Delicious multigrain bread

The multigrain bread has quite always been present in my kitchen since I was a child/teenager. My mother used to buy Graham bread, which was one of the few whole wheat bread then, but soon other kinds enriched with other seed began to appear at the supermarket shelves.

When I lived in Rio again for a couple of years with my children, we used to buy a multigrain bread called 7 grains. It was our favorite.

I have tried other recipes, and I like all of them because each one has something different from the others. This multigrain bread has the peculiarity of the caraway seeds, which gives it a different flavor.

This fantastic recipe – it is fantastic because risk-free and delicious – is from Martha Stewart. A name, a guarantee ;-D. I have prepared it in 2 different ways: the first way is using just 1 cup of milk, instead of 1 1/2; and the other way is using the regular quantity. The difference? Using less milk results in a drier bread, less soft – but if kept in the fridge will last for longer and, cut in thin slices and toasted…is simply fantastic!

The regular recipe is good the same, resulting in a more regular softness and humidity. Both are great and I still don’t know which is the best ;-D.

This multigrain bread is pretty easy to prepare, just like a plumcake. Prepare the ingredients and then you just have to mix them and bake.

By the way, I used low-fat milk instead of whole milk (as always) and I used Kamut flour instead of spelt one as it was the one I had at home. I believe it may work well also with all-purpose flour if you haven’t spelt or Kamut flour available in your kitchen.

Ingredients:

• 2 cups whole wheat flour
• 2 cups Kamut or spelt flour
• ½ cup + 2 Tbsp of toasted sunflower seeds
• ½ cup + 1 Tsp of sesame seeds
• 2 Tbsp + 1 Tsp of caraway seeds
• 2 Tbsp + 1 Tsp of flax seeds
• 2 Tsp baking powder
• 1 Tsp baking soda
• 2 Tsp salt
• 1 (+ ½) cups milk
• ¾ cup buttermilk
• 2 Tbsp of honey
• 2 Tbsp of extra virgin olive oil

Instructions:

1. Turn on the oven to 350°F/180°C.
2. Cover a 3.93 x 7.8 in/10 x 20 cm pan with parchment paper
3. In a bowl, whisk the flours, ½ cup sunflower seeds, ½ cup sesame seeds, a Tbsp flax seeds and a Tbsp caraway seeds plus baking powder, baking soda and salt.
4. Stir together milk, buttermilk, honey and oil in a large bowl until well combined. Add the flour mixture and beat until well combined.
5. Transfer the dough to the pan and add the remaining seeds, pressing gently to adhere to the dough.
6. Bake for 1 hour and 5 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean when punching the bread. Let it cool on a wire rack.
7. Buon appetito!