearance to rolled oats; these flakes were purchased at Glenn's Bulk Food near Hutchinson, Ks; if unavailable, use rolled oat -- either old-fashioned or quick) 2 tablespoons flax seeds 2 tablespoon sunflower seeds  About 7 cups (more or less) flour -- a combination of all-purpose (about 5 cups) + 1 cup whole wheat + 1 cup bread flour . . . or any combination you prefer                             Toppings 1 egg mixing with about a tablespoon of water A mixture of seeds (about 3 to 4 tablespoons+ total) -- rye & barley flakes or oatmeal, flax seeds, sunflower seeds  Add roll ingredients — water through sunflower seeds + 2 cups flour   and mix (using the flat blade) in a Kitchen-Aid mixer. Add about 2 to 3 cups more of the flour . . . about ½ cup at a time. Once mixed, change to the dough hook and knead until dough is smooth and not sticky, adding more flour as needed — dough should pull away from the sides of the bowl and form a cohesive mass.  Add dough to a bowl that has been drizzled with vegetable oil, turn and then cover with a towel; let it rise for 1 to 2 hours, or until it's nearly doubled in bulk. (For a faster rise, add to a warm oven set on low (about 190°). Gently deflate the dough. Using a bench knife (dough cutter) or a knife, divide dough into 20 pieces (each weighing approximately 2 ½  oz.). Shape dough into balls and place on a silicon-lined baking sheet (or use parchment paper that has been sprayed with pan release). Using your hand, slightly flatten balls of dough. Brush rolls with egg mixture and sprinkle on seed mixture. Again, use your hand to lightly press seed into dough. Cover and let rise about an hour.  Preheat oven to 375°. Bake the buns for 10 to 12 minutes, until they’re a light golden brown; when tapped on the bottom, they should sound hollow if baked through. Remove them from the oven, and cool on a rack. Recipe without photos . . . Multigrain Rolls/Buns      Makes 20 1 ½  cups water heated to 120°  4 tablespoons softened butter 2 large eggs ½  cup granulated sugar 2 ½ teaspoons salt 2 tablespoon instant yeast About 1/4 cup+ grain flakes (I used a combination of rye and barley flakes which are similar in appearance to rolled oats; these flakes were purchased at Glenn's Bulk Food near Hutchinson, Ks; if unavailable, use rolled oat -- either old-fashioned or quick) 2 tablespoons flax seeds 2 tablespoon sunflower seeds  About 7 cups (more or less) flour -- a combination of all-purpose (about 5 cups) + 1 cup whole wheat + 1 cup bread flour . . . or any combination you prefer                             Toppings 1 egg mixing with about a tablespoon of water A mixture of seeds (about 3 to 4 tablespoons+ total) -- rye & barley flakes or oatmeal, flax seeds, sunflower seeds  Add roll ingredients — water through sunflower seeds + 2 cups flour   and mix (using the flat blade) in a Kitchen-Aid mixer. Add about 2 to 3 cups more of the flour . . . about ½ cup at a time. Once mixed, change to the dough hook and knead until dough is smooth and not sticky, adding more flour as needed — dough should pull away from the sides of the bowl and form a cohesive mass.  Add dough to a bowl that has been drizzled with vegetable oil, turn and then cover with a towel; let it rise for 1 to 2 hours, or until it's nearly doubled in bulk. (For a faster rise, add to a warm oven set on low (about 190°). Gently deflate the dough. Using a bench knife (dough cutter) or a knife, divide dough into 20 pieces (each weighing approximately 2 ½  oz.). Shape dough into balls and place on a silicon-lined baking sheet (or use parchment paper that has been sprayed with pan release). Using your hand, slightly flatten balls of dough. Brush rolls with egg mixture and sprinkle on seed mixture. Again, use your hand to lightly press seed into dough. Cover and let rise about an hour.  Preheat oven to 375°. Bake the buns for 10 to 12 minutes, until they’re a light golden brown; when tapped on the bottom, they should sound hollow if baked through. Remove them from the oven, and cool on a rack.