This incredibly light and fluffy multigrain bread is the best of both worlds – light and fluffy bread that is perfect for sandwiches or toast, together with the added goodness of whole grains and a crunchy, seedy topping.
This light and fluffy multigrain bread recipe has become my favourite when it comes to a great everyday bread. It’s a “best of both worlds” bread, with a light and fluffy texture, combined with some whole grain goodness. And did I mention the lovely, crispy, toasted seed crust?
You’ll love the great flavour and texture of this multi grain bread, together with the added goodness of whole grains. It makes great sandwich bread and is lovely toasted, as well. It’s also a fast-riser, so you’ll be enjoying it in no time!
Ingredients and substitutions
A few notes about the key ingredients …
Cereal Mix – This loaf uses multi grain cereal mix, which is a mix that is generally used to make a hot cereal when combined with hot water or milk. This kind of mix is the most efficient way to get a variety of whole grains together. Do note though, that these mixes are 100% whole grains, with no added sweeteners etc, so steer away from the commercial flavoured oatmeal mixes etc.
The most common is a “7-grain” cereal mix. If you are in Canada, Bulk Barn sells both a 7-grain (Hard red wheat, barley, rye, steel cut oats, brown flaxseed, millet, buckwheat) and a 12-grain (Cracked wheat, cracked rye, cracked triticale, oat flakes, millet, cracked oats, barley flakes, sunflower seeds, natural sesame seeds, buckwheat grits, brown flaxseeds, yellow flaxseeds) cereal mix. Either of those will work fine. Bob’s Red Mill also has a 7-grain cereal mix, as well as an 8, 10 or 12-grain cereal.
If you can’t find any of those mixes, look for something like a porridge mix. Rogers makes a couple of Porridge mixes – Porridge Oats and Healthy Grains (oat flakes, oat bran, wheat bran and flaxseed) or Porridge Oats and Ancient Grains (Oat, rye, barley, spelt and khorasan flakes, oat bran, millet, flaxseed, quinoa flakes). Quaker makes a mix called Quaker Super Grains Hot Cereal, that is a mix of whole grain oats, flaxseed, and quinoa.
My best advice is to browse the hot cereal/oatmeal section at the grocery store or the natural foods section and see what you can find. If you really can’t find something, see below for a homemade multigrain cereal mix.
All Purpose Flour – for the lightest loaf, use all purpose flour. I prefer unbleached all purpose flour. You can also use bread flour, though you may need a little less than specified. If you want to add some whole wheat flour to the loaf, you can replace up to 1 cup of the all purpose flour with whole wheat flour, though your loaf will not be as light as fluffy as the original with this change.
Vegetable Oil – Using oil in yeast breads helps create the soft and light texture. It is also good for anyone wanting a vegan yeast bread. That said, you can certainly replace the oil with an equal amount of melted and cooled butter.
Homemade multigrain cereal mix
If you can’t find a pre-mixed multi grain cereal mix, you can mix up your own with a combination of any of the following whole grains: Rolled oats, quick oats, steel cut oats, quinoa, flaxseed meal, flaxseed, sesame seeds, oat flakes, rye flakes, barley flakes, cracked wheat, wheat bran, oat bran, millet, buckwheat.
How to make multigrain bread
This is a summary of the steps to make this bread. Always refer to the complete ingredients list and instructions in the Recipe Card below.
Step 1: Start by soaking the multi-grain cereal mix in boiling water for about 20 minutes, or until it cools to just lukewarm. Since this dough can start with any number of multigrain cereal mixes, it may absorb the water differently. You may find you have less water in the bowl than shown here after it sits for 20 minutes. That’s ok :)
Be sure your cereal mix has cooled to just lukewarm before adding the yeast, or you could kill the yeast before you get started. Test with an instant-read thermometer if you have one and make sure it’s about 105F. Otherwise, test with your finger. It should be lukewarm and not feel hot at all. Add the yeast and stir to combine. If using Active Dry Yeast, let stand 5-10 minutes before proceeding.
Step 2: Add the oil, honey and salt. If you’d like to add-in some extra seeds at this point, go ahead. I added sesame seeds, poppy seeds and ground flax seed here. This is optional.
