Quick Bread

I've made bread all my adult life, but never as more than as a hobby, until the last few years. I always bought high quality multigrain breads. Not only is it good for you, it's what my family loved. 

I was standing in Costco one day, staring at the price for two loaves. Even in Costco the good stuff was close to $4.00 a loaf.  That was it, I was done buying my bread and decided to find a good recipe that I could use to make our bread myself. I tried recipe after recipe, and most were very good and worked just fine, but it always took so long. Until I found this one.

 It works with any combination of flours, and is done in an hour. Fast enough to put together after work and serve with dinner. If you use white flour and olive oil it makes really yummy dinner roles. I'm going to give you the basic recipe and then the modified recipe the way I use it every week.

Mix and set aside...

1/2 cup of warm water

2 tablespoons of yeast

In a large mixing bowl...

2 cups of hot water

1 tablespoon of salt

3 tablespoons of sweetener ( I use agave syrup, honey, rapadura, sugar, all work)

1/3 cup of oil (I use olive, or coconut. Any vegetable oil will do)

4 cups of flour (any kind)

Mix it all together, then add...

2 more cups of flour

the yeast mixture 

Knead the dough for at least 5 minutes. It is important not to shorten the time. If you need to, add more flour to keep the dough from sticking to the work surface. Shape the dough. If you're making loaves put them in greased loaf pans, for free form loaves, or rolls, a greased cookie sheet. Let the dough rise for 30 minutes in a warm place. I cover it with a damp kitchen towel while it rises. Bake the loaves in 400* oven for 25 minutes. 

I've tweaked the recipe to add more nutrition to it. Instead of 2 cups of hot water I use 2 cups of cooked grains. In a 4 cup pyrex measuring cup I cook 1/2 cup of millet, covered in water, in the microwave for 2 minutes, then toss in 1/2 cup of quinoa, and a cup of regular uncooked oats (not quick oats, it too mushy)and cover them with water to just above the top of the grains. Cook the quinoa and oats, along with the millet for another 1 1/2 minutes. The grains release the moisture into the flour so no extra water should be needed. For our regular bread I use a combination of flours. 2 cup spelt flour, 1 cup white flour, and 3 cups whole wheat bread flour. I also throw in  a big handful of ground flax seeds and wheat germ, maybe 1/4 cup each. 

After the loaves have risen, before I pop them in the oven, I brush an egg wash over the top. Just an egg and a little water. Gives the tops a lovely brown color. 

Even with all the added stuff and less common flours, it's less than a dollar a loaf. It's super versatile and almost impossible to mess up. I hope you all enjoy it!

- monkey