Everyday Multigrain Sandwich Bread

Ingredients

The Soaker (Night Before, or 1 Hour Ahead)

Two parts boiling water to one part cereal. The cereal drinks almost exactly that much, so it goes into the dough without stealing water from your flour.

• 150g (¾ cup plus 2 tablespoons) seven grain hot cereal, uncooked
• 300g (1⅓ cups) boiling water
• 3g (½ teaspoon) fine sea salt

The Dough

Everything else goes in at once. No preferment, no starter, no waiting on a levain.

• 600g (5 cups) bread flour
• 200g (1¾ cups) white whole wheat flour
• 480g (2 cups) whole milk, lukewarm (about 95F / 35C)
• 80g (¼ cup) honey
• 50g (3½ tablespoons) unsalted butter, softened
• 14g (2¼ teaspoons) fine sea salt
• 8g (2½ teaspoons) instant yeast

The Top

Optional, but it's what makes the loaf look like it came from a bakery instead of your oven.

• 15g (1 tablespoon) whole milk, for brushing
• 15g (3 tablespoons) old-fashioned rolled oats

Total flour: 800g

Hydration: 60%

Pro tip: Seven grain hot cereal is the whole trick here. One bag replaces six or eight separate grains, it costs a few dollars, and it lives in the hot cereal aisle right next to the oatmeal. Bob's Red Mill 7 Grain and 10 Grain both work. So does any bulk bin multigrain cereal blend, as long as it's raw and uncooked, not instant.

Equipment

Method

Make the Soaker

This is the step people skip, and it's the step that decides whether you get a soft loaf or a heavy one. Dry grain in dough acts like a sponge and pulls water back out of your flour for hours. Soaked grain shows up already full and leaves the flour alone.

1. Combine and Stir. Put the cereal and salt in a medium heatproof bowl. Pour the boiling water straight over the top and stir it well with a fork or a dough whisk until there are no dry pockets hiding at the bottom.
2. Cover and Wait. Cover the bowl and leave it on the counter. Overnight is best, 8 to 12 hours. One hour is the minimum if you're baking today. When it's ready it looks like thick, cooled porridge and holds its shape on a spoon.

Wait: PT8H

Tip: That half teaspoon of salt is doing real work. Grain sitting in warm water for hours starts breaking its own starch down into sugar, and too much of that turns your crumb gummy. Salt slows those enzymes down. If your kitchen runs above 80F (27C), let the soaker cool on the counter and then move it to the fridge overnight.

Mix the Dough

Everything goes in together, soaker included. The grain has a shearing effect on gluten, so this dough takes a few extra minutes to come together than a plain white dough would. Give it the time and it gets there.

1. Combine Everything. In the mixer bowl, add both flours, the lukewarm milk, honey, salt, yeast, and the whole soaker. Mix on low with the dough hook for 2 minutes, just until there's no dry flour left. It looks rough and shaggy at this point. That's correct.
2. Rest 20 Minutes. Turn the mixer off, cover the bowl, and walk away for 20 minutes. This short autolyse lets the whole wheat bran soften and the flour finish drinking. The dough will be noticeably smoother when you come back, and you'll knead less for it.
3. Add the Butter. Add the softened butter in three or four pieces with the mixer on low. It'll look like the dough is coming apart. Keep going. It pulls back together within a minute or two.
4. Knead to Strength. Mix on medium-low for 7 to 9 minutes. You're looking for a dough that clears the sides of the bowl and pulls away from your fingers, soft but not sticky. Check the windowpane test: stretch a piece thin enough to see light through it. With grain in the dough you'll see the seeds and bits interrupt the window. Look at the film between them, not the bits.
5. By Hand Instead. Mix with a dough whisk until shaggy, rest 20 minutes, work the butter in with your fingers, then slap and fold on the counter for 8 to 10 minutes with two rests of 5 minutes in the middle. The rests do half the work for you.

Tip: Target a finished dough temperature of 78F (26C). Take its temperature with your instant-read thermometer. Warmer than 82F (28C) and the bulk rise runs away from you. Cooler than 72F (22C) and you'll be waiting an extra hour.

Bulk Fermentation

One rise in the bowl. bulk fermentation is where the flavor gets built, and with 1% yeast and a warm dough it moves along at a reasonable pace.

1. Round and Cover. Shape the dough into a loose ball, drop it into a lightly oiled bowl, and cover it.
2. Rise Until Nearly Doubled. Let it rise at room temperature for 1½ to 2 hours, until it's grown by about three quarters and springs back slowly when you press it. Judge the dough, not the clock. A cold kitchen adds 30 to 45 minutes.

