I remember reading about someone saying that “Some multigrain bread is better suited to propping open a door than making a sandwich”! My one and only attempt at baking multigrain bread seemed to, more or less, prove this theory.
Then Rachel of Tangerine’s Kitchen announced she was hosting this month’s Bread Baking Day themed “wholegrain bread”! I have been otherwise busy for most of this month and I didn’t really want to complicate things with a wholegrain bread experiment which I was almost sure wouldn’t turn out right.
But it was BBD and a good friend was hosting it, so I found the time to bake some wholegrain bread. While this attempt didn’t produce a doorstop, but a reasonably moist if slightly dense loaf, it tasted awful. And I am not doing full justice to the bread when I say “awful”!!
I followed a recipe (accompanied by a temptingly beautiful picture) I found on the net that used cracked wheat, oats, corn and powdered flax seed. I’m not sure where things went wrong but I’ll just wrap up this experience by mentioning that the bread went into the bin. Not only was my multigrain bread a fiasco, I also felt terrible wasting food.
I do like multigrain bread, but there’s not much point in making something that no one else (read my husband and daughter) wants to eat, even though it’s healthy. But being the eternal optimist I am, I was sure there had to be a recipe somewhere for baking multigrain bread that tasted good. And third time is supposed to be lucky, I’ve heard.
So I played safe (better safe than sorry, I thought) and tried out these rolls (well, two grains and a third grain flour counts for multigrain, doesn’t it?) which I slightly adapted from this Multigrain Bread and this post contains my version.
I am happy to report that these rolls were very soft and tasty (and healthy too), totally unlike what I have come to expect wholegrain bread to be. I had this concept of a more dense and slightly heavy bread whenever multigrain bread is mentioned.
Multigrain Seed Rolls
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup water , warm
- 2 tbsps honey
- 1 tbsp active dry yeast
- 1/2 cup milk
- 1 cup all purpose flour , little more if necessary
- 1 cup whole wheat flour
- 1/2 cup cornmeal
- 1/2 cup oats rolled
- 3/4 tsp salt
- 1 1/2 tsps melon seeds
- 1 1/2 tsps flax seeds
Instructions
- Mix the honey in the warm water, and dissolve the yeast in it and allow it to proof (about 5 to 10 minutes). Soak the rolled oats in the milk and keep aside for about 15 minutes.
- Put all remaining dry ingredients in a food processor bowl and pulse a couple of times to blend well. This can be done by hand too, if you prefer.
- (I usually do this in the processor but the lid of my processor bowl cracked and is still in the process of being replaced. So my daughter stepped in and helped out with the kneading this time.)
- Add the oil, oat-milk mixture and the yeast mixture and pulse (or knead) until the dough just comes together as a rough ball. Now scrape the dough out onto a lightly floured work surface and add the seeds.
- Knead a few times, adding flour 1 tablespoon at a time if dough is too sticky to work with. Knead till the dough is smooth yet very slightly sticky yet manageable. Shape into a ball.
- Place the dough in an oiled bowl, cover and allow to rise till double in volume (about an hour or so)
- Now deflate the dough by pressing and pushing with your wrist and fold the dough over on itself a few times and allow to rise again, for about 1/2 an hour.
- Take the dough and flatten it slightly to remove any air bubbles and divide it into 6 (or 8 for smaller rolls) portions. Shape into rolls (this dough lent itself to decoratively shaping the rolls). If you prefer, you can shape this dough into plain rolls or even one single loaf.
- Place on a baking sheet dusted with cornmeal. Cover with a damp cloth and allow to rise till double. If you have made plain rolls or a loaf, you might like to slash them decoratively, using a sharp knife, at this point. Just ensure they don't get deflated while slashing.
- Bake the rolls at 190C (375F) for about 40 minutes or till the rolls sound hollow when tapped.
sra says
So sad about the unsuccessful multigrain bread. And you’re right, more than two is multi!
Happy Cook says
Real pity the multigrain bread didn’t go well and you had to bin them.You would be surprise dto hear that it has happened to all of us in one or the other dish.These rolls look really yumm.
Parita says
Bread looks good aparna…never heard of melon seeds in bread
TBC says
Hope you had a good time with your sis and the rest of the family.You’ve got great results here- third time’s a charm! 😀
Manggy says
I’m glad you stuck in there– looks like your hard work has paid off! Is that peanut butter? LOVE that! 🙂
Soma says
Aparna, I am sorry for the first set of bread, but it made me laugh, thinking of my attempt to make some date bars with a multigrain base:-Dthese look just fabulous!
Roshni Mitra Chintalapati says
those look great! I have been looking for healthy, soft bread recipes! You are right about the doorstop!!;)I will try these! I must say, ALL those bread photos look great!
Susan/Wild Yeast says
Thanks for helping to give whole grains a good name! Melon seeds, is that any melon in particular? I’ve never heard of them as ingredient.
Rachel says
Am glad it worked for you the third time…..
Pavithra says
Thats good it worked for u third time.. THose are looking really good i have bookmarked too.. so healthy and truely looking so good..wish i would be there to taste one..
Cham says
It happened for me only in bread, the whole thing went to trash twice! For a while I stopped the bread… Ur last attempt seems pretty tasty!
Lorraine @ Not Quite Nigella says
I have to agree, some multigrain is so hard it can be y used as a weapon (do you remember that film About a Boy when he kills the duck with one?). Yours however looks vastly different-it looks light and delicious!
Sharmila says
Those rolls look so good Aparna! Perfect! Too bad about the first attempt. 🙂
pigpigscorner says
Yea multigrain breads can be quite dense and hard. Good to hear that yours is a success!
Suparna says
wow Aparna! those look perfect 🙂 glad u got tried till u baked perfect ones.TC
A2Z Vegetarian Cuisine says
Perfect & healthy rolls.
Cynthia says
Thanks for the helpful comment on my salting post. Very much appreciated.Hope all is well with you and the family.
Divya Vikram says
Beautifully baked. love the perfect brown color!
Jacqueline says
I am so glad you tried again and didn’t give up. These rolls look gorgeous!
Miri says
Amazing tenacity you have – after one disastrous attempt, I’m mostly ready to throw the towel in! Those rolls look really good!
Curry Leaf says
Beautiful Rolls Aparna.I tried making multigrain bread but it was a failure,so this time also I am missing the bbd.Delicious and lovely rolls.
Bharti says
Yah for you! Glad these turned out good.
♥Rosie♥ says
These rolls look really good! Pleased they turned out well in the end.The same thing happened to me last week trying out a new recipe for a cake, twice it went into the bin!
♥♥♥Ria♥♥♥ says
Lovely looking rolls!! 🙂
Stefanie says
The rolls look gorgeous!
Anonymous says
Why… the bin? Why i always ask myself when i see people trash breads, these grains and flours cooked as bread may be inedible when the recipe does not work, but unless it is burnt, why would someone put them in the bin when they can be chopped up and crushed into bread crumbs to coat meats and vegetables for frying or thicken soups & sauces with some seasonings added. This would surely cut the waste and the cook will feel much more resourceful instead of the project failed. Be creative bakers, bread is just another form of the grains. If the bread is too hard, dampen it then make into bread crumbs and dry for another day. A happy use and no waste! I suggest soaking the grains in water 1-2 hrs. before adding for the whole grain dough and adjust the water in dough if needed. Happy Baking, Lili