Healthy Recipe: Whole Grain Bread

This healthy recipe is for the signature bread frequently featured at Green Mountain at Fox Run, a residential weight loss program for women. If you’ve never made bread before, it isn’t difficult -- but you do need to allow time to do it. Try it on a leisurely winter morning. There’s nothing like the aroma of fresh bread baking and knowing it's a healthy eating treat. Enjoy this wholesome whole grain bread after a winter afternoon out snowshoeing or doing some other fun winter sport.

Makes a 1½ pound loaf

1 cup warm water (about 110 °F)
3 tablespoons warm milk
1 package active dry yeast
3 tablespoons honey
3 tablespoons pumpkin seeds, finely chopped
3 tablespoons sunflower seeds, finely chopped
1/3 cup rolled oats
2 ½ to 3 cups whole wheat flour
¼ cup canola oil
1 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon finely chopped rolled oats (optional)
1 tablespoon honey
1 tablespoon canola oil


Combine warm water and warm milk in the bowl of a mixer. Add yeast and 3 tablespoons honey; allow to dissolve for 5 to 10 minutes. Add 1/3 cup oats and seeds to the yeast mixture, stir in 1/2 cup of whole wheat flour, then add ¼ cup canola oil and salt. Using a hook attachment, begin kneading on the lowest setting (2) of the mixer. Add flour, 1/2 cup at a time, waiting until all the flour is mixed in before the next addition. The dough should be just a little sticky to the touch. Continue to knead in the mixer for approximately 5 minutes, occasionally checking the consistency. (It is better for the dough to be too wet than too dry.)

Remove the dough from the mixer bowl; lightly oil the bowl and return the dough to the bowl, turning oil side up. Cover tightly with plastic wrap and allow to rise in a warm spot for about 1 1/2 hours, or until doubled. (Dough is ready if an indentation remains when touched.)

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Oil a 5 x 9 inch loaf pan. Form the dough into a loaf shape and place in the pan. Allow to rise an additional half hour. Make three diagonal ½- inch deep slashes with a very sharp knife in the top of the loaf; sprinkle with 1 tablespoon chopped rolled oats, if desired. Bake for 30 minutes.

Meanwhile, whisk together 1 tablespoon honey and 1 tablespoon canola oil. After the bread has baked for 30 minutes, brush the honey and oil mixture on the top of the bread. Bake an additional ten minutes. (If loaf is browning too quickly, cover with aluminum foil for the last 10 minutes of baking.) Remove from pan and cool on a wire rack before cutting.