YOU GET A MORE FLAVORFUL AND HEALTHIER BREAD! What a great bonus, right? Many people have eaten rolled oatmeal for a quick, even instant microwaveable breakfast. Some people have tried the steel cut variety of oats. I wondered what happens if you add steel cut multigrain to bread. Read on to find out about using a 9 grain steel cut cereal mix added to a no-knead bread.
Steel Cut Multigrain Cereal
For this recipe, I use a multigrain (9-grain) steel cut cereal. I buy it at a local bulk foods store. It has wheat, barley, rye, triticale, corn, millet, oats, rice, and flax seed in it. Recently, due to the increased interest in baking breads, grain products have been hard to purchase. If a steel cut multigrain cereal is difficult to find, substitute steel cut oats. The recipe will work great and the flavor will still be delicious.
Adding a product like hydrated steel cut grains to bread dough adds additional liquid that affects the final hydration. To compensate, I adjust the overall added water (or other liquid if baking your own recipe). Recipe below is already adjusted.
Order a similar steel cut multigrain mix online, click this image.
Example of Added Nutrition with Steel Cut Multigrain Cereal
Added grains lend a beautiful nutty and hearty flavor to your final bread. They also provide fiber, depending on the grains you choose. Check the nutritional label on your selected multigrain cereal for benefits. In the example below, the most notable increase in nutrients over white flour is in Dietary Fiber.
EXAMPLE:
Pictured left is a nutrition label for 1/4 cup of the War Eagle Organic 7 grain cereal . Substituting 3/4 Cup of this cereal in place of white flour increases dietary fiber to 12g vs. the 1.5 g in 3/4 cup of bread flour alone.
Personal Vignette – European Life
When I lived in Europe, buying fresh, bakery-style breads was so easy, they were literally everywhere. Bread features on European tables for breakfast, lunch and dinner. For example, the petit dejeuner (breakfast) in Paris typically consists of a baguette with butter, a glass of juice and a cup of coffee (costing about 20 Euro, crazy prices in Paris). Instead, stop by a local bakery and buy a baguette for 2 Euro or have them cut a few slices of your chosen bakery loaf, then pay by the weight. What a fantastic way to reduce food waste!
Another Example of European Life…
Eating bread is synonymous with a European lifestyle. As one German friend said, “Us Germans, we can’t pass a day without our fresh brötchen (bread rolls).” So much so that German bakeries are allowed to be open every day including Sundays and holidays. Even when all other stores are closed by law! Now that is a serious bread addiction. I love the German passion for bread [and that other golden product, weißbier (wheat beer)]!
What Happens? Results.
The resulting multigrain bread is flavorful and healthy. Great qualities to have in fresh bread! Fantastic eaten warm (cool for 20 minutes before cutting) and then slice leftovers for toast. Eat this bread in the morning with a spot of jam instead of your usual oatmeal. So good.
New to Bread Baking? No worries – check out this article on 12 Steps to Perfect Bread. It will teach you the basic skills you must know to make any kind of bread. Review that and then give one of my easy-to-follow recipes a try. You won’t regret having fresh, homemade bread straight out of your oven!
Sharing is Caring
Find recipe below. I hope you are inspired to add steel cut multigrain to your bread. If you try it, remember sharing is caring! Bake two loaves – one to keep, one to share with a neighbor, friend, family or coworker. It will surely make their day. Please take a moment and post a picture of your bread on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and tag @christinasbreadbakes. I love to see your creations!
No Knead Bread with Added Steel Cut Multigrain
Equipment
- 4 Liter food container (or bowl)
- Cover for container (or plastic wrap)
- Digital Metric Scale
- Banneton (or other proofing dish)
- Dutch Oven (or Sheet Pan to bake)
Ingredients
- 120 grams Whole Grain Steel Cut Cereal (prepare with 375 ml of water)
- 400 grams White Bread Flour
- 75 grams Whole Wheat Flour
- 300 ml Warm Water (or cool if cereal is still hot)
- 1/4 tsp Yeast
- 11 grams Sea Salt
- 2 T Wheat Bran (or other topping like rolled oats)
Instructions
Cereal Pre-Cook
- Measure out dry cereal and water. Mix together. Place on burner.
- Bring to a boil.
- Reduce to simmer. Cover and simmer for 10 minutes until grains are hydrated. Set aside to cool.
