Are you as big of a fan of homemade bread as I am?  If you have been following me for a while, you already know that carbs are my love language, and I cannot think of any carbs that are more tempting to me than a freshly baked loaf of bread.  To be honest, it’s not just the actual eating of the bread slathered in melted butter that soothes my soul, but the smell of the bread baking in the oven is calming and satisfying for me.

I am a big fan of seeds or nuts in my bread as they always make me feel like I’m eating a little more healthy, so I decided it was time for me to make my own Multi-Seed Honey Wheat Bread.  Let me tell you, this is absolute heaven.  I love this bread thinly sliced and toasted with a little butter on it for my breakfast or lunch, but my hubby has made full on peanut butter and jelly sandwiches on this bread EVERY day this week and has raved about how much he loves it.

This bread uses yeast, but don’t let that deter you!  Yeast is not as terribly complicated as many people make it out to be and there is an easy way to test it to make sure your bread will rise before you start!  Just place your yeast in warm liquid with a tiny bit of sugar and watch it activate within a few minutes – if it doesn’t foam up, don’t go any further in your recipe and get yourself some new yeast.  If it does, you are ready to make bread!  I always make this test the first step in a yeast recipe no matter if I’m using instant yeast or not, just to give any baker peace of mind.  The more you use yeast the more comfortable you will become with it, so don’t stress – let’s have some fun!

A couple of tips for making this recipe:

• Read through the recipe a couple of times before starting so you are familiar with the process!  It helps a ton!
• The milk needs to be about 110 degrees – I microwave the two cups for 2 minutes on high then stir and it is the perfect temperature, but use an instant read thermometer to make sure it’s not too hot – you don’t want to kill the yeast!
• Honestly, you can use whatever seeds you like or have on hand in this bread to make it delicious.  I used 16 Tbsps (equal to a cup total) of a variety of seeds to make this amazing loaf, which is what I have included in the ingredients below, but if you don’t have pepitas (the little green pumpkin seeds) increase the shelled sunflower seeds!  If you don’t have flax, add an extra Tbsp of something else.  You can use any of your favorite seeds to make this.
• You may not need all of the bread flour the recipe calls for.  Depending on the weather, your elevation, or even the temperature of your house, bread dough flour measurements can vary a bit.  Start with all of the whole wheat flour and 2 cups of bread flour, then slowly add in spoonful’s of the remaining cup of bread flour until the dough pulls away from the edges of the bowl and a ball of dough starts to form, then stop adding.  The dough should feel tacky to the touch, but not stick to your fingers.
• This will be a heavier dough because it uses whole wheat flour and seeds as well as bread flour.  To shape the dough, form each half of the pieces of dough in to a ball, then roll out as well as you can, roll up tightly as if you were making cinnamon rolls.  Tuck the ends under and place seam side down in the pan.  Don’t worry about it not filling the pan – it will do that as it rises for the second time.

Ingredients:

• 2 cups warm milk (about 110 degrees)
• 1 Tbsp instant yeast
• 1 tsp sugar
• 2-1/2 cups whole wheat flour
• 2 – 3 cups bread flour
• 6 Tbsp shelled sunflower seeds
• 6 Tbsp pepitas
• 2 Tbsp sesame seeds
• 1 Tbsp poppy seeds
• 1 Tbsp flax seeds
• 2 tsp salt
• 1/4 cup honey
• 1/4 cup canola oil
• Egg wash:  1 egg whisked together with 1 Tbsp water
• Extra seeds for sprinkling over the top

Instructions:

1. Add the yeast and sugar to the warm milk and give a stir, let sit for 3-5 minutes until foamy or frothy
2. In your mixer bowl, whisk together all of the whole wheat flour, 2 cups of the bread flour, the seeds, and salt
3. Add in the milk/yeast mixture, canola oil and honey
4. Use the dough hook on low speed to mix everything together, scraping down the sides as needed
5. Slowly add in up to another cup of bread flour.  You probably will not need all of it – just add enough until the dough pulls away from the sides of the mixer and comes together as a ball of dough
6. Let the dough knead with the dough hook on low for 5 minutes
7. Remove the bowl from the mixer, remove the hook, and spray around and under the dough with non stick spray
8. Cover with a towel and let rise for an hour or until double in size
9. Spray two bread pans with non-stick spray and sprinkle a few seeds in the bottom
10. Punch down the dough and divide in to two equal size pieces
11. Shape each piece in to a loaf and place each loaf in one of the prepared pans
12. Cover and allow the bread to rise for an additional 30-45 minutes or until doubled in size again
13. Preheat oven to 350
14. Gently brush the egg wash over the bread and sprinkle with additional seeds if desired
15. Bake the loaves at 350 for 28-30 minutes or until the bread is golden brown and cooked through (it should sound hollow when you tap the bottom of the loaf.)
16. Immediately remove bread from pans and allow the bread to cool completely on the cooling rack before slicing