After many attempts, I finally nailed Gluten Free Multigrain Seeded Bread and it was worth the wait! Soft, but hearty, and much healthier, I hope you enjoy it as much as we do!
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Y’all. If you only knew how long I’ve been working on this bread. And the multigrain flour blend in general. I can’t even remember when I first started, but I know it was well over a year ago, probably two. I just could not for the life of me get it right, but I persevered as I always do and finally created something that was not only hearty and tasty, but also very soft and fluffy. Like, SUPER soft. And FLUFFY. Those two words require all caps! Now the world is our oyster and we can have healthier options without sacrificing what we love!
why you’ll love this bread
- It’s easy to make
- It’s healthier than all my other breads
- The texture is soft and fluffy on the inside and crusty on the outside
- You can customize the add-ins to your liking
ingredients needed to make multigrain seeded bread
- Multigrain flour blend — my all NEW flour blend, which is revolutionary and can also be customized to suit your dietary needs with multiple options!
- Psyllium husks — I like to use whole psyllium husks, but you can substitute with psyllium husk powder in a smaller ratio (see the recipe card for instructions)
- Flax meal
- Sunflower seeds — sunflower seeds are by far my favorite seed of all time. Feel free to use any seed you like.
- Pumpkin seeds — great texture and flavor, but again, use what you enjoy eating.
- Whole millet — I love how whole millet kinda “pops” like quinoa does, or what I used to love that we can’t have anymore–barley.
how to make gluten free multigrain bread
- Put all soaker ingredients in a bowl and pour hot water over. Cover and let soak while you get all the other ingredients ready.
- If desired, pre soak your psyllium husks in some of the water from the dough recipe.
- Measure the rest of the ingredients for the bread in a large mixer bowl and mix, using the dough hook, until well combined.
- Add soaker (which by now should have soaked up all the water) and continue mixing the dough for another couple of minutes.
- Cover the dough and proof it in a warm, draft-free area until doubled in size, 1-2 hours (this could take longer based on the temperature of your proofing area).
- At this point, you can refrigerate it for a couple of hours or shape the dough because you pre-gelatinized the psyllium husks and the dough is a little bit easier to work with. However, I still prefer to refrigerate it overnight for an even better dough texture and flavor.
- To shape, dump dough out onto a floured surface and knead to degas slightly and smooth out the dough. Shape into a boule, batard, or baguette.
- Cover and allow to rise until nearly doubled in size. While dough is proofing, place a Dutch oven with a lid into the oven and preheat it to 500 degrees F.
- Slash risen loaf with lame or sharp knife and lower it into preheated Dutch oven and replace the lid. Put Dutch oven into preheated oven and shut door. Immediately turn heat down to 450 degrees F and bake for 40 minutes. Remove lid and bake for an additional 20 minutes.
- Allow to cool completely before slicing.
Multigrain Seeded Bread Frequently Asked Questions
Can I use other seeds/nuts in my multigrain seeded bread soaker?
Yes, you can use any seeds and/or nuts or even dried fruits in your soaker you’d like, as long as they weigh between 150-160g. Make sure to use some form of ground meal as about 18g of your soaker, however.
Do I have to add flax meal to my multigrain seeded soaker or can I leave it out?
You don’t have to add flax meal per se, but you do need to add some form of ground meal. A ground meal will begin the enzyme breakdown of the seeds and nuts you use in the soaker. This just means the nutrients are released from the seeds and nuts, allowing for optimal flavor and texture. You can use any form of nut or seed and grind it to use as your meal.
I don’t have a Dutch oven. Can I bake multigrain seeded bread another way?
Yes, you can bake the bread on a pizza steel, pizza stone, on an overturned baking sheet, or even in a loaf pan.
You won’t believe how wonderfully soft this gluten free multigrain seeded bread is, while still being hearty and crunchy at the same time.
Gluten Free Multigrain Seeded Bread
After many attempts, I finally nailed Gluten Free Multigrain Seeded Bread and it was worth the wait! Soft, but hearty, and much healthier, I hope you enjoy it as much as we do!