Step 3: Begin adding the flour to the bowl, kneading in as you go. Thee secret to a light and fluffy loaf is to not add too much flour! In the photo above, you’ll see that the dough with the 4 cups of flour added is loose and wet. Yours may be a little less loose, depending on the cereal mix that you used, but it should be very moist at this point. That’s what we want. You may be tempted to add more flour, but resist the urge to add it at this stage.
Step 4: Remove the dough to a floured work surface and add a bit more flour, as needed, only if the dough is sticking to your hands or the work surface. Form the dough into a ball.
Step 5: Set the dough into a greased bowl or large measuring cup. Cover tightly with plastic wrap and set to rise until doubled in size. This bread is a FAST RISER! Don’t wander far and keep a good eye on it. This 1st rise shown here was only about 40 minutes. Be sure you just allow the dough to rise until doubled and no more.
Step 6: Remove the dough to a lightly floured work surface and roll the dough out into a rectangle, then roll up jelly-roll style. Pinch the season together. Grease a loaf pan (or pans, depending on what size loaves you are making). Sprinkle some seeds into the pan, if you like.
Step 7: Set the rolled dough into the prepared baking pan. Spray some plastic wrap with cooking spray and cover the pan (greased side down). Allow to rise until doubled in size, about 25-30 minutes, but may be less! In a 9×5-inch pan, it should crest the pan by about 1 1/2-inches in the centre.
Step 8: When the loaf has risen, brush the top of the load with the egg wash and sprinkle with seed mix. This bread tends to brown quickly, so have a sheet of aluminum foil handy and be sure to cover the top loosely with a sheet of aluminum foil after about 18-20 minutes of baking to keep the top from over-browning. Baking the loaf in the lower third of the oven (one rack position down from the centre) helps to slow the browning a bit.
The early browning can also make the loaf look done before it is. A large 9×5-inch loaf like this will need a total of 40-45 minutes in the oven to bake through. An instant read thermometer is invaluable here to test the loaf for doneness. Bake until the internal temperature is 195-205F (I aim for about 200F).
Recipe video
Recipe tips!
- As noted above, after you have added the 4 cups of flour, your dough may be quite loose and wet. The grains in the bread will hold a lot of moisture, so this isn’t a dough that will come together like a normal dough. Loose and wet is ok at this point. Once it rests for 15-minutes, it will become less loose and less wet. If needed, we can add a bit more flour on the bench, as needed. That said, depending on your grain mix, you dough may be less wet and loose and that’s ok, too. That just means you’ll need little more flour on the bench.
- While I love the seed topping on this bread, you can easily skip it if you prefer. Leave it plain or do the egg wash and use some rolled oats on top instead.
- This bread would be vegan, if made with brown sugar (instead of honey) and using water on top instead of the egg wash.
- You can make this bread as one large 9×5 loaf or as two shorter, smaller 8×4 loaves. Note that baking time will be less for the 8×4 loaves. Refer to the Recipe Card below for some guidance.
- If you go the big 9×5 loaf route, be warned that it does take time to bake through but will look quite done before it actually is. I covered mine with foil after about 20 minutes and then baked pretty much a full 45 minutes. If you have an instant-read thermometer, you can take out the guesswork. You’ll want your loaf to be at least 195F before you take it out. I aim for about 200F.
- Be careful with doubling this recipe. While it can be done, the dough is bulky and doubling may put too big a strain on a stand mixer.
Variations
- If you like, you can use this dough to make multigrain rolls. Simply divide the dough into 8-16 even sized pieces, depending on the size of rolls or buns you want. Form the dough pieces into balls, rise and bake on a baking sheet. The baking time will be greatly reduced. Watch carefully and check often, as they will likely be ready in as little as 15 minutes, depending on the size.
- You can make a free-form loaf from this dough. Simply shape into a boule (round) or oval and bake on a baking sheet or in something like a cast-iron skillet.
- If you’d like to change up your multi grain loaf, here are some suggestions for some things you can add into your loaf without making any other adjustments to the recipe. Simply knead them into the loaf. Pepitas (pumpkin seeds), sunflower seeds, raisins, nuts, dried cranberries or other dried fruit. Be sure not to exceed the recommended amount for best results. You may also wish to plump any dried fruit (soak in boiling water then drain) before using it in the bread.
