Delicious multigrain bread

You can find yeast again at the grocery store, so maybe people are over that home-baking craze.  

(And hopefully, we never see another round of toilet paper hoarding.)

I clipped a bread recipe from a Gold Medal flour bag last spring, and finally got around to trying it.

I've never had luck baking bread with whole wheat flour. The dough is so stiff, it feels like kneading a bowling ball. And I almost destroyed my Kitchen Aid stand mixer with a recipe from Cooks Country magazine, slapping around that brown lump with the dough hook.  

After all that work, the heavy bread reminds me of a medieval trencher.  (Definition: a flat round of usually stale bread used as a plate, upon which the food could be placed to eat.)  In other words, just a vehicle for soaking up soup and juices.

However, this is the best "healthy" bread I've ever tried.  Light and really delicious toasted.

The ingredient list: 

2-1/2 cups water, 1 cup multigrain cereal (I used quick cooking steel cut oats), 1/4 cup honey, 1 package yeast, 3-4 cups all purpose flour, 1-1/2 cups whole wheat flour, 1 tablespoon salt,  4 tablespoons melted butter, 1/2 cup old-fashioned oats.

Boil the water and add the cereal. Take it off the heat then let stand until just warm, stirring occasionally.  In a large bowl, combine the yeast, warm cereal mixture and honey.  (I know, weird!)  Stir in 3 cups of flour, the whole wheat flour, salt and melted butter.  Transfer to lightly floured surface and knead for about 10 minutes, adding just enough remaining flour until the dough is smooth and elastic.  

Let the dough rise in a large bowl until double, about an hour.  Divide and form into two loaves, spray lightly with cooking spray and roll in the old-fashioned oats.  Place in greased loaf pans and let rise another hour or so until almost double.  Bake at 375 for 40 minutes.  (Mine could have used an extra 10 minutes, it depends on your oven.)