Ingredients
Psyllium Husks Soak
- 2 tbsp (10g) whole psyllium husks** (see notes) (1½ tbsp psyllium husk powder may be substituted)
- ¾ cup (180ml) hot water
Seed Soaker (these can be customized, but should total around 150-160g)
- 3 tbsp (30g) whole flax seeds
- 3 tbsp (20g) whole purity protocol rolled oats
- 3 tbsp (26g) raw sunflower seeds
- 3 tbsp (27g) raw pumpkin seeds (pepitas)
- 2 tbsp (24g) whole raw millet
- 3 tbsp (18g) flax meal
- 1 tbsp (12g) whole teff grains
- ½ cup (120ml) boiling (or very hot) water
Bread Dough
- 2½ cups (350g) Kim's multigrain bread flour blend
- 1½ tsp (5g) instant yeast
- 2 tsp (12g) kosher salt
- 1 cup (240ml) warm water
- 2 tbsp (26g) olive oil
- 2 tbsp (42g) honey
Instructions
Soak the Seeds/Nuts/Grains:
- In a small bowl, pour boiling water over seed soaker mixture and cover with plastic wrap. Set aside while you prepare the rest of the dough.
Soak the Psyllium Husks (this is not necessary, but allows you to make the dough and bake the bread all in the same day)
- Place psyllium husks in a small bowl and pour hot water over. Stir and set aside to gel.
Make the Dough
- Once psyllium husks have gelled, place all dough ingredients (including psyllium husks) into the bowl of a stand mixer and mix on medium high for a few minutes. Add the seed soaker (which by now should have soaked up all the water) and continue to mix for another few minutes. This can also be mixed using a handheld mixer or in a bowl with a good amount of elbow grease (a Danish dough whisk would help significantly if you want to mix this by hand).
- Scrape dough into a mound in the center of the bowl and cover the bowl. Allow to proof in a warm environment for 2-3 hours, or until doubled in size. Proofing time will vary based on the temperature of your proofing area.
- If you pre-soaked your psyllium husks, you may knead the dough immediately (or refrigerate it for a few hours before kneading). Otherwise, for best results, refrigerate the dough for at least 6 hours, preferably overnight.
- Knead dough on a well-floured surface until smooth, adding more flour as necessary to prevent stickiness.
- To shape into a boule, simply form into a round ball, pulling the dough up and under the ball and pinching on the bottom. If desired, add some seeds/grains to the counter, spray loaf with nonstick spray, and sprinkle seeds over the loaf. Place on parchment paper or put in a lightly floured banneton, smooth side down. To shape into a baguette, smooth the dough and roll into a rope shape, tapering it at the ends, adding more flour as necessary. Roll out as thick or thin as you'd like and as long as you're able to fit in your oven (make sure it will fit on your pizza steel or stone). Place it on a sheet of parchment paper.
- Place the loaf or loaves, covered loosely with plastic wrap, in a warm, draft-free area to rise until visibly puffed and slightly larger, but not doubled in size, about 1/2 to 1 hour. This time will vary greatly depending on the warmth of your proofing area and the time of year (summer loaves always proof quicker than winter loaves).
- BAKING STEEL OR STONE METHOD: Set up your oven for baking. Place a baking steel or stone (or overturned baking sheet) onto the middle rack with a shallow pan on a rack underneath. Preheat the oven to 450° F. DUTCH OVEN METHOD: Place a Dutch oven with a tight-fitting lid into the oven and preheat it to 500° F. You won't need the shallow pan with steam as enough steam will be created in the Dutch oven once the bread goes in. NOTE: This will only work with boules or loaves that can fit into the Dutch oven. If you're making a longer batard or baguette, you'll need to use the first method.
- When the dough has finished rising and is visibly puffed, run a serrated knife under hot tap water and cut slits in the dough swiftly but uniformly, about ½-¾ inch deep.
- BAKING STEEL OR STONE METHOD: Fill a measuring cup with one cup of very hot water (from the tap is fine). Using a pizza peel (paddle), slide the loaf (or loaves) onto the baking steel (or stone), parchment and all. Immediately pour the cup of very hot tap water into the shallow pan. Quickly shut the oven door. DUTCH OVEN METHOD: Remove the lid carefully and carefully lower the dough, parchment and all, into the Dutch oven. Replace the lid and shut the oven door. Immediately reduce the temperature down to 450° F.
