Multi-Grain Multi-Seed Bread

Continuing with the use of my bread flour, after the success of my Courgette and Mushroom Bread, and my desire to use a few tablespoons of the sunflower seeds and pumpkins seeds I recently bought (a total of 4 bags each!), I found an ideal recipe for a multi-grain, multi-seed bread loaf.

I adapted the original recipe slightly, taken from the All Recipes website, halving the amount of liquid sweetener and using bread flour instead of regular all-purpose flour. I couldn't wait to incorporate sunflower seeds, pumpkin seeds, sesame seeds in with a mixture of flours and oats. There's a good serving of healthy fats and protein from the seeds, together with fibre from the whole wheat flour, giving the bread lots of flavour and texture!

Roasting / toasting raw seeds and nuts really enhances the flavour. I usually do large batches of nuts (esp. almonds and cashews), as well as sunflower and pumpkin seeds in the oven - simply laid out on a baking tray for 10-15 minutes at 175C / 350F, turning occasionally to ensure they don't burn. If I don't have any dry roasted nuts and seeds to hand, I throw some in a pan and gently toast them on the stove top.

The calorie content for this bread and the courgette bread is very similar, as is the protein and carbs. However, there's more fibre in the loaf below as I used whole wheat flour, and more fats due to the mixture of seeds. I also added a tablespoon of agave nectar whereas the courgette bread has less than a gram of sugar per slice.

This bread is great toasted or eaten plain. Before a run in the moring, I usually eat a slice with almond butter and sliced banana. Great fuel to start the day!

Multi-Grain Multi-Seed Bread
Makes 12

Ingredients:
- 30g / 3tbsp pumpkin seeds
- 23g / 3tbsp sunflower seeds
- 18g / 2tbsp sesame seeds
- 26g / 5tbsp oats
- 180g / 6.5oz whole wheat flour (150g/5.5oz for bread and 30g/1oz for kneading)
- 120g / 4.5oz bread flour
- 7g / 0.25oz active dry yeast
- 1/2tsp salt
- 240ml / 8floz warm water
- 20g / 1tbsp agave nectar OR honey
- 1 egg white
- 15ml / 1tbsp water OR milk

Method:

• If preferred, toast the seeds in a pan for 5 minutes and then transfer to a bowl and stir in the oats.
• In a large bowl, combine 150g/5.5oz whole wheat flour, bread flour, active dry yeast and salt.
• Add the agave nectar or honey into the warm water and stir to combine.
• Pour the liquid and the egg white into the bowl of flours and mix together to form a sticky dough
• Using the remaining 30g/1oz flour, knead the dough on a floured surface for 10 minutes.
• Place back in the bowl and cover loosely with oiled cling film.
• Let the dough rise for 60-120 minutes, at room temperature, so it doubles in size.
• When the dough has risen, punch the dough with fists and add most of the seed mixture, leaving about 2 tablespoons for the top.
• Roll the dough into a loaf shape rectangle, about 12x8 inches and then roll up its shortest end.
• Pinch the ends together and tuck underneath, then place the dough into a loaf pan with the seam underneath.
• Cover the dough with the oiled cling film again and let the loaf rise for 1 hour until doubled in bulk.
• Brush the top of the loaf with a tablespoon of water or milk and sprinkle the remaining seed mixture.
• Bake in the oven at 175C / 350F for 30-35 minutes.
• Remove the bread from loaf the pan and allow to cool completely on a wire rack before slicing. ENJOY!

Nutritional Information: