Whole Wheat, Oat, & Flax Seed Bread | Sharing Bread

One loaf for you, one loaf for me.

This bread has just enough healthy to make you feel good about eating it. It is also super soft and moist....  and it is amazing spread with butter. It's also an excellent sandwich bread. I love it for turkey avocado, chicken salad, and BLT sandwiches.

And making it is easy!

You are probably asking yourself, "Are those giant dinner rolls or loaves of bread?"

By dividing your dough in half, forming the dough into boules, and placing them side by side in a bread pan, you end up with these loaves that are joined together, but easily separated... perfect for sharing.  Aren't they cute?  Then you just separate the loaves and you have one for you and one for a friend.... or two for you.

After the first time I baked this bread, I used the same divided loaf technique on other sandwich loaves, and it worked wonderfully.

Whole Wheat, Oat, & Flax Seed Bread | Sharing Bread

Adapted from King Arthur Flour

Ingredients

Starter

4.5 ounces unbleached bread flour

4 ounces whole wheat flour

1/8 tsp ascorbic acid (optional, I used it. I got mine from King Arthur Flour)*

1/4 tsp organic light sugar, turbinado, or Demerara sugar (I used an organic light brown granulated sugar)

1/4 tsp instant yeast (I used SAF)

2 C water

Dough

All of the above starter

7 ounces rolled oats

19 ounces bread flour divided into 7.5 ounces and 11.5 ounces

1 T kosher salt

6 T organic light sugar, turbinado, or Demerara sugar 

4 tsp instant yeast

1 1/8 ounces of ground flax seeds

4 T butter

1/2 C lukewarm water

Instructions

1. Combine all of the starter ingredients in a medium bowl. Cover with plastic wrap and allow it to rest for four hours.
2. Scrape the starter into the bowl of a stand mixer and stir.
3. Add the rest of the ingredients except the 11.5 ounces of bread flour.
4. Mix with the paddle attachment.
5. Switch to the dough hook and, while mixing, add in the rest of the flour by quarter cups. 
6. Knead for about seven minutes, until the dough is smooth and clears the sides of the bowl. 
7. Place the dough into an oiled bowl or dough rising bucket and allow to rise until it doubles. It took mine about 45 minutes but it could take up to two hours. 
8. Spray two 9" by 5" loaf pans with spray oil. 
9. Divide the dough into four equal pieces (I recommend using a scale) and form each into boules.
10. Place two dough balls side by side in each loaf pan and loosely cover (tight around the sides of the pans but loose on top, sort of like shower caps) with plastic wrap.
11. Allow the dough to rise until it crests about one inch above the top of the pans. In the meantime, preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
12. Bake the loaves for 20 minutes, tent lightly with foil, and continue baking for another 20 to 25 minutes. The internal temperature of the bread should reach 190 degrees F.
13. Cool the loaves in the pans for five minutes, and then remove them and cool them on a rack. 
14. When completely cool, store in plastic bags. 

*Ascorbic acid is vitamin C. If you have vitamin C tablets, you can grind one to powder and use it in this bread. 

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