- BAKING STEEL OR STONE METHOD: Bake for about 30 minutes for baguettes, or about 40 minutes for boules, OR longer for larger boules (some larger boules can take up to an HOUR or more). If the loaves are getting too browned, you can cover them loosely with foil. The loaves will look crusty and done on the outside, but will feel somewhat light when picked up. If they feel overly heavy, they're not done yet. However, because of the added seeds and bulk, they will be heavier than my usual loaves of gf bread. If necessary, allow them to bake for another 5-10 minutes and then check again, picking up the loaf with two gloved hands. If they're still feeling overly heavy, allow them to bake for another 5 minutes and check again. DUTCH OVEN METHOD: Bake the bread for 40 minutes with the lid on. Remove the cover and continue to bake for another 20 minutes. Check for doneness as above, adjusting time as needed.
- Remove from the oven and place on a cooling rack. Allow to cool COMPLETELY before cutting (or it will be gummy on the inside).
Notes
The recipe makes about 2-3 loaves of bread, depending on how large or small you make them. You don’t have to make them all in one day. You can leave the rest of the dough in the refrigerator for another day when you want freshly baked bread.
You can double or even triple the recipe (if you have a mixer big enough to handle the dough). A double recipe fits well in my 5-quart Kitchenaid artisan mixer.
Extra dough may also be frozen. Wrap in plastic wrap and then in foil and place in the freezer for up to 3 months. Thaw in refrigerator overnight and then use as normal.
The possibilities are endless with this dough. It can be made into so many different shapes and sizes of loaves and you can shape it in about five minutes a day. If you only want to make one loaf in a day, only take out the amount of dough you’ll need for that loaf (usually about a softball to grapefruit-sized amount). Again, it depends on the size and shape of loaf you’re making.
The dough will last in the refrigerator for about 10 days, fermenting even more (like sourdough) each day. It actually gets better with age 🙂
**If you don’t want to use psyllium husks or psyllium husk powder, remove the entire psyllium husks soak from the recipe and add 1/2 cup (120ml) to the dough water amount, totalling 660ml.
FOR HIGH ALTITUDE BAKING: Per Beth, who lives in Colorado and graciously offered some high altitude baking conversions, I followed Kim’s recipe for the flour blend. I then adjusted the following in the recipe: Yeast: 2.5 tsp + 1/8th tsp (reduced each tsp by 1/8th tsp). Salt: 1.5 tsp (added 1/2 tsp). Water: 1.5 c. + 3 tbsp added 2 tbsp per cup). I followed the rise times and baking directions exactly. I made 2 loaves: one baguette and one boule. I baked them on my baking stone as directions state. My loaves took 2 hours to grow noticeably larger during the rise after being in the refrigerator overnight. I turned the oven on then off, then put the loaves on a wooden cutting board covered with plastic wrap and also a light cloth while rising. I have a family member who has celiacs and I am gluten and dairy intolerant. I used the pea protein, by the way.”
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Kim, a quick claifiaction….if you use pysillium powder, do you soak it in the 3/4 cups of water like you would for the husks? I just made my first loaf using the powder, but did not soak it in water and think my dough might be too dry.
It’s not absolutely necessary to soak the psyllium husks before making this recipe, so I don’t think that would be the problem.
Kim, I love your blog. It’s my go-to for everything gluten free and especially love your bread flour blend. I’m considering trying bread in my Dutch Oven. What do you think?
Hi Kathy,
This bread recipe is ideal for the Dutch oven method! From my experience though, I prefer to put a baking sheet or two on the oven shelf below so that the bottom doesn’t get too crusty. The use of parchment paper to transfer the loaf into the pre-heated pan is absolutely invaluable.
Enjoy!
That’s how this was baked, in a Dutch oven. There are instructions in the recipe card 🙂
Would I be able to make the seed soaker out of just the flax meal and rolled oats as long as the extra oats brought the total soaker amount to the 150 grams?
I want to try this. It looks so good. But I’m sure my kids will be picky about all the seeds. Lol.
Yep!
Yes, you can pretty much put anything in a soaