Multigrain Wheat Bread Recipe with Sourdough Starter

Multigrain Wheat Bread is an artisan loaf you can make at home. Simple ingredients and minimal handling transform into a nutty homemade Wheat Bread with a soft and tender crumb and a perfectly crunchy crust with the perfect pull when you bite into it.

If you want bread with a soft and tender interior, and that crispy crust, you’re going to love this Multigrain Wheat Bread. This Whole Grain Bread has just enough holes to hold all that butter and a nutty flavor your family will love!

This loaf of bread is what keeps you searching for the perfect bakery. You’ll be surprised how a few turns of a simple dough come together into a nutty homemade bread that’s bakery beautiful.

I love grains, seeds, and nuts a lot. I start my morning with yogurt topped with granola and nuts, and there’s nothing better than a piece of homemade bread slathered with butter with my morning coffee.

I’ve always loved baking and always wanted to bake bread with a wild yeast starter but it took me a while to try it.

You see, most of the recipes and books that I looked at talked about percentages and interactions, and I just wanted to make the darned bread.

But I had to change my ways. One thing that I did have to do is to weigh my ingredients. I know using grams in the United States drives people crazy. However, 1/4 cup of my starter isn’t going to measure 1/4 cup of your starter. The reason is because of the gasses this ingredient has. But you still need 150 grams.

It took me a while to get the confidence to try it, but I was lucky enough to start with a pretty easy Overnight Sourdough recipe. That recipe includes a video that I’ve added to this recipe card for you.

If you have questions on making or using a Bread Starter, read “Sourdough Bread Starter.”

After making that recipe several times, I got enough experience for what my dough should feel like.

“It’s just flour you know”

In order to make a bread like this, I recommend just rolling up your sleeves and jumping in. Read the recipe through and just take it one instruction at a time. It’s just flour you know?

I’ve had a few loaves that didn’t turn out quite like this one but I learned something each and every time. I still do.

Take a recipe such as this one and remake it until you have enough confidence to diagnose any issues you might have.

As always, I answer each and every email and comment that I get. If something doesn’t make sense, just ask and I’ll help you the best I can.

Why isn’t this a Whole Wheat Bread Recipe?

The short answer is that it could be. You see, the Whole Grain Council requires that only 51% or more needs to be made of whole grain in order for it to be called whole grain. What?

60% of this homemade Wheat Bread recipe is whole grain so legally I could have called it Whole Wheat. If you read a recipe and it includes flour that isn’t a whole grain regardless of the amount used, it isn’t whole grain.

For this loaf, I used a mix of bread flour and wheat flour in order for this loaf to be fluffy and not too dense or heavy. If you use all whole wheat flour, gluten is often added to get the right texture.

This recipe may not be whole grain but it is organic, multigrain, dairy-free, nut-free, and vegan. Oh, and most important, delicious!

The Ingredients used in this Multigrain Organic Wheat Bread:

• Bubbly starter – I recommend feeding your starter and letting it get active. After you feed your starter, wait until it’s increased in volume of about 30%.
  • We feed our starter before bed by taking 1 tablespoon of starter and mixing it with 200gr filtered water and 200gr of our 50/50 flour mix. It has always passed the float test the next morning which can be 6 to 8 hours. This makes more starter than what you will need but I bake several loaves at a time and freeze them.
  • If your dough is runny it can be because your starter was actually starving when you used it.
• Salt – I use fine sea salt. It is easier to incorporate and dissolve than coarser salt.
• Wheat Flour – I used organic whole wheat flour. It has an amazing nutty flavor.
• Organic Bread Flour – Bread flour has a higher protein content than AP flour. That higher protein provides more structure to your loaf. It worked very well with the wheat flour
• Water – There’s a lot of controversy regarding water in bread making. Some experts say if you can drink it you can bake with it. Other experts say the chlorine and mineral content can inhibit yeast activity.
• Multigrain Blend – my own Organic Whole Grain Blend recipe. You could make your own or just use sesame seeds or something like that too.

NOTE: You do not have to use organic ingredients and this bread will turn out just fine. It’s a personal choice.

Unlike the Sourdough recipe, I didn’t do the second proof before baking and changed the ingredients and their ratios.

I’ve found when using whole grain flour that you need a higher moisture content. Or, even baking in a dry climate or during the winter for me, the dough needs a higher moisture content.

It’s all about the feel of the bread. You want it to feel wet but not so wet that it isn’t manageable. I will often hold back about 50 grams or roughly 1/4 cup of the water that the recipe calls for.

After I get the ingredients mixed, if the dough feels dry, I’ll add the additional water. Sometimes you’ll need even more than that. Just keep adding a little bit at a time. It will not take you long to get the feel of what you want.

Shaping bread dough

When shaping bread dough into a loaf, there are a few simple things that you’ll want to do.

1. Prepare the container that you want your dough to rise in. If you have a round loaf, you want a round container.
   • This can be what’s called a banneton or a simple basket or a bowl.
2. I line the container with a thin flour sack or linen towel and then dust it with flour.
   • The bread dough will pick up the texture of the container you use. You can see the rings from the banneton basket.
   • You can also add seeds, oats or other ingredients you want on top of your bread.
3. Shape your loaf on a surface dusted with just enough flour that it doesn’t stick. At this point, you don’t want to add flour to the dough and a slight drag allows you to pull the edges taught.
4. Put the dough in the basket smooth side down.
5. Cover the bread dough so it doesn’t develop a crust and allow it to rise as the recipe instructs.

Bread Flip Technique

I used to worry about getting my bread into a hot pot quickly without deflating the bread dough and/or burning myself. This simple flip technique solves that issue. Please note that in the video I used a cold pot for demonstration purposes only.

1. You will need a strip of parchment paper and a pie plate. A round pie plate works even if your loaf is a shape other than round.
2. Place the strip of parchment paper over the top of your bread dough container.
3. Holding onto the parchment paper and the container, flip upside down. Your parchment paper is now on the bottom side of your loaf of dough.
4. Remove the covering over the dough and score the dough as desired.
5. Pick up the loaf of dough and carefully insert it into the pot.

YOU MAY NEED

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• Instant-Read Thermometer – I use an instant-read thermometer for this recipe. I couldn’t function without it.
• Lodge 6 Quart Enameled Cast Iron Dutch Oven. Classic Red Enamel Dutch Oven (Island Spice Red) – I love this dutch oven. I have three that are triple the price of this one and it’s my favorite. It bakes my bread perfectly and makes a mean ragu recipe.
• Oven Mitts – When I work with heavy pots and pans I want an oven mitt versus a hot pad. These mitts are heat rated to 550° so are good for the oven or bbq and come in several colors. They also come in a longer length for longer arms!

Bread recipes that use a starter

• Overnight Sourdough Bread
• Spelt Sourdough Bread
• Sourdough Sandwich Bread
• No-Knead Sourdough Bread with All-Purpose Flour

Don’t throw out your discard starter! Here are a few starter discard recipes that you can make!

I love baking bread and here are a few of my favorites!

And…a few more!

• Soft Buttermilk Sandwich Bread
• Homemade Crusty Bread

Variations – You don’t have to use the Multigrain blend that I recommend. You can use all sesame seeds, oats, poppy seeds, whatever you like, or leave it all off. Make this homemade wheat bread your own.

Print

5 from 9 votes

Multigrain Wheat Bread Recipe

Multigrain Wheat Bread has a soft tender nutty crumb with just enough holes to hold all that butter. The crust has the perfect crunch and pull that you want when you bite into it.

Prep Time 8 hrs

Cook Time 40 mins

Overnight rest 6 hrs

Total Time 14 hrs 40 mins

Servings 18 slices

Author Julie Menghini

Cook ModePrevent your screen from going dark

Ingredients

US Customary – Metric

• 150 grams bubbly starter
• 285 grams *purified water or filtered water at room temperature
• 200 grams bread flour organic
• 300 grams whole wheat flour organic
• 9 grams sea salt fine
• 75 grams Whole Grain Blend Mix Plus extra for the exterior crust

Instructions

• Combine and mix all of the ingredients together briefly (just for a few minutes is enough) with your hand.  Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and let the dough rest for 30 minutes. Do NOT skip this step.
• Stretch and fold the dough into the bowl several times for about a minute.  I just pull the outside to the center as I turn the bowl.
• Roll the outside of the dough with the multigrain blend and place the dough into a prepared bowl or banneton seam-side up.
• Cover and let the bread rest for 6 hours and then either prepare it for baking or place it in the refrigerator for baking the next day.
• If you've refrigerated the bread dough, remove it from the refrigerator while the oven preheats.
• Preheat the oven to 240/250C (I preheat to 475°F and place my lidded pot inside to heat up.  You can use an enamel dutch oven or aluminum roaster.  You can also put the dough into a cold pot but I find I don't get the same golden color when I do that.
• Carefully remove the pot from the oven and remove the lid.  Turn the dough over so the smooth dome side is up. Carefully place the dough into the pot.
• Slash the bread with a lame or sharp knife. Replace the lid and place in the oven.
• Immediately reduce the heat to 220C (425°F convection).  Bake for 20 minutes.  Remove the lid and bake for an additional 18 to 25 minutes. I test my bread with an instant-read thermometer and remove it when my temperature reaches 212°F. It will sound hollow if you tap on it.
• Immediately remove the loaf from the pot and cool it on a cooling rack at least 20 minutes before slicing.

Video

Notes

 

• If you want to mix bread earlier in the day. After rising for 6 hours at room temperature, set the covered dough in the refrigerator and bake the next day. Remove the dough from the refrigerator to sit out while the oven preheats.
• Feed earlier in the day. When it’s bubbly do the test float. If it’s runny it’s used up all it’s energy and needs to be fed again before you can use it. Repeat the float test.
• Your bread can be cooked in a cold dutch oven but I like the color and rise I get from preheating my lidded pot.
• This bread freezes beautifully. I wrap it in plastic wrap or a ziplock bag and then heavy-duty foil.

 

Nutrition

Calories: 100kcal | Carbohydrates: 20g | Protein: 3g | Sodium: 195mg | Potassium: 27mg | Calcium: 4mg | Iron: 0.3mg

This recipe was calculated using the exact brands and measurements I used to make this recipe. If you are following a strict diet please note changing anything will cause the nutritional info to change. My calculations are intended as a guide only.

Tried this recipe? That’s awesome!Mention @hostessatheart or tag #hostessatheart!

Don’t forget to pin this amazing bread recipe before you go!

This Multigrain Wheat bread is amazing for sandwiches and any other way that you can think to eat it. However, my favorite is toasted with a slather of melty butter! What is your favorite kind of bread? Have you gone to the wild side yet?

I have two books (out of several) that I’ve learned so much from. I recommend them exclusively to help in your bread experience. They are easy to read and will help you get that beautiful loaf on the table!

1. Tartine Bread
2. Flour Water Salt Yeast: The Fundamentals of Artisan Bread and Pizza