10-Grain Whole Wheat Bread has amazing texture and taste. It’s moist and full of goodness in every bite. 10-Grain Whole Wheat Bread is deliciously healthy, makes perfect toast and is a snap to make in a bread machine. It’s so good that it has earned the CJHK seal of approval!
What is the CJHK seal of approval you ask? It’s the Master Taste Tester’s ultimate compliment!
Ingredients for 10-Grain Whole Wheat Bread
Making the bread is a bit of a misnomer because the bread machine actually did all of the work once I had added the ingredients. I used eggs, water, olive oil, honey, Kosher salt, whole wheat flour, 10-grain cereal, vital wheat gluten and instant yeast.
Why Weigh Ingredients
The ultimate key to success in making any bread is to weigh the ingredients. I learned a long time ago that there is a lot of variability in eggs, flour and measuring cups/spoons.
In the United States, the USDA has established these minimum weights per dozen eggs for the different categories of eggs:
- Jumbo: 30 ounces (about 2.5 ounces per egg)
- Extra-Large: 27 ounces (about 2.25 ounces per egg)
- Large: 24 ounces (about 2 ounces per egg)
- Medium: 21 ounces (about 1.75 ounces per egg)
- Small: (18 ounces (about 1.5 ounces per egg)
Because the USDA standards are based on a dozen eggs, one can expect variability in the weight of the individual eggs. For example, I weighed each of the dozen large eggs that I purchased yesterday. The total weight was 24.28 ounces. The smallest of the eggs weighed 1.80 ounces and the largest weighed 2.19 ounces.
Even if two whole eggs weigh the same, what’s on the inside could differ because of the weight/thickness of the shells.
Flour also has a lot of variability per measured cup. This variability is caused by both the accuracy of the measuring cup and the method used. Many sources recommend that you fluff the flour, lightly spoon it into your measuring cup and level off the top with a knife. However, even with this method, the flour can weigh anywhere between 4.25 ounces and 5.5 ounces.
There are lots of inexpensive kitchen scales that one can purchase. The one that I use only cost $14. It is super accurate and I use it all the time!
When putting my recipes together, I consistently follow Julia Child’s recommendation of 1 cup of flour equals 5 ounces.
Making the 10-Grain Whole Wheat Bread
Because of the importance that I place on weighing the ingredients, I started by placing the pan of the bread machine on the kitchen scale and zeroing it out. Then I added the eggs and enough water to equal the desired weight of the eggs plus water. After breaking up the egg yolks with a small spoon, I zeroed the scale and added the olive oil, again by weight. Then, I zeroed the scale again and added the honey by weight.
After that, I added the remaining ingredients that I had weighed, ending with the yeast on the top. I set the bread machine to the whole wheat cycle, pressed start and walked away.
After a little less than 4 hours, I ended up with a perfect loaf of 10-Grain Whole Wheat Bread. It was firm enough that the Master Taste Tester could easily slice off extremely thin pieces with no problem, but moist enough that it consistently held together.
It used to be that the Master Taste Tester’s favorite bread was my Bran Bread. However, because of its overall rounded flavor and consistency, he much prefers this 10-Grain Whole Wheat Bread. Yum!
10-Grain Whole Wheat Bread (Bread Machine)
Equipment
- Bread Machine
Ingredients
- 2 large eggs, plus enough filtered water to total 19 ounces (See Tip 1)
- 3 Tablespoons (1.5 ounces) olive oil
- 3 Tablespoons (2.25 ounces) honey
- 1 Tablespoon (0.75 ounces) Kosher salt
- 5 cups (25 ounces) whole wheat flour
- 1 cup (6 ounces) 10-grain cereal (See Tip 2)
- 3 Tablespoons (1.2 ounces) vital wheat gluten
- 2 Tablespoons (0.75 ounces) bread machine or instant yeast
Instructions
- Add all ingredients in the order listed to the bread machine pan. Select Wheat Bread and Dark Crust. Press Start.
- Yield: 3-pound loaf. (See Tip 3)
Chula's Expert Tips
- It's important to use filtered water. Tap water contains chlorine which can retard or kill the yeast. By measure the water would be between 1 3/4 cups and 2 cups.
- I used Bob's Red Mill Whole Grain 10 Grain Hot Cereal. You need to make sure that it's hot cereal.
- The recipe can be easily cut in half to produce a 1 1/2 pound loaf.
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