Wait: PT1H45M

Tip: Grain doughs hide their progress. All those bits break up the light and make it hard to read volume by eye. Use a clear straight-sided container and mark the starting height with a rubber band or a piece of tape. Then you're measuring, not guessing.

Shape and Pan

Two loaves, rolled tight. The tighter the roll, the more even the crumb, and even crumb is the entire point of a sandwich loaf.

1. Divide. Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured counter and divide it in two equal pieces. Weigh them. Each should land around 940g. Eyeballing it gives you one tall loaf and one short one every time.
2. Pat and Roll. Pat each piece into a rectangle about 8 inches wide and as long as your pan. Roll it up tightly from the short edge, pinching the seam closed as you go. Push out any big air pockets you feel under your palms.
3. Seam Down. Set each loaf seam side down in a greased 9 by 5 inch pan. Press the dough gently into the corners so it fills the pan evenly.

Tip: If the dough fights you and springs back while you're rolling, it needs a bench rest. Cover it and give it 10 minutes, then try again. Fighting a tight dough tears the gluten you just spent nine minutes building.

Final Proof

Watch the pan, not the clock. The rim of the pan is the most reliable measuring tool in your kitchen.

1. Proof Until Domed. Cover loosely and proof for 1 to 1¼ hours, until the highest point of the dough sits about 1 inch above the rim of the pan.
2. Check It. Use the poke test. Press the side of the loaf gently with a floured finger. The dent should fill back in slowly and not quite all the way. If it springs back fast, give it 15 more minutes. If the dent stays put and the dough sighs, get it in the oven now.
3. Top It. Brush the tops gently with milk and scatter the rolled oats over them. Brush light. Pressing hard on a fully proofed loaf deflates it.

Wait: PT1H

Tip: Start your oven preheat when the dough is about 20 minutes out. Overproofed multigrain collapses in a specific way: the top caves into a shallow saddle instead of doming. Once you've seen it once you'll never miss it again.

Bake and Cool

Moderate heat and a thermometer. Honey browns fast, so this bakes cooler than a lean loaf would.

1. Bake. Bake at 350F (175C) on the lower-middle rack for 35 to 40 minutes. Rotate the pans front to back at the 20 minute mark if your oven runs hot on one side.
2. Tent If Needed. If the tops are deep brown before 25 minutes, lay a sheet of foil loosely over them and keep baking. Color on top doesn't mean done in the middle.
3. Check Internal Temperature. Done is 195F to 200F (90C to 93C) in the center. This is the one place I won't tell you to trust your eyes. A grain loaf can look finished and still be wet at the core.
4. Cool Completely. Turn the loaves out of the pans right away onto a wire rack. Let them cool at least 2 hours before you slice. Cutting warm multigrain bread gives you a gummy, compressed crumb and it's the number one reason people think they failed.

Tip: For a softer crust, brush the tops with a little butter the moment they come out of the pans. For a firmer, chewier crust, leave them alone.

Shaping Options

This dough was built for a pan, but it'll take a couple of other shapes without any changes to the formula.

Two 9 by 5 Pan Loaves (Recommended) (recommended)

The default. Even slices, good sandwich geometry, freezes well.

1. Divide. Two equal pieces, about 940g each.
2. Roll Tight. Pat to a rectangle, roll from the short edge, pinch the seam.
3. Pan. Seam side down in greased 9 by 5 pans, pressed into the corners.

One Pullman Loaf Plus Rolls

Split the dough 1000g for a 9 by 4 Pullman pan and the rest into rolls. Square slices for sandwiches, rolls for dinner the same night.

1. Divide. One 1000g piece, then divide what's left into 8 pieces of about 110g.
2. Shape. Roll the big piece for the Pullman. Round the rolls tight and set them on a lined sheet, 2 inches apart.
3. Bake. Pullman lidded for 35 minutes at 350F (175C). Rolls on their own sheet for 18 to 20 minutes.

Twelve Sandwich Rolls

The whole batch as twelve rolls of about 157g. This is the market-friendly version if you're selling.

1. Divide. Twelve pieces of about 157g each.
2. Round. Round each one on an unfloured spot on the counter so it grips and tightens.
3. Proof and Bake. Proof 45 to 55 minutes, then bake at 375F (190C) for 18 to 22 minutes to 195F (90C) internal.

Proof test: Press the side of the loaf with a floured fingertip. Ready dough takes the dent and fills it back in slowly, most of the way but not all. Fast and complete spring back means it needs more time. A dent that stays put means bake it now.

Bake the Loaves

Standard oven, no steam, no Dutch oven. A honey-sweetened dough browns on its own.

