A little back story and multigrain bread

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I found out pretty recently that I have PCOS which has a number of symptoms including making it very difficult for me to lose weight.  Having PCOS also means that I basically have to lose weight, so interesting dilemma I am facing here.  It also also means that in order for me to lose weight I   have to severely cut back on anything that is easy for my body to breakdown. So fun......

I already went through all of the stages of denial and have finally reached acceptance.  So here I am, doing what I can to make the best of a super lame situation.

I have been sharing a multigrain bread recipe with some friends and neighbors and they all seem to like it, so I decided to share (my apologies to Steph for not getting this up sooner):

Ingredients:
1 1/4 c. seven-grain hot cereal mix (you can also use 10 grain, the only one I have found is by Bob's Red Mill.  You can find it in the oatmeal section or in bulk foods.  It basically looks like steel cut oats)
2 1/2 c. boiling water
4 T. honey
4 T. unsalted butter melted and cooled (optional)
2 1/2 t. instant yeast
3 c. unbleached all purpose flour, plus more for dusting
1 1/2 c. whole wheat flour
1 T. table salt

Optional Ingredients:
3/4 c. unsalted pumpkin or sunflower seeds
1/2 c. old-fashioned rolled oats

I use a Kitchenaid to make just about everything and I highly recommend getting one, they happen to be on sale at Costco right now.
In the mixer bowl, place cereal and boiling water and fit with dough hook.  To boil my water,  I just stick it in a pyrex measuring cup in the microwave for 8 minutes.  Let the mixture sit in the bowl for about an hour until the temperature goes down to 100 degrees.  Go back to it once or twice to give it a stir.

Add in the honey, butter, and yeast and turn the machine onto low for about half a minute. Add in flours half a cup at a time while mixer is still on low.  The original recipe tells you to whisk the flours together ahead of time, but I am too lazy to get out another bowl so I just alternate 1 c. white flour with 1/2 c. wheat flour three times :)

Let all of that mix for about 2 minutes and then cover the bowl with plastic wrap and let it rest for 20 mins.

After naptime, remove the plastic wrap, add in the salt, and mix on medium-low until the dough clears the side of the bowl (about 3 to 4 minutes).  Add more flour if a tablespoon at a time if the dough still sticks.  Continue mixing for 5 minutes longer.

The original recipe calls for pumpkin seeds and rolled oats, but I have found that they add no extra flavor and only extra calories, so I omit them.  But if you really want to get your pumpkin seed action on, do it now! and knead the dough for 15 more seconds.

Take the dough out onto a floured work surface and knead into a smooth ball.  Place the dough into a large bowl that has been sprayed with Pam.  I put the dough in right side down and then flip it so that I can get some PAM on the top of the dough and it wont stick to the plastic wrap.  Cover the bowl with plastic wrap (I use the sheet from earlier throughout the whole process).

Let the dough rise for 45 to 60 minutes.  When that's done, take the dough out onto floured work surface and pat it out into a 12 by 9 inch rectangle.  Cut the dough in half to make two 6x9 inch pieces.  Starting at the farther end, roll the dough into a tight log and pinch the seams.  Repeat with second piece of dough.

If you would like to sew your wild oats at this time, spray the loaves with water or pam and roll them in the oats.

Place the loaves into two 9 by 5 inch loaf pans that have been sprayed with PAM.  Press the dough gently into the corners.  Cover the pans with plastic wrap and let rise for 30 to 40 minutes.  Preheat your oven to 375 degrees about 20 minutes before the dough is ready to be baked.

Remove plastic wrap and bake the bread loaves until they reach an internal temperature of 200 degrees (about 35 to 40 mins).

Now for the hardest part, remove the loaves from the pans and place them on a cooling rack for 3 hours before slicing.  You will go insane because this bread smells amazing, but you must resist the urge.

Slice it up!  If you go with quarter inch slices, it's about 70 calories per slice.  I love to toast my bread and eat it with almond butter and some homemade, sugar free jam. Yummy!

Based on 22 slices per loaf

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What the cereal packaging looks like