Never Skip Dessert: Hearty Whole Grain Basil Bread

My uncle and I were scrolling through my pinterest food page, looking for something to make for dinner the following night. We saw this bread and knew immediately we had to make it! So we built our whole meal around it (brown butter chicken penne and a lentil quinoa salad) and boy was it amazing!

If making bread intimidates you - just follow the directions carefully and I promise it will turn out great! It really isn't that hard, you just need to have patience and a free afternoon!

Hearty Whole Grain Basil Bread

(Recipe adapted from The Diva Dish)

Makes 6 Loaves

Two 1/4 oz. envelopes active dry yeast

2 1/4 cups warm water

2 tsp. honey

3 Tbsp. 100% pure maple syrup

4 Tbsp. unsalted butter (melted)

3 cups whole wheat pastry flour

1 cup whole grain all purpose baking flour (or could sub more whole wheat pastry flour - which is what we did)

2 cups unbleached all purpose flour

4 tsp. coarse salt (we used sea salt)

1 cup fresh chopped basil (large chunks)

1/3 cup millit (you can find it at whole foods in the bulk section)

1/2 cup rolled oats

1/4 cup flax seeds (if you don't have them on hand, buy them in the bulk section so you don't have to buy the big package)

1 Tbsp. chia seeds (again - do it bulk)

1/4 cup sesame seeds

1 egg white

1. Soak millet in 1/2 cup warm water for 20 minutes, set aside. In a separate bowl add 1/2 cup warm water and sprinkle yeast in. Add 2 tsp. of honey and whisk together until combined. Set aside for 10 minutes, or until foamy/frothy.

2. In a separate bowl add flours and salt and whisk together. Once yeast is ready, pour yeast into a mixing bowl fitted with dough hook. Add melted butter, 1 1/2 cups warm water, and 3 TB maple syrup. Mix until combined. Then add 3 cups of flour mix. Mix on low speed until smooth.

3. Add in millet (plus water in bowl), and the rest of the seeds/oats, and basil.

4. Mix at low speed until combined. Then add remaining flour until dough is combined and somewhat smooth.

5. On a floured surface kneed dough for about 5 minutes until a smooth ball forms,like so:

Place dough in greased bowl and cover with plastic wrap. Let rise for an hour or so. (I did about 1 1/2 hours)

6. When dough has risen, punch it in down, knead a little more and then divide dough into 6 balls. Place on cookie sheet fitted with a cooking mat. Take your egg white, and add a little water, and brush the tops of the dough balls. Then cover baking sheet with plastic and let dough sit for about another 1 1/2 hours.