Overnight refrigerator rise option
You can prepare the bread through to shaping and placing in the loaf pan, then immediately cover and refrigerate overnight or up to 12 hours. In the morning, simply remove from the fridge and allow to rise on the counter for about 1 hour before baking or until it has risen sufficiently as shown above.
Storing and freezing
You can store this bread for several days at room temperature, stored in an airtight container.
This bread will also freeze well, tightly wrapped, for up to 3 months.
You can also freeze the shaped loaf right after placing it in the loaf pan (before the 2nd rise). I like to freeze in the loaf pan, then once solid, wrap the frozen dough log tightly and store only the dough in the freezer up to 3 months. When ready to bake, remove the frozen dough log, unwrap, place in a greased loaf pan, cover with plastic wrap and thaw at room temperature for 4-5 hours, or until thawed and risen. Bake as usual.
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Get the Recipe: Light and Fluffy Multigrain Bread
Ingredients
Basic Multigrain Bread Dough:
- 1/2 cup (120 ml) multi-grain cereal, such as 7, 10 or 12-grain cereal *see Note 1 below
- 2 cups (454 ml) boiling water
- 2 1/4 teaspoons (7 g) active dry or instant yeast, (not rapid or quick rise yeast)
- 1 Tablespoon (15 ml) vegetable oil, or other neutral tasting cooking oil, or melted and cooled butter
- 1 Tablespoon (15 g) honey, or light or dark brown sugar
- 1 1/2 teaspoons (9 g) fine sea salt
- 4 cups (480 g) unbleached all-purpose flour , spooned and levelled *see Note 2 below
OPTIONAL Add-ins *See Note 3 below
- 1/3 cup raisins or dried cranberries
- 1/4 cup raw pumpkin or sunflower seeds, chopped
- 1/4 cup nuts (pecans, walnuts etc), chopped
- 2 Tablespoons mixed small seeds, poppy, sesame and/or flax seeds
Egg Wash:
- 1 large egg, mixed with 1 Tbsp water (or alternately, just water, for a vegan loaf, though seeds may not stick as well).
Topping Seed Mixture:
- 2 teaspoons (10 ml) sesame seeds
- 2 teaspoons (10 ml) flax seeds
- 2 teaspoons (10 ml) poppy seeds
- Raw pumpkin and or sunflower seeds, optional
Instructions
- Place multigrain cereal in a large bowl or the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a kneading hook. Pour boiling water over, then let stand until mixture cools to between 105°F. and 115°F. for active dry yeast or to about 120F for Instant yeast, about 20 minutes. *Don't rush it. If your mixture is too hot, it may kill your yeast. A thermometer is handy here to make sure of the temperature before adding the yeast.
- Sprinkle yeast over cereal mixture. If using Active Dry Yeast, allow to stand for 5-10 minutes before proceeding. Add 1 cup of the flour, the oil, honey (or brown sugar) and salt and stir until smooth. Gradually mix in the remaining flour, incorporating any of the optional add-ins during the mixing. Once all the flour is added, you'll have a moist dough that may also seem a bit loose. Resist the urge to add more flour at this point. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and let rest 15 minutes. The grains will absorb more of the moisture during the rest period.
- Turn the dough out onto a floured surface. Knead a few minutes until smooth and elastic, adding more flour, as needed, if it's sticking to your hands or the work surface.
- Oil a large bowl or measuring cup. Add the dough to the bowl, then flip over the ball of dough so the oiled side is up. Cover bowl with plastic wrap and let rise in warm spot until doubled in size. **Don't wander far. This bread is a quick riser and may double in as little as 35-40 minutes. It may take longer. The important thing is to make sure it rises only until doubled, no matter how long that is.
- Prepare the Seed Mixture by stirring together all the seeds in a small bowl. Set aside.
- When dough has doubled in size, remove to a work surface and gently deflate dough by pressing down the dough.
- Grease one 9×5-inch loaf pan or two 8×4-inch loaf pans. Sprinkle a bit of the seed mixture into the pan (or divide between two pans), if you like. For 8×4-inch loaves, divide the dough into two equal-sized pieces. For a 9×5-inch loaf, leave as one piece. Roll the dough out into a rectangle about 10 inches wide and 18 inches long for a 9×5 loaf, or 9×16-inch rectangles each of the two 8×4 loaves. Roll up jelly rolls style, starting with the short side, then pinch seams together. Place rolls seam side down into prepared loaf pan(s).
