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A honey of a recipe for wholesome bread

Whole-wheat dough that rises too high might fall in the oven
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Wholesome brown bread can be made in loaf pans or as round cottage loaves.

Q Do you have a favorite healthy 12-grain or multigrain bread recipe you use that you would share with us?

George & Betty Beecroft

A There's a back-story to the Beecrofts' question. The first email I received from them contained unfortunate news: A good friend had passed away. That friend often shared the gift of food.

"She always made wonderful 12-grain bread and would bring us a loaf," George and Betty said.

They asked their friend's daughter for the recipe and she kindly gave them what she thought were the proportions, but the Beecrofts' bread wasn't the same.

"The bread tastes great, but does not rise like it should and even falls in the oven," they said.

I did some trouble-shooting, but their friend probably had her own special way of making that bread. Now, not able to obtain pertinent information, they asked me for a similar recipe and I obliged.

Their friend's bread contained 12-grain, rye and all purpose flour. My bread is similar, but also contains oats. Instead of 12-grain flour, a mix of grains, I simply used fibre-rich wholegrain flour.

Just so you know, according to Health Canada (hc-sc.gc.ca), when wheat is milled to make flour, the parts of the grain are usually separated and then recombined.

For all-purpose flour, to keep its light colour and smooth texture, the germ and bran are not added back in. The website says this results in a loss of fibre and nutrients. Because of that, producers are required to enrich white flour, making it a significant source of several vitamins and iron, but lacking some of whole-wheat flour's fibre and nutrients.

For whole-wheat flour, regulations allow up to five per cent of the rancidityprone kernel to be removed. Unfortunately, the portion removed contains much of the germ and some of the bran.

Health Canada says if all parts of the kernel are used in the same relative proportions as they originally existed, the flour can be called whole grain, the most nutritious of the lot.

I used flavour-enhancing active dry yeast in my bread, which needs to be dissolved in warm water.

The water should be 100 F to 110 F (37 to 43 C). Use a thermometer to check it; if it's too hot you'll kill the yeast.

Also, if you add too much yeast, the bread will rise too much and could collapse during baking. Don't confuse active dry yeast with instant (rapid rise) yeast, which can be used immediately and reduces rising time.

I used my sturdy stand mixer to knead the dough. This could be done by hand, but you would need to do it a few extra minutes and have strong arms. Properly kneading the dough devel-ops the gluten and gives the bread strength to stand during rising and baking.

According to a great bread-baking article by Rose Levy Beranbaum on epicurious.com, generally speaking, dough is proofed when doubled in size. She says dough that contains more than 50 per cent whole-wheat flour is an exception. Because of the bran, it is more fragile and should only be allowed to rise to one-and-a-half times its size. Over-proofing is another reason why it may collapse during baking.

Unless your kitchen's temperature is a tropical 24 C to 29 C, Berannaum says one simple way to speed up the proofing process is to place the dough with a container of very hot water nearby in a microwave or standard oven without a pilot light, but with the oven light turned on to provide gentle heat. Cover both the dough and water with a large towel.

However, when proofing dough I like to take a patient approach and let it rise at normal room temperature, which in my house is around 68 F (20 C). I find the more slowly the dough rises, the more flavour it develops.

WHOLE-GRAIN BREAD WITH OATS, RYE AND HONEY

This recipe yields three hearty loaves, each about 10 centimetres wide and tall.

To make larger loaves, make two instead of three. The loaves freeze well. This bread makes great toast and sandwiches and is great to serve with cheese, soup and stews.

Preparation time: 15 minutes, plus kneading and rising time

Cooking time: 45 to 50 minutes Makes: 3 loaves

1/3 cup lukewarm water

2 1/4 tsp active dry yeast (see Note)

1 large egg, beaten

1/4 cup butter, melted

2 2/3 cups lukewarm water

1 1/2 tsp salt

1/4 cup honey

1/2 cup large flake rolled oats

3 cups whole grain flour (see Note)

3 cups unbleached all-purpose flour

1 cup dark rye flour (see Note)

- vegetable oil and spray

Combine 1/3 cup of the water and yeast in the bowl of your stand mixer. Let stand until the yeast is dissolved, about 5 minutes.

Mix in the egg, butter, remaining 2 2/3 cups water, salt and honey. Add flours and oats.

Put on your dough hook and mix and knead the dough for 8 to 10 minutes. Very lightly oil a large bowl. Set in the dough and turn to coat. Cover the bowl with a slightly dampened kitchen towel and let the bread rise in a draft-free place at room temperature until 1 1/2times its original size, about 90 minutes to 2 hours.

Grease 3, 8 1/2-x 4 1/2inch non-stick loaf pans with vegetable-oil spray.

Turn dough on to a work surface (no need to punch it down) and divide into 3 equal pieces. Shape each piece into oblongs the same length as the pan. Set one oblong intp each pan. Cover the pans with the kitchen towel and let rise until the bread is 1 1 ?2-times its original size, about 90 minutes to two hours.

Preheat the oven to 350 F. Bake the bread 45 to 50 minutes. Rotate the bread once during baking. (When done, the crust will be golden brown and the bottom of the loaf will sound hollow when tapped.) Set the baking pans on a cooling rack and cool 15 minutes. Remove the loaves from the pans and cool.

Note: Active dry yeast is sold in small jars and packets. The whole-grain flour I used was Anita's Organic Mill brand. It says stoneground whole-wheat flour on the front label, but the fine print says it's a wholegrain flour. The dark rye flour was by Rogers.

Eric's options: You can also make the bread in freeform loaves. To do so, cut the dough in three and shape into round loaves, each about 5 cm in height. Set on a large non-stick baking sheet and bake as described in the recipe.

Eric Akis is the author of the Everyone Can Cook series of books. His columns appear in the Life section Wednesday and Sunday.

eakis@timescolonist.com