Norwegian Whole Grain Super Bread

Feb 5, 2024

I became sort of obsessed with baking bread last year when I was researching, preparing and filming my popular online course Norwegian Bread Baking, and started experimenting with a bunch of different whole grain flours and seeds.

Now as I’m preparing for the follow-up to that course, The Flatbreads of Norway, I am getting into all sorts of history and research around Norwegian breads. What fun!

My quest into the world of bread all started as I got a bit frustrated trying to find the type of bread stateside I was used to eating back home in Norway. They all seemed to have mostly white flour (even the ‘whole grain’ bread) with little to no depth of flavor with the exception of perhaps sourdough, but I don’t always feel like eating bread with that flavor profile.

Norwegians are huge bread eaters, and a majority of people eat sliced bread every day for breakfast and lunch, and sometimes even for a late evening snack. While more and more people are purchasing bread at the bakery or the grocery store today, I still find that bread baking is more common back home than here.

What I love most about these whole-grain Norwegian breads is that they are not hard to make at all. You do not have to be an expert baker to make amazing loaves at home!

I chose to call this bread ‘super bread because that’s just what it is. Filled with wholesome, nutritious, and flavorful ingredients like rye, whole wheat flour, oats, wheat bran, and various seeds like sunflower, sesame, and flax seeds, this is exactly the kind of whole grain bread you’ll want to eat.

The addition of the soaked whole barley (you can use pearled or hulled barley, whichever you have available) and wheat berries make these loaves even juicier and heartier and pack a ton of fiber, which is great for digestion and for keeping you feeling full for longer.

I suggest getting used to weighing all your ingredients when you’re baking bread and using the gram measurements in the recipe as that will give you the most accurate results.

If you have been looking for a bread that’s as flavorful as it’s good for you eat, I highly recommend trying this recipe out!

Whole Grain Super Bread

Makes 2 loaves

Day1:
70 grams (1/2 cup) whole barley
70 grams (1/2 cup) whole wheat berries

Day 2:
2 cups (5 dl) water
1 tablespoon ground flaxseeds mixed with 4 tablespoons water (flax “egg”)
1 tablespoon vegan honey or maple syrup
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
1 packet (2 ¼ teaspoons) dry active yeast
100 grams (rounded 3/4 cups) all-purpose flour
400 grams (3 1/2 cups ) whole wheat flour
70 grams (1/2 cup) dark rye flour
60 grams (3/4 cup) rolled oats plus extra for topping
20 grams (1/4 cup) wheat bran
20 grams (1/4 cup) flax seeds plus extra for topping
20 grams (1/4 cup) sunflower seeds
20 grams (1/4 cup) sesame seeds
40 grams (about 3 tbsps) vegan unsalted butter, room temperature
1 tablespoon kosher salt

Directions:

Day 1:

In the evening, add the barley and whole wheat berries in a large bowl or bowl of a stand mixer, cover with water and let soak overnight.

Day 2:

Whisk together the water, flax egg, honey or maple syrup and lemon juice in a small bowl.

Drain the rye and wheat berries, and add all the dry ingredients into the bowl along with the wet ingredients. Fit the stand mixer with the dough bhook and knead on low speed for about 10-15 minutes (or if by hand, 15-20 minutes) until the dough is smooth and releases from the sides of the bowl.

Cover the dough with a towel or bowl cover and let rest until double in size, about 2 hours.

Grease two 9x5x3 inch loaf pans or a baking sheet and set aside.

Divide the dough in half, and shape each half into a loaf. Sprinkle some oats on your work surface and dip one side of the load in the oats. Cover the other side with flax seeds. Place the breads into the prepared loaf pans or baking sheet, cover and let rise again until double in size, about 45 minutes.

Preheat the oven to 420°F (210°C).

Bake the breads in the middle of the oven for about 30-35 minutes until golden on top and a hollow sound gives off when knocking on the bottom of the bread with your knuckle.

Remove from oven and place on a cooling rack. After 10 minutes, remove the bread from the loaf pans/baking sheet and let cool on rack completely before slicing.