Three (or two) Seed Bread

I mixed some recipes from eat better america's website and Bob's Red Mill (www.bobsredmill.com) flax seeds package to create this bread today. It was delicious and fluffy. I might try it with more whole wheat flour next time to make it a little heavier, but I like breads that way. I also didn't want to spend $5 on a tiny jar of poppy seeds today with my tight budget, so I opted for more sunflower seeds to replace them. I topped off a slice with Earth Balance spread, and it was heavenly. For the vegans out here, I suppose you'd want to substitute the honey for brown sugar, and I think the amount could stay the same.

3-Seed Bread

Ingredients :

2 cups unbleached white flour

1 cup whole wheat flour

1 ¼ cups hot water

1/3 cup flax seeds

2 Tbsp roasted sunflower seed kernels

2 Tbsp honey

2 Tbsp. Vegetable or canola oil

1 Tbsp. Poppy seeds*

2 tsp. active dry yeast

1 ½ tsp. salt

¼ cup warm water

1. In small bowl, dissolve yeast in ¼ cup warm water. In large bowl, mix honey, oil, salt, and hot water. Cool 5 minutes.

2. To cooled honey mixture, beat in 1 cup unbleached white flour and 1 cup whole wheat flour, scraping bowl frequently. Beat in remaining 1 cup white flour and dissolved yeast. Add a little flour with a spoon as needed to get the dough to pull cleanly away from the sides of the bowl. Stir in the seeds lightly. You will work them into the dough as you knead it in the next step.

3. On a clean, dry, and floured work surface (a large wooden cutting board is perfect), knead the dough until it is smooth and elastic, about 10-15 minutes. You may need to add a few handfuls of flour. Only one at a time, though! Spray a clean bowl with cooking spray. Place dough in the bowl, cover loosely with plastic wrap and a cloth towel. Let rise in a warm place 30-45 minutes, or until light and doubled in size.

4. Grease a loaf pan with cooking spray. Gently push fist into dough to deflate. On a lightly floured work surface, roll out dough with a rolling pin into 18x8 inch rectangle. Starting with one 8-inch side, roll up dough tightly, pressing with thumbs to seal after each turn. Pinch edge of dough into roll to seal. Press each end with side of hand to seal Fold ends under loaf, place seam side down in pan. Cover with a towel and let rise in warm place 30-45 minutes or until doubled in size.

5. Heat oven to 375°F. Uncover dough and bake for 30 minutes. Reduce oven to 350°F and bake for another 5-10 minutes. (Note: Check frequently to make sure it’s not too brown. If you use a convection oven, you will likely not need this extra few minutes.) Loaf will sound hollow when lightly tapped. Immediately remove loaf from pan and place on wire rack. Cool for about 1 hour.

* Poppy seeds can be expensive. I replace them sometimes with one Tbsp Sunflower seeds.