- Cool grains for 10 minutes.
Bread Recipe
Scaling
- Weigh out all ingredients using a digital scale.
Mixing
- Add cold water to grains.
- Test temperature to ensure the mixture is not over 110 degrees; cool to around 100 F / 38 C.
- Mix white flour, whole wheat flour, and yeast together.
- Add wet mix to the dry flour mixture.
- Mix by hand until a course dough is formed.
- Cover and set aside for 20-30 minutes.
- Sprinkle salt over the wet dough. Using hands, pinch fingers together through dough to cut in the salt. Turn and cut several times.
- Next, fold the dough over itself by pulling one corner up and placing it over on the opposite side. Turn and pull/fold again for a total of 4-6 times.
- Flip dough so folds are on the bottom.
- Cover and let rest 10 minutes. No need to cut this time, only fold again 4-6 times. Flip so folds are on the bottom.
- Fold an additional four times, every 30 minutes. Always flipping it over on the seams. Cover after each fold.
Bulk Fermentation (First Rise)
- After four folds, cover and set aside in a warm place to double in size.
- When bread has doubled in size (approximately 7 hours after mixing) it is ready to shape.
Punching/Folding
- Gently dump bread on to a work surface, this achieves the punching/folding step.
Dividing
- This recipe is designed to make one large loaf. If you want smaller loaves, you can divide the dough in half at this step. Using a bench scraper, gently press down on the dough to cut it, do not saw at it which tears the gluten strands. If not dividing, move on to the next step.
Pre-Shaping or Rounding
- Form bread into a round shape. Pull corners to the center and pinch together.
- Flip bread over so pinched seams are on the bottom.
- Using friction, pull and turn the bread towards you several times until a tight round ball is formed.Hint: If dough is sliding too much and not tightening, clean flour off the work surface, if still no friction, slightly dampen the counter and try again.
Bench Proofing or Resting
- Set rounded dough aside to rest while you prepare the banneton or other proofing dish.
Make up or Panning
- Sprinkle the banneton with 2 T of wheat bran (or other topping like rolled oats).
- Pick up the dough ball by sliding your hands under it and placing it gently into the prepared banneton (seam side down).
Proofing (Second Rise)
- Cover and allow to rise in a warm place until doubled in size (about 45 minutes).
Baking
- Place the Dutch oven and the cover into a cold oven. Preheat at 475 F / 245 C degrees for 45 minutes.
- Uncover the banneton. Remove the heated Dutch oven from the oven. Remove lid.
- Gently loosen and dump the bread upside down into the Dutch oven (so seam sides are now facing up). Replace lid.
- Bake at 475 F / 245 C for 30 minutes with lid on.
- Remove lid. Bake for additional 10-15 minutes until bread is a dark brown with crusty edges.
Cooling
- Remove the Dutch oven and set on a heat proof surface.
- Immediately remove the bread from the Dutch oven after baking has finished. Set bread on a cooling rack to allow air flow around the bread. Listen to the symphony of crackling as the crust begins to cool.
- Allow to cool at least 15 minutes, preferably 30 minutes, before slicing.
Storing
- If you do not use this bread immediately, it can be stored in the open air for 8 hours, or even overnight, as long as it is not cut.
- Once the bread has been cut, allow it to cool completely. Store cut side down on a cutting board for up to one day.
- After that time, slice the remaining bread, place slices in an airtight bag, and freeze the slices. Warm each slice in a toaster before eating.
Mmmm this bread looks amazing! I’m always on the lookout for a new bread recipe to try. Thanks!
Hi Jac – Thanks for visiting, you found one of my very favorite breads. Enjoy trying it!
I bet this bread is amazing. Looks so good.
Hi Gina – It is amazing hearty bread with the addition of steel cut multigrain. I hope you get a chance to try it!
i like the details of this recipe and curious about bread baking, thank you for getting into the details I would love to try especially it is also good and healthy.
Hi Jeannie – I try to write all my recipes with detailed instructions and photos so the beginner can successfully bake my breads. A great recipe for a beginner is my easy whole wheat no knead bread. Give it a try!
I absolute love this recipe and the bread pictures just make me want to prepare this delicious bread right now. I love the fact that it has the best nutritional values that I think we miss having on a daily
Hi Kris – Yes, I believe baking your own bread can really boost a healthy diet (and it is so fun and delicious)! Store bought products do not compare.