Chris' Bran Bread is moist and full of goodness in every bite. It's deliciously healthy, makes perfect toast, and is a snap to make in a bread machine.
I've been tweaking with this bread recipe for a number of years, and decided that I should update it. This is especially so given my relatively new Zojirushi bread machine.
Ingredients for Chris' Bran Bread
I used the following ingredients for Chris' Bran Bread: Filtered water, eggs, Kosher salt, olive oil, honey, wheat bran, bread flour, and yeast.
Through the years in making this bread, I've learned several things. First, I weigh most of the ingredients. This is especially true with the combination of the eggs and water since not all eggs are created equal. Second, I use a minimal amount of yeast given the amount of flour and wheat bran. In fact, I use one-third of the amount of yeast that I originally started with. The reason for the reduced amount of yeast was that the Master Taste Tester asked that I experiment until the bread consistency was perfect for slicing. Finally, I experimented with the amount of wheat bran until it was maximized without sacrificing the consistency of the bread.
The reason that the bread is so easy to make is that the bread machine does most of the work. My job is to simply add all of the ingredients to the pan of the bread machine and press start. Three hours and 40 minutes later, out comes a perfect loaf.
As I said, I weigh most of the ingredients that go into this amazing bread. Here's how I do it:
- I put the bread pan on the kitchen scale, zero it out, add the egg, and then enough filtered water for the total weight to be 8.5 ounces. It's important to use filtered water because chlorinated water tends to kill the yeast.
- I don't bother weighing the salt.
- I zero the scale and add the olive oil. Then, I zero the scale and add the honey. The reason that I weigh the olive oil and honey is more for convenience than anything else. Both olive oil and honey are a bit messy with measuring spoons.
- I zero the scale and add the Wheat Bran. There's a lot of variability in the weight versus volume of the Wheat Bran.
- I zero the scale and add the flour. There's a ton of variability in the weight of flour versus a volume based measurement. For example, depending on how you measure flour, one cup can weigh anywhere from four ounces to six ounces.
- I don't weigh the yeast.
After the bran bread cools, it's ready for the Master Taste Tester to slice. I will say that he's a master at slicing the bread! Yum!
If you're looking for more bread machine recipes, check out my 10-Grain Whole Wheat Bread or Jewish Rye Bread.
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Chris' Bran Bread - Revisited
Ingredients
- 2 large eggs lightly beaten, plus enough filtered water to equal 17 ounces (482 grams total) - See Notes 1 and 2
- 1 Tablespoon Kosher salt
- 2 Tablespoons (1 ounce, 28 grams) olive oil
- 2 Tablespoons (1.5 ounces, 43 grams) honey
- 1.8 ounces (51 grams) unprocessed Wheat Bran
- 24.6 ounces (697 grams) bread flour
- 1 teaspoon instant yeast
Instructions
- Place all ingredients into the pan of a bread machine, in the order listed. Program the machine for the regular cycle. If necessary, adjust the dough’s consistency with additional flour or water. Allow the machine to complete its cycle. Yield: One 2 ¾-pound (1 ¼ kg) loaf. See Note - 3.
Tips/Notes
- Note 1: Because eggs are of different sizes, I always use the weight of the eggs plus the water to reach the desired level of liquid.
- Note 2: Always use filtered water. Tap water contains chlorine which can kill the yeast.
- Note 3: Always weigh ingredients when making bread to ensure consistent results.
Nora says
Love this recipe! The loaf came out great and rose perfectly. I always weigh the dry ingredients, mainly the flours and I just watched the water… I added almost the amount required and watched the flour ball as it was mixing and added a little extra water so that the flour ball was the correct consistency . Tastes delish and I just sized it down to male a 1.5 lb loaf for the next time. Thank you for a great recipe!
Chula King says
So glad the recipe worked. I'm a huge advocate for weighing the dry ingredients!
Chula
Tricia says
Used the weighed measurements and the dough was really wet and did not rise well. I don’t think a teaspoon is sufficient. My yeast is brand new so I know it’s not old. We’ll see how it bakes.
Missy says
Is the bread flour wheat or white?
Chula King says
It's white bread flour.
Donna says
I don't have Kosher Salt but I have Himalayan Pink Salt. Would it work tge same??
Chula King says
Donna,
I've not used Himalayan Pink Salt in this recipe, but it should work fine as a substitute for the Kosher salt.
Chula
Randy says
Ounces and grams,please make this easy for people that use cups and tablespoons
Chula King says
Randy,
The only way that I can ensure that my bread recipes come out perfectly every time is to weigh the ingredients. There is a lot of variability in the amount of liquid that a large egg produces which is why I combine the egg and water for the total of 17 ounces. The total of 17 ounces is 2 cups plus 2 tablespoons. If you don't want to bother with that, then you could try 2 large eggs plus 1 3/4 cups plus 2 tablespoons of water. There is also a lot of variability in how one measures the dry ingredients, especially the flour. My rule of thumb for flour, borrowed from Julia Child is 1 cup is equal to 5 ounces. This would equate to approximately 5 cups of flour. For the wheat bran, you would need approximately 3/4 cup.
Chula