Oats Barley Whole Wheat Loaf

For any health conscious eater, nutrition and calorie number crunching starts from the first morsel you take in the day. It is thus important to choose your first meal of the day judiciously – nutritious, energy packed and full of vitamins and minerals. When i think of breakfast, the first thought that came to my mind was.. well Bread ! That is as basic as it gets. So, lets make breakfast healthier, shall we? Diabetes was once an uncommon, old age disease but due to the disrupted lifestyle lead by many in the present day, poor eating habits, lack of exercise and stress are becoming reasons for this disease to spread across all the age groups at an alarming rate. Did you know

Diabetes is now a disease that affects 371 million people worldwide, and 187 million of them do not even know they have the disease !

It is thus becoming important to be aware and cautious of what we are consuming and where it is coming from. When i started thinking about this, the first thought that ran through my mind was to re-look at my daily food consumption and find ways to make it healthier and more nutritious. This is a recipe for a multi-grain bread which is power packed with the goodness of Oats, Barley and Whole wheat. So, lets dig deeper into the ingredients for this bread and explore.

Disclaimer – This is a completely new territory for me to explore as i have no personal experience with it. I will improve my knowledge about the disease, its causes, effects and prevention/control in the days to come. My recipes are based on the knowledge i am gaining from various internet sources and they aim at contributing towards a controlled diet. I am not a professional nutritionist or a medical doctor. Please consult your doctor for your personal dietary specifications as needed. Thanks!

Oats Oats are an excellent source of manganese and molybdenum. They are also a very good source of phosphorus as well as a good source of copper, biotin, vitamin B1, magnesium, dietary fiber, chromium, zinc, and protein.This is affective in lowering blood cholesterol, keeping low blood sugar and regularizing bowel function. With all these benefits, it is highly recommended to include some portion in your diet everyday.
Barley Rich in phytochemicals, fiber, and minerals that ward off a plethora of diseases, substituting your usual grain of choice with barley may confer an array of health benefits, ranging from balanced blood sugar (helping with diabetes) levels to protection against cardiovascular disease and cancer.

Oats Barley Whole Wheat Loaf

Servings: 10-12 (1 loaf)
Time: 2.5 hours (including 1.5 of resting time)
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Recipe Preparation time : 1.5 hrs (resting time included) Baking time: 25-30 minutes Makes: 1 loaf (about 700gms)

2.5 cups whole wheat flour
1 cup oatmeal powder/oatmeal flour
0.5 cup barley flour
3/4 cup milk powder
1/2 tsp salt
1 tablespoons Olive Oil
1 tsp instant yeast
3/4 cup of water (heated between 100-110F)

For a Savory bread, you can also consider adding toasted cumin seeds or spices of your choice Method

Take a big bowl and sieve in the three flours (whole wheat, barley and oats),salt, milk powder and instant yeast. Mix well so that everything is well combined.
Add the oil to the flour mixture and form a soft dough. While kneading you may feel that the water is too much for the dough, but do not worry as this loose dough will help in yielding a very soft bread.
Place this dough in a well oiled deep bowl and cover the bowl with clear film. Let it stand for about 1 hour. The dough will rise to double the size.
Remove the clear film and punch down the dough. Knead for a couple of minutes. With a rolling pin, roll out the dough to about a thickness of 3/4 inch thick in a rectangular shape (add the flour on the working surface to knead out the dough).
Roll the dough sheet to form a bread loaf. Place in greased loaf tin. Sprinkle some wheat flour on top for the artisinal- rustic feel to your bread.
Cover with clear film and let it rest and rise for about 45 minutes. Make sure the tin is deep enough that the dough is placed till about half the depth of the tin as the dough is rise to double the volume when left for rising.
Bake at 400 F for about 25-30 minutes or till golden brown.
Remove from oven and let it cool down completely before cutting into slices.

This is a great way to start your day on a healthy and satisfying note. Just 2 slices of these bread is enough to give you that boost of energy your body needs to kick start your day. Enjoy it plain toasted (as i do) or apply a thin layer of low fat butter/home made nut butters and you have got yourself a great breakfast dish! I actually even serve these for lunch accompanied with my superfood salad “Crunchy carrot beet kale salad”

Please Note – If any of my readers have things to add to my knowledge or give me insights about the ingredients, cooking techniques etc, i would love to hear from you all. Also, if you think i went somewhere wrong with my suggestions, please feel free to discuss with me. I would love to know about your personal experiences as that would enrich my research and it would help me create better recipes

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