Oat and Sunflower Seed Whole Wheat Bread

I love bread and am looking for more tasty homemade bread recipes to add to my repertoire.  This bread is hearty and so tasty.  The sunflower seeds add a nice crunch and the oats add great texture to the bread and the crust.  It is a simple bread to make and will be made many times again in our house!

 

This recipe makes a single loaf of bread.

1 1/2 C milk (I used 2%)

1/4 C molasses

2 1/2 tsp active dry yeast

1 egg, yolk and white separated

2 C + 1 C all-purpose flour

1 C whole wheat flour

1/2 C + 1 TBSP rolled oats

1 1/2 tsp salt

1/3 C + 1 TBSP raw sunflower seeds (unsalted)

In a saucepan, combine the milk and molasses and heat them to 105-115 F.

Remove the milk and molasses from the heat and sprinkle it with the yeast.

Let the yeast mixture sit for 10 minutes until it starts to foam.

Whisk in the egg yolk.

In a large mixing bowl, combine 2 C all-purpose flour, 1 C whole wheat flour, 1/2 C oats, salt, and the yeast mixture.

Beat it on medium speed until a dough forms, adding as much of the remaining 1 C all-purpose flour until a smooth ball forms.

Knead the dough on a floured surface by hand for 10 minutes or 6-8 minutes with the dough hook in  mixer.

Put the dough in a greased bowl and let it rise until doubled for about 1 hour.

Lightly grease a 9"x5" bread pan.

Punch down the dough and let it rest for 10 minutes.

Turn the dough onto a floured surface and gently knead in the 1/3 C sunflower seeds (do not knead too much or the dough will become tough).

Roll the dough out into a 12"x7" approximate square.

Roll the dough starting on the short side into a log.

Pinch the seam of the log to seal it and ruck in the ends.

Put the dough into the pan.

Cover the pan and let the dough rise for about 30 minutes.

Preheat the oven to 350.

Brush the top of the uncooked loaf with the egg white and sprinkle with the 1 TBSP oats and 1 TBSP sunflower seeds.

Bake for 35-45 minutes until the bread is cooked through.

Remove the bread from the oven and let it sit in the pan for 5-10 minutes.

Let it finish cooling on a wire rack.

The recipe is adapted from "Williams-Sonoma: Cooking Essentials".