This bread flies in the face of everything I’ve learned about bread baking over the last two years. It’s not a super wet dough, yet you don’t have to knead it, and it has only one proofing stage. After stirring the mixture of grains and seeds for 10 minutes (with a fork!), you then shape it, and drop it in a loaf pan to rise. With seven grains (oats, semolina, millet, white, whole wheat, rye and spelt) and three seeds (flax, sesame, sunflower), this is an even healthier version of the only commercial bread we still buy: Silver Hill’s Squirrely Bread. That’s a sprouted wheat bread, something I doubt I’ll ever get around to baking.

The recipe comes from an article in The Washington Post’s Lifestyle Magazine, “How to make a superior multigrain bread, without kneading” from July, 2016. The amounts are in Imperial units (US ounces) which is a crazy way to measure, so I’ve listed the ingredients below in grams, AND halved them, to make two small loaves, using 8″ x 4.5″ loaf pans. I also made an egg wash of one egg yolk and a splash of milk. This makes a nice dark, shiny crust. I don’t roll the dough in the seeds, but rather wait until they’ve risen, then paint it on the loaves and sprinkle on the seeds. Here’s the listing of the bread on the bakery’s website.

• .5 oz rolled oats (not quickk-cooking or instant)
• .75 oz flaxseed
• .75 oz sesame seeds
• .75 oz sunflower seeds (I prefer roasted, salted)
• .75 oz semolina flour
• .50 oz millet or bulgar
• 1/2 cup 95 degree water

1. Combine the oats, seeds, semolina, millet (or bulgar) in a small bowl. Stir in the hot and thoroughly combine.
2. Cover and let sit at room temperature for at least two hours.

• 340g flour
• 85g whole wheat
• 45g rye
• 25g spelt
• 42g honey
• 1-1/2 tsp yeast
• 8 g salt
• 2 cups room temperature water

1. Measure the flours in a large bowl and wisk to combine.
2. Add the soaked-grain mixture, and then add the honey and yeast on one side, and the salt on the other.
3. Add the water, then begin stirring with a large, sturdy fork. Don’t try to skip this step by mixing in your stand mixer, it is too dense to use a machine.
4. Keep mixing for 10 minutes to form a fairly smooth, firm dough. The temperature should be between 76 to 80 degrees on an instant-read thermometer.
5. Transfer the dough to a lightly oiled contertop.
6. Divide it in half, then pat it into a rectangle.
7. Use the head and sholders method to shape into a log.
8. Tuck the sides under, then place in very lightly buttered loaf pans.

1. Cover and let proof for about 2 hours, or until doubled.
2. Meanwhile, preheat oven to 475 degrees.
3. Once risen, brush loaves with egg yolk mixture, then sprinkle with sesame and sunflower seeds.
4. When ready to bake, throw some ice cubes into the oven before placing the pans in.
5. Reduce temperature to 400 and bake for 35-45 minutes, tenting tops with foil if they get too brown.
6. Cool loves on a wire rack l for 1 hour before removing from the pans.
7. Let cool completely before slicing.