Oven: 175°C / 350°F. Internal temperature when done: 90-93°C / 195-200°F.

Standard Oven Bake (recommended)

Two pans side by side on one rack, uncovered start to finish.

Equipment: Two 9 by 5 inch loaf pans, lower-middle rack

1. Preheat. Preheat to 350F (175C) for at least 20 minutes with the rack in the lower-middle position.
2. Bake. Bake 35 to 40 minutes, rotating the pans front to back at 20 minutes.
3. Tent. Tent loosely with foil if the tops darken before 25 minutes.
4. Verify. Pull at 195F to 200F (90C to 93C) in the center.
5. Turn Out. Out of the pans immediately, onto a rack, cool 2 hours minimum.

Convection Bake

Faster and more even if your oven has a fan, useful when both pans won't fit on one rack.

Equipment: Two 9 by 5 inch loaf pans, convection setting

1. Drop the Temperature. Set convection to 325F (165C), which is 25 degrees below the conventional setting.
2. Bake. Bake 30 to 35 minutes. Convection browns the tops faster, so check at 22 minutes and tent if you need to.
3. Verify. Same target: 195F to 200F (90C to 93C).

Note: Bake to temperature, not to time. Every oven lies a little, and a grain loaf hides an underbaked center better than any other bread you'll make.

Storage

• Room temperature: 3 to 4 days in a sealed bread bag or a lidded box. Grain breads hold moisture better than plain white loaves because the soaked grain keeps giving water back to the crumb.
• Refrigerated: Skip the fridge. Bread goes stale faster at refrigerator temperature than it does on the counter.
• Frozen: Up to 3 months. Slice the whole loaf first, freeze in a bag with the air pressed out, then pull slices as you need them and toast straight from frozen.
• Refresh: Sprinkle the loaf with water and warm it at 350F (175C) for 8 to 10 minutes. The crust crisps back up and the crumb softens.

Frequently Asked Questions

What exactly is seven grain hot cereal, and what can I use instead?

It's a bag of cracked and rolled grains meant to be cooked like oatmeal. Wheat, rye, oats, barley, corn, flax, and millet in some combination, depending on the brand. Bob's Red Mill 7 Grain and 10 Grain are the two easiest to find. Any raw bulk-bin multigrain cereal works. What doesn't work is instant or quick-cooking cereal, because it's already been processed and turns to paste in the soaker. If you can't find any of it, use 90g rolled oats plus 30g cornmeal plus 30g cracked wheat and keep the water the same.

Can I skip the soaker and just throw the cereal in dry?

You can, and you'll regret it. Dry grain pulls water out of the dough for the next several hours. The gluten tightens, the rise stalls, and the loaf comes out heavy with hard bits in it that catch your teeth. If you're short on time, one hour with boiling water gets you most of the way there. One hour is a real option. Zero hours is not.

There seem to be two hydration numbers. Which one matters?

Both, for different reasons. The 60% on the recipe card is dough hydration, the 480g of milk measured against the 800g of flour, and that's the number that tells you how the dough feels while you work it. The other number is 78%, which counts every gram of water in the recipe against every gram of flour and grain together, soaker water included. That's how professional multigrain formulas are written and it's the honest total for the whole loaf. Use 60% when you're comparing this to other doughs you've made. Use 78% when you're building your own grain blend and need the real water budget.

Can I make this with all-purpose flour?

Yes. The loaf will be a little softer and a little shorter, which some people prefer. Hold back about 30g of the milk at the start and add it only if the dough seems stiff, because all-purpose drinks less than bread flour. Everything else stays the same.

My loaf sank in the middle after baking. What happened?

Almost always overproofing. If the dough rose much more than an inch above the pan rim, the gluten ran out of strength and gave up in the oven. Next time bake it 15 minutes earlier. The other possibility is pulling it out too soon. A center that hasn't reached 195F (90C) still has enough moisture in it to collapse as it cools.

Can I convert this to sourdough?

It's already done. The sourdough version is a separate recipe in the Pantry with its own levain build, longer bulk, and an overnight cold proof in the pans. The soaker is identical, so if you've made this loaf you already know the hardest part. Start there and the sourdough version will feel familiar.

How do I keep the oats on top instead of all over my counter?

Brush with milk, not water. Milk sugars and proteins glue the oats down as they bake. Brush right before the loaf goes in the oven, not at the start of the proof, or the topping soaks in and disappears.

Nutrition

Per serving (1 slice (about 47g)): 135 calories, 25g carbohydrates, 4g protein, 2g fat, 2g fiber, 210mg sodium. Makes 32 servings.