10 Grain Rolls - Recipe for High Fiber Bread

It's a good time to get healthy. Isn't that on your list of New Year's Resolutions? It's about six or seven down on mine. I only like healthy if it tastes good. So I have been working on a tasty high fiber wheat bread. Why high fiber? It's good for you. WikiAnswers told me so:

According to the American Heart Association, the average American takes in only 15 grams of fiber. Several organizations recommend 25 - 30 grams a day. The American Dietetic Association recommends 25 - 35 grams a day. If your intake is 15 grams or less and you want to increase your fiber intake, increase it gradually. If you jump from 15 to 35 grams a day, it may cause stomach cramping and gas.

I found this Bob's Red Mill - Organic Whole Grain High Fiber Hot Cereal in the flour isle at the grocery store. It has 10 grams of fiber per 1/3 cup. Holy fiber, Batman! So I plan on using about a cup of it in my bread.

What are the 10 grains you might ask? Northwest oat groats (whatever groats are), flaxseed, wheat germ, bran and wheat bran. That's what the packages says, and if you counted, you realize that's only five. I had to go to Bob's Red Mill website to find the complete set: red wheat, rye, triticale, oat bran, oats, corn, barley, soy beans, brown rice, millet, and flaxseed. Oddly the first five are not all on the second ten.

Enough about health for now let's get into the fun bread making part. I figured out that my (well Adam's and Emily's coffee maker) keeps liquid at the optimal temperature for growing yeast. I also discovered I can make tea in the coffee pot by putting a tea bag in the carafe. (I drink my coffee in the morning and then switch over to tea once the coffee runs out. So my tea tastes a little like coffee *shrug*.) I used tea as the liquid in this recipe to start to the yeast.

I poured one cup of tea into a bowl, it was green tea if you are wondering. Then I added a tablespoon brown sugar and then the packet of yeast. It bloomed very nicely.

I found this Active Dry Yeast by Hodgson Mill that says it is "especially for whole grain". So I figured I'd try it. I really despise that it is only available in these little over priced, over packaged packets. I'll try it this once in the name of better bread.

I let the yeast bloom for five minutes before mixing in one cup of the 10 grain cereal, one teaspoon salt and one tablespoon olive oil. Then I cracked in an egg and kept stirring. Next I added one cup wheat flour, one cup white flour and turned out the dough to knead. I kneaded in about another quarter cup of white flour. If you try this recipe keep the dough a little sticky. The stickier the dough the bigger it will rise and whole grain bread needs a lot of rising so it isn't too heavy.

I let the dough rise for about an hour. I had it sitting on the stove top and the oven was on. That wasn't such a good idea because the bowl the dough was in got a little too hot and I think it killed some of the yeast.

I punched - er slapped - down my dough and made it into 12 little dough balls so I could make rolls. I put the balls into a greased 9x9 baking pan. Rolls are awesome because they are automatically divided into serving sizes; which is good us because Jeff and I can finish a one pound loaf for dinner. Fresh bread is fabulous.

Once the rolls had risen nicely again. I baked them in the oven at 375 degrees for about 30 minutes until the tops started to brown.

The rolls taste pretty good, a little on the dry side. Perhaps more oil next time? The flavor is nice and nutty, with a light texture.  Here's a the step by step instruction with list of ingredients. 

These rolls are the perfect side for soup! And you know I've been making a lot of soup lately.

One last health bit: These rolls come in at 2 Weight Watcher Points each. They have 130 calories per serving, 3 grams of fat and 3 grams of fiber. Mission accomplished! We have tasty, high fiber rolls.

And the fancy yeast I bought “especially for whole grain”? I couldn’t tell the difference. I’ll stay with my big glass bottle of active dry yeast, thank you very much.