9 Grain Bread

By Michelle Marine

on Jan 10, 2012, Updated Oct 29, 2023

38 Comments

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9 Grain Bread

If you’ve been reading my blog, you probably know that not only do I bake all of our own bread, but I also grind my own flour. Hard red wheat, hard white wheat, rye, spelt, kamut: I grind them all and concoct all sorts of delicious wonders. Today I came up with this recipe for a 9 Grain Bread by modifying a recipe from the book I got with my Nutrimill, Healthy Recipes From the Heart of Our Home: In the Kitchen with Phyllis & Shirley. Here’s what I concocted {and boy is it good!}:

Ingredients:

6 cups warm water
1/3 cup oil
1/2 cup honey {preferably raw}
4 cups whole wheat flour {hard red wheat}
2 cups oats
1 cup whole sunflower seeds {preferably raw}
1/2 cup ground flax seed {I grind this in a dedicated coffee grinder I only use for flax}
1/3 cup whole sesame seeds {preferably raw}
1/3 cup whole millet
1/3 cup whole chia seeds
3 Tbs Yeast {I use SAF yeast}
3 Tbs dough enhancer
1/2 cup gluten

Preheat oven to 375 F.

Mix everything together very quickly {I use my BOSCH, but I have also made bread in my Kitchen Aid – I just had to halve the recipe because the Bosch is much bigger.} Cover and let sit for 10 minutes.

Then, add:

2 Tbsp Salt {preferably Real salt}
3 cups spelt flour
3 cups rye flour
Quickly add more whole wheat flour so that you have a nice dough {generally 2 more cups} but I eyeball this in my Bosch until the dough has completely pulled away from and cleaned the sides of the bowl. That means the dough no longer sticks to the side of the bowl.

Knead the dough in the BOSCH for 5 minutes. Turn the dough out of the mixer bowl and place it in 5 well-oiled pans. Let it rise on the warm stove-top until doubled {30-35 minutes}.

Baked at 350 degrees for 30-35 minutes!

Let cook in loaf pans for 5 minutes, then remove from pans and let cool completely.

Store in the fridge for a week or the freezer for several months, if it lasts that long!

Enjoy.

About Michelle Marine

Michelle Marine is the author of How to Raise Chickens for Meat, a long-time green-living enthusiast, and rural Iowa mom of four. She empowers families to grow and eat seasonal, local foods; to reduce their ecological footprint; and to come together through impactful travel.

Read More About Me

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38 Comments

  1. This looks amazing. 5 of the 7 people I currently live with would have a heart attack if I so much as SUGGESTED making it, of course, but one can dream, right…???

    Reply

    1. Katie – I think if you sliced pieces of this bread and slathered them with butter while they were still warm from baking, at least 3 of the 5 you mention would be won over. This bread is that good!

      Reply

  2. Awesome….Please bring these to my party Friday night at 9:00 over @ CountryMommaCooks……Have a blessed day!

    Reply

  3. You grind your own flour….you GRIND YOUR OWN FLOUR? Wow. Now I feel really insecure. Actually…I buy GOOD bread (Ezekiel bread is one of them) but I haven’t started the homebaked bread adventure yet. If I keep reading your posts, maybe I’ll get the courage to dive in and try it?

    Reply

  4. This sounds wonderful! I love that your recipe makes enough for 5 loaves. What a time saver to make a large batch. Thank you for sharing this recipe with the Hearth and Soul Hop.

    Reply

  5. Your bread sounds so wholesome and delicious. It’s wonderful you grind your own flour! Thank you for sharing this delicious and nutritious recipe with the Hearth and Soul hop.

    Reply

    1. Thanks, April! I love grinding my own flour. It tastes so much better than anything I could buy in the stores. Thanks for stopping by my blog!

      Reply

  6. Hi!

    Good-looking recipe!!

    Questions on your instructions please? Under ingredients, you list:

    1 cup sunflower seeds {preferably raw}
    1/2 cup flax seed {I grind this in a dedicated coffee grinder I only use for flax}
    1/3 cup sesame seeds {preferably raw}
    1/3 cup millet
    1/3 cup chia seeds

    You mention you grind the flax, but you don’t say what you do to the others.
    Do you crack them, grind them or use them whole? Do you grind the flax in this recipe? You didn’t give mention this in the instructions, you just said to mix them, so I’m just a little confused. (But, that’s not your fault, I’m always a little confused! LOL!)

    Would you mind helping me with your instructions? Thanks so much!

    ~V

    Reply

    1. Hi Vicki,

      I use everything whole but the flax seeds – those I grind. 🙂 I always grind my flax seed. I’ll make that clear. Thanks for your questions and let me know if you have more!

      🙂 Michelle

      Reply

  7. Hi Michelle,
    When I looked at your bread and read your post it reminded me of a special time in my life, when me and my friend would make bread together. When we would take the bread out of the oven she would stand back and say, now that’s good bread! That’s what I say to you today”Now That’s Good Bread”! Thank you so much for sharing with our 1st Anniversary Party at Full Plate Thursday. Have a great week end and come back soon!
    Miz Helen

    Reply

    1. Awww…thanks Miz Helen! I don’t know you, but I already like you! 🙂 Happy 1st Anniversary for Full Plate Thursday to you! And for the record…it IS good bread!

      Reply

    1. The beauty of this recipe, Melissa, is that you can substitute whatever you want and/or have on hand. Delete the chia and add more of something else! Same with the rye. It just reduces the number of grains you have in your bread. It will still taste good.

      Reply

      1. Picked the rye and chia up at the market today and came right home to make it! I’ll definitely keep that tip on hand…Thanks. It was the best bread I’ve ever put in my mouth! What blew me away was how easy it was to make…I just kept saying, “it can’t be that easy and taste this good!” But it was and it did! My mom loved it too…the kids weren’t crazy about the seeds, but that’s fine…more for me! Loved it and would like to share it on my blog if you don’t mind! Thank you so much for sharing this at Raising Homemakers!

        Reply

  10. Wonderful recipe! I used to make all of our bread, then fell into the lazy habit of buying it. I really need to get back into making our bread again. It’s so easy, much healthier, and keeps the house warm and smelling great!
    Thanks for this recipe – this will b the first time I make any multi-grain bread and I’m excited to try it out. (BTW – I’m pinning this post. It’s too good to keep to myself!)

    Reply

  13. Congratulations!
    Your recipe is featured on Full Plate Thursday this week. Hope you are having a wonderful day and enjoy your new Red Plate.
    Hope to see you soon,
    Miz Helen

    Reply

  14. Your bread is being featured @CountryMommaCooks Link & Greet Party…Stop by and pick up a featured button….Have a great weekend!

    Reply

  17. Two quick questions – after the dough rises, do you pop it right into the oven, or do you punch it down first? I don’t know what SAF yeast is – super quick rise?

    Reply

    1. You can use any type of yeast you want, btw. It does not have to be SAF – it just works well and seems to be my cheapest option! 🙂

      Reply

    1. The flax seeds I buy in bulk – usually at Amish stores, but they also sell them at normal grocery stores. The chia seeds I’ve been using, I actually got at Walgreens! LoL. It was a free after Register Reward deal. I had never used them before but really like them.

      Reply

  20. Mechelle,
    Thanks for the great recipe. My mother in law makes a 7grain bread that my 2 year old son devours like it’s the end of the world, and this is the closest I’ve been able to come. Two questions that I have are: what the heck is a dough enhancer? and where can I get it?, and do you have any tips for getting the bread to rise and stay softer? When I made it, it was so dense my wife won’t try it and the loaves never rose very well. I guess that was three questions. Thanks for your time and for the recipe!

    Reply

    1. Hi Kevin, dough enhancer is a mix of stuff that is supposed to increase shelf life and make your bread smoother – more like store bought bread. You can order it on Amazon or find it in Amish bulk stores. Honestly, sometimes I leave it out and my bread turns out fine. If your bread is too dense, you are either mixing/kneading too long or adding too much flour and not enough water. Do you grind your own flour or use pre-ground? You want your dough to be really soft so if the dough is already looking a little tough, add more a little water (TBS) at time until it softens. Do you use a Bosch or a different type of mixer? Or do you knead by hand? All of these things impact density. Rising time changes by heat, humidity, and altitude. If you live at a higher altitude, it might take longer to rise. It could also be that your water is too hot and you’re hurting your yeast … so many variables! So, let me know what type of flour you use, what type of mixer, and if you live at altitude and I might have better answers for you. The short story on rise time, is just to be patient. If it takes longer, it takes longer. I preheat my oven and let my dough rise on top of the stove. Sometimes it takes 30 minutes, sometimes 45. Just wait. 🙂 Feel free to email me: [email protected]

      Reply

  22. Can’t wait to try this. How crunchy is the millet in this bread? I’m trying to decide if I want to toast it a bit before adding. Thanks!

    Reply