Wholesome Whole Wheat Bread

Bread bread bread . . . I love you so!  One of my favorite appliances in the kitchen is my breadmaker because it allows me to make delicious, healthy loaves without actually knowing how to bake.  I have a whole collection of flours and love to experiment with mixing them to come up with something new.  With very few exceptions, there is no "bad" bread: even my total fails are good in my book.  I prefer dense bread with nuts or seeds mixed in, but that doesn't go over well with the rug rats in my house.  So, to keep the peace, I compromised with this recipe.  I mixed whole wheat, spelt (super healthy) and garbanzo bean (high protein) flours.  It's denser than, say, Wonderbread (not that my kids have had that for years), but still soft enough that it gets gobbled up by my boys. 

1 cup unsweetened almond milk, room temperature
2/3 cup lukewarm water
2 tablespoons Earth Balance, room temperature
2 tablespoons agave (or honey)
2 teaspoons salt
2 cups whole wheat flour

1 cup spelt flour

¾ cup garbanzo bean flour
2 1/4 teaspons active dry yeast (1 packet)

Optional add-ins:  3/4 cup old fashioned oats (or and combination of nuts and seeds you like)

 

1. Place all ingredients in the order they are listed into the baking pan of your bread machine up to add-in ingredients (if using).
2. Follow the directions on your machine for rapid whole wheat bread, 2 pound loaf.  Don’t forget to select crust color (I chose “light.”)

3.  When prompted, add in your oats or seeds or nuts (if using).

4. Remove from machine when done and allow to cool on a baking rack for at least one hour.