- Cover the loaves with a clean kitchen towel or greased/sprayed plastic wrap and let rise until doubled in size, about 25- 30 minutes.
- When the dough is nearing risen, preheat oven to 425F. (regular bake/non-convection), with rack positioned just below centre (a little lower rack position, one down from centre, will help to keep the top of the bread from browning as quickly).
- Before baking, brush the top of the loaf with the egg wash and sprinkle the top with the remaining seed mixture. Use the palm of your hand to press the seeds into the top of the loaf slightly to help them stick.
- Bake in preheated 425F oven for 18-20 minutes, then cover the top loosely with a sheet of aluminum foil to prevent over-browning. Bake a further 20-25 minutes for a 9×5 loaf or 10-15 minutes for 8×4 loaves, or until golden and crusty and have an internal temperature of 195-205F when tested with an instant-read thermometer. *Bread will look done, even when it isn't cooked through. The large 9×5 loaf will need the full 40-45 minutes in the oven to be cooked through.
- Remove from oven. Run a knife around the edges of the pan and immediately remove to a cooling rack to cool. Allow to cool completely (or almost completely) before slicing to avoid a gummy bread.
- Store bread well wrapped at room temperature for a couple of days, or freeze for longer storage. This bread will freeze well for up to 2-3 months or more.
Notes
More bread recipes to love!
Hi! I’m Jennifer, a home cook schooled by trial and error and almost 40 years of getting dinner on the table! I love to share my favourite recipes, both old and new, together with lots of tips and tricks to hopefully help make your home cooking enjoyable, stress free, rewarding and of course, delicious!
Made it with fresh yeast (21g), it turned out great! Love the texture of the soft crumb with contrasting crunch of the multigrain. Will be making this again and again. Thank you!
So glad you enjoyed it! Thanks :)
This recipe turned out perfectly – just what I wanted for a 10 grain sandwich bread. I have 8×4 pans and the divided dough made 2 medium loaves. For the next batch I’m going to increase everything by 50%, and trying Bob’s Red Mill Muesli to see how that goes. Thanks for the recipe!
So glad you enjoyed it, Louise :) Thanks so much!
Are you able to adapt this recipe for bread machine?
Hi Monica and possibly. I don’t have a bread machine to test it, but I suspect you would need to soak the grains outside of the machine, then add to the machine with the remaining ingredients. You’ll also want to make sure you have a larger bread machine I think, as this makes a large loaf.
I made it successfully in my bread machine, using the dough cycle. I did soak the grains before adding into the bread machine. Then I added the grain slurry first and then the rest of the ingredients in the usually order. When mixing cycle was done, I shaped the dough and placed it into a loaf tin for second rise and then baked it.
A must make! Delightfully soft and moist with loads of flavour.
So glad you enjoyed it! Thanks so much :)
This is an amazing recipe! As another commented, it was a success the first time i made it and has been ever since. I was wondering if this recipe can be made like a no knead artisan bread for 3 lbs (calls for 6 1/2 cups of flour – bulk- 3 or 4 days worth of dough), where you make the dough, let it rise for two hours at room temp, then put it in the frig for 12 -18 hours. After that, take off some dough for that night and leave the rest for the following days. Thanks and again, great recipe.
I’m so glad you are enjoying it, Liane :) I feel like you could do it as described, but the texture of the bread may be a bit different (not in a bad way, just different). I make that type of bread often and I enjoy it, but do find the texture different from the short rise. Flavour is always great though. If you try it, let me know how it works out. Thanks :)
This recipe NEVER fails!! From the very first time I tried it, the bread came out perfect. I love this recipe SO much, finally one that actually turns out as expected (if not better). I never write reviews but just have to say thank you so much! I always find myself going back to this recipe every few months and have gotten many compliments on the bread (it’s not that hard to make, in fact really fun:)
I’m so glad you are enjoying it, Valerie and I agree! This bread is always reliable :) We enjoy it regularly here, too. Thanks!
I use saf instant yeast, how long should I put on room temp?
Hi Neha, you want to focus on the rise and not the time, especially when you’ve refrigerated. Let it rise until it has crested the top of the pan by 1 to 1 1/2 inches, however long that takes. Then bake it off.
Best bread recipe and fabulous instructions!! I make it every week and have shared with my neighbors. They love it as well. Doesn’t last long around our house and it’s just me and my husband. We aren’t fat yet, but my pants at shrinking a bit in the hip area, haha!
Can’t wait to try more of your recipes!
So glad you are all enjoying this bread, Karen! Thanks :)
Hi, thanks for the recipe, on second rise my bread didn’t rise, I cut down the recipe in half and used butter instead of oil. Should the quantity of yeast be reduced to half when cutting the recipe to half? And I tried by putting the pan in fridge at night and then at room temp for 2 hours in the morning before baking but it didn’t rise much.
Hi Neha and yes, the yeast should be cut in half if making a half recipe. If the pan was in the fridge overnight, 2 hours might not have been long enough for the dough to come to room temperature and also rise to doubled. Also what type of yeast did you use?
I used saf instant yeast, for a loaf half the size how much yeast do you suggest? And how much time to keep on counter before I can band?
Thank you so much for this recipe
I will never buy another bread again as this is almost perfect
My one problem is after baking all my seeds fall from the top, any suggestions in avoiding this ?
Hi Latoya and so glad you are enjoying it! As for the seeds, there are some options suggested in the post I think. Egg or egg white wash before adding seeds might help. I also find that the larger seeds won’t really stick well no matter what. I generally try to stick to the smaller seeds, that are more cooperative :)
I found the egg wash works great and I use the bagel sprinkles for the seeds, everyone loves it!
Hi, I super satisfied and happy with the outcome of the bread. It turns out exactly like yours in the pic. Dough is a bit wet, but can add xtra flour during kneading till achieve right consistency. Using machine to knead. I like the texture of the bread tats not crumbly when slicing. It was so perfect as sandwich bread. Thank you for sharing the awesome recipe! It’s gonna be my regular recipe for bread making.
So glad to hear, Vivian :) Thanks!
This is the only bread I’ll ever make. It’s perfect for sandwiches or toast and doesn’t crumble like other recipes I’ve tried. I didn’t make any changes at all. We do go through a lot of bread though, so I did x4 the recipe for 4 large loaves and it was perfect!
I’m so glad you are enjoying it, Anita! Thanks so much :)
This bread is amazing! I finally got the chance to try it. Perfect. I plan on making this bread for my thanksgiving stuffing. Excellent flavor and not dense with AP flour. I used AP flour and the red mill 7 grain hot cereal.
Thanks Jennifer! Gods blessings,
So glad to hear, Jennelle! Thanks so much :)
I had attempted a few different bread recipes, but the bread was not quite right. The first time I made this bread it was very good. After making it many times, it is now amazing! My husband loves it and so do I! Living in Australia. I can’t get the same sort of grain mix, but I have bought a 5 grain mix and added a couple of other grains. I also add lots of different seeds (only half cup total)! This will continue to be my go to bread recipe.
So glad to hear, Sue! Thanks so much :)
Hello! If I wanted to make this bread slightly sweet, like a cinnamon raisin bread, what is the max cinnamon and brown sugar that I can add? I believe you mentioned I can add 1/2 cup of raisins. Would other adjustments need to be made if I didn’t want to add grains in this case?
Thank you!
Jennelle
Hi Jennelle, I’ll start with your last question. Yes, there would need to be adjustments if you didn’t start with the multigrain mix at the start, but not if you don’t add the “add ins”. For a cinnamon raisin, there is no problem with the raisins at all. You could add cinnamon as you like, but keep in mind that cinnamon really slows down a bread’s rise, so count on extra time. Adding brown sugar isn’t much of an issue either. Many people like to do a swirl for cinnamon raisin bread, so you make it just as it is, but add some brown sugar, cinnamon and raisins before you roll it up. It keeps the cinnamon out of the bread and doesn’t slow the rise. The down side is that swirl breads often bake up with a gap in the middle. So lots of options :) Hope that helps!
Just wanted to note that you can swap all-purpose flour for bread flour (just need to add a little more water-maybe 2-3 tbsp) and this recipe works amazingly well! I did the swap because I prefer a sturdier, chewier bread (personal preference), but the recipe is amazing either way.
Thanks for sharing this, Ashley as I suspect there are others who might enjoy a chewier bread, too. Thanks so much :)