Multigrain and Seed Bread Extraordinaire

This Multigrain and Seed Bread Extraordinaire is a variation of one of my all time favorite breads. The dough is great for rolls, traditional sandwich loaves, and boules. It starts with a cornmeal, oats, wheat bran, flax meal, and flax seed soaker that you mix the day before. 

Prior to baking, the top of the loaf is generously sprinkled with lots and lots of poppy seeds. 

Oh, and a half a cup of cooked wild rice is kneaded into the dough. Isn't it gorgeous in that lacy bread? 

This is a hearty bread that is wonderful buttered, toasted and buttered, and my favorite way, toasted with a sunny side up egg on top for breakfast. I like to break the yolk and spread it over the bread. I like lots of pepper too... the slice underneath has butter on it....

Back to the bread.... even though my hobby is trying new bread techniques and recipes, I always seem to come back to a variation of this bread. This time the recipe was inspired by combining the different techniques from four of Peter Reinhart's bread books.

In every bread book he has published, Peter Reinhart has included a formula for Struan, which he also calls Multigrain Bread Extraordinaire. In each book, the formula is slightly different. I pulled out my copies of Artisan Breads Everyday, The Bread Baker's Apprentice, Whole Grain Breads, and Crust and Crumb.I played around with the recipe and baked this loaf.

I LOVE how this turned out, especially the addition of the flax seeds, the extra sourdough starter (if you don't have any starter, that's okay, you can still make this bread), and the extra wild rice. This is a bread that you can play with and make your own. The bread stays fresh for days. You can also slice it, freeze it, and then pull out slices to toast for breakfast. Play with it and let me know your variation!!

Other Struan breads I've previously posted here include Struan: A Multigrain Bread and Multigrain Bread Extraordinaire.

After the recipe, check out the 21 (that's twenty-one!) amazing bread recipes using seeds from the #BreadBakers.

Multigrain and Seed Bread Extraordinaire

Ingredients

Soaker

1 ounce (3 Tbsp) coarse grind cornmeal (polenta)

3/4 ounces (3 Tbsp) rolled oats

.25 ounces (2 Tbsp) wheat bran

.25 ounces (2 Tbsp) whole flax seeds

.25 ounces (1 T) ground flax seeds

2 1/2 ounces water

Final Dough

13.5 ounces unbleached high gluten or bread flour, plus extra if needed

1.5 ounces (3 Tbsp) brown sugar

1 1/2 tsp salt

1 Tbsp instant yeast
All of the soaker

3 ounces (about 1/2 C) cooked wild rice

1 1/2 Tbsp honey

1/2 C buttermilk (or milk)

4 ounces (by weight) of sourdough starter, fed or not fed (optional)

6 ounces (3/4 C) water

Lots of poppy seeds (for topping)

Instructions

1. The day before baking the bread, mix the soaker ingredients in a small bowl, and cover with plastic wrap. Let sit overnight at room temperature.
2. Whisk all of the dry ingredients, except the poppy seeds, in the bowl of stand mixer. 
3. Add the soaker, rice, honey, buttermilk, starter, and water, and mix by hand with the dough hook until all of the flour is moistened. Scrape the bowl with a bowl scraper, and attach the bowl to the mixer. 
4. Knead with the dough hook on low for about two minutes, adding more flour by tablespoon, until the dough is tacky, but not too sticky. Don't add too much flour... just enough. 
5. Knead the dough on medium low for about 6 to 8 minutes. 
6. Turn the dough out onto lightly floured work surface, and knead a few times by hand. 
7. Place the dough into an oiled bowl, cover with plastic wrap, and let rise until doubled, about 90 minutes. 
8. Flatten the dough on the counter, and roll into a loaf. Place it into an oiled 9 by 5 inch loaf pan. 
9. Sprinkle the top of the loaf generously with poppy seeds, and cover with oiled plastic wrap or a towel. 
10. Let rise for 60 to 90 minutes, until the dough his crested about 1 to 1 1/2 inches above the top of the pan. 
11. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Bake for 20 minutes, reverse the pan, and bake for another 15 to 20 minutes, until the interior registers 185 to 190 degrees F. 
12. Remove the loaf from the pan and cool completely on a wire rack. 

#BreadBakers is a group of bread loving bakers who get together once a month to bake bread with a common ingredient or theme. This month's theme is Seeds, and is hosted by Karen of Karen's Kitchen Stories (I know her!). Follow our Pinterest board right here. Links are also updated each month on this home page. We take turns hosting each month and choosing the theme/ingredient. If you are a food blogger and would like to join us, just send Stacy an email with your blog URL to foodlustpeoplelove@gmail.com Don't forget to check out the rest of the delicious breads with seeds:

• Amaranth Banana Nut Quick Bread from Magnolia Days
• Bird Seed Bread from Culinary Adventures with Camilla
• Hearty Seed Dinner Rolls from A Day in the Life on the Farm
• Khobz Mzaweq - Moroccan Decorated Bread from Food Lust People Love
• Makowiec - Polish Poppy Seed Bread from Sweet Cinnamon & Honey
• Multigrain Bread with Flaxseeds from Cooking Club
• Pain Petri (Moroccan Challah) from Passion Kneaded
• Seeded Club Soda Bread from Hezzi-D's Books and Cooks
• Sesame Studded Grissini from Ruchik Randhap
• Simit - Turkish Ring Bread from Spice Roots
• Sunflower Seed Bread from Kids and Chic