Fully-loaded bread

That title may be a bit deceiving. I would imagine that when the average person reads “fully-loaded bread”, they imagine a thick slice topped with all manner of savory delicious things… but in this recipe, it is the bread itself that is loaded with things! Oats, flaxseed, rye, even walnuts come together in this loaf to create a fluffy, flavourful experience in every bite.

The star of this bread really is the flavour combination that you get my combining rye flour with the oats and flaxseed though. It creates a slightly sweet, totally addictive crunch that will have you hooked immediately.

I am baking this bread today to create some loaded grilled cheese for dinner this evening. I am also making homemade potato chips, so we will see how those turn out!

This bread is also amazing as toast with honey on top for breakfast, the outside of a sandwich for lunch or anything else you can dream up! I like that this has so much fibre (over 45 grams from just the flaxseed alone!) and so much flavour. That addictive crunch is just too much!

The next step with this, as it is a relatively new recipe, is to bake it a bunch of slightly different ways next to see which changes turn out the best… stay tuned!

Fabulous Flax Bread:

• 2½ cups warm water

• 1 tsp. brown sugar

• 2 (1 ounce) packets rapid-rise yeast

• 4 cups whole-wheat flour

• 1 cup spelt flour

• 1 cup rye flour

• 1 cup oat bran

• 1 cup ground flaxseed

• 1 cup walnuts

• 1 tbsp. coarse sea salt

• 3 tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil, plus more for bowl

• 1 tbsp. chopped fresh rosemary

• 2 tbsp. cornmeal

1. In a small bowl, whisk together the water, sugar and yeast. Let stand 10 minutes

2. Add the yeast mixture to both flours, oat bran, flaxseed, walnuts, sea salt, olive oil and rosemary and mix until a dough forms (about 10 minutes)

3. Coat a large bowl with oil. Add the dough to the bowl and turn to coat. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and let stand in a warm place until dough has doubled in size (2 to 3 hours)

4. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and sprinkle with cornmeal. Punch down the dough and shape into a round loaf. Place the dough on the prepared baking sheet. Cover with a clean towel and let stand in a warm place for about 30 minutes

5. Preheat your oven to 500 F with a rack set in the center of the oven. Transfer the baking sheet to the oven and bake until browned (about 25 minutes)

6. Let the bread cool on a wire rack before serving