Wheat Bran bread
You need 10 simple ingredients to make this soft wheat bran sandwich bread. It's soft, healthy and too flavorful. See the image above to see how to shape it properly and recipe notes for storage instructions.
Ingredients
Sponge
- ¼ cups (35 grams) bread flour
- 2 and 1/4 teaspoons (7 grams) instant or active dry yeast
- ¼ cup (60 grams) milk, lukewarm
- ¼ cup (60 grams) water, lukewarm
Dough
- 1 and ½ cups (120 grams) bran flour
- 1 and 1/4 cups (175 grams) bread flour
- 1 and ½ cups (210 grams) whole wheat flour
- ¾ and ⅓ cups (230 grams) water, at room temperature
- ¼ cup (50 grams) olive or vegetable oil
- ½ tablespoon (8 grams) sea salt
- ½ tablespoon (10 grams) honey
- 1 tablespoon molasses
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice
Topping (optional)
- ⅓ cup (45 grams) bran flour
- ½ tablespoon (5 grams) olive or vegetable oil
Instructions
- Make the sponge: Heat the milk, add it to the water and mix together. In a medium mixing bowl, add the milk mixture, bread flour and yeast. Stir together with a wooden spoon or spatula until well combined. Cover and let rise for 30-40 minutes or until doubled in size. *if the temperature is cold, it takes about 1-1.5 hours*
- Mix the dough: In a large mixing bowl or the bowl of a stand mixer, add all the sponge starter and the remaining ingredients for the dough, including the flour, lemon juice, salt, etc. Mix the ingredients with a spatula, wooden spoon or dough hook for about 3-4 minutes until the dough forms and comes together.
- Knead the dough: Transfer the dough to your work surface and knead the dough by hand for 8-9 minutes. If you are using a hand mixer, continue kneading on a low speed for an additional 8 minutes. If the dough seems too sticky, add a small amount of flour until it becomes soft and does not stick to your hand. If the dough seems too hard and dry, add a small amount of water.
- 1st Rise: Shape the dough into a ball and place in a lightly greased bowl. Cover with plastic wrap or a kitchen towel. Let rise for 90-120 minutes or until doubled in size.
- Prepare the topping: Pour the oil over the bran and rub together.
- Grease a 9×5 or 10×4 inch loaf pan.
- Shape the dough: When the dough is ready, Place it on a work surface. Flatten the dough into a large rectangle, about 8x12 inches (22x30 cm). Fold one quarter of the dough toward the center and lightly press to seal. Bring the outer corners to the center so they overlap slightly, then seal again. fold and seal twice more. See the picture above for step-by-step instructions on how to shape the dough. *You are a beginner baker, that's ok! roll out the dough with rolling pin then roll up into a 9-inch log.*
- Top it: Spread oiled bran on your work surface. Gently roll the shaped bread onto the bran. Make sure that the shaped dough is evenly coated then place in the prepared loaf pan.
- 2nd Rise: Cover the shaped loaf with plastic wrap or a kitchen towel. Allow to rise until it is about 1 inch (2.5 cm) above the top of the pan, about 60-90 minutes.
- Preheat the oven to 340°F (170°C).
- Bake: Bake for 40-45 minutes or until an instant-read thermometer registers around 200°F (93°C) in the center of the bread. Remove the pan from the oven and allow the bran bread to cool in the pan on a wire rack for 15 minutes before removing the bread from the pan and slicing.
Notes
How to Store Bran Bread? Once the bread is completely cooled, simply cover tightly or place in a bread box and store for up to 7 days.
Yeast: You can use either instant or active dry yeast in this recipe. Honey: Honey adds a touch of sweetness to the bread. If you don't have you can substitute regular granulated sugar or brown sugar. Special Tools (affiliate links): KitchenAid Stand Mixer, or Silicone spatula with Mixing Bowls | Measuring Cups and SPOONS or Kitchen Scale | Rolling pin | 9*5 loaf pan or 10*5 loaf pan | instant-read thermometer.
Yeast: You can use either instant or active dry yeast in this recipe. Honey: Honey adds a touch of sweetness to the bread. If you don't have you can substitute regular granulated sugar or brown sugar. Special Tools (affiliate links): KitchenAid Stand Mixer, or Silicone spatula with Mixing Bowls | Measuring Cups and SPOONS or Kitchen Scale | Rolling pin | 9*5 loaf pan or 10*5 loaf pan | instant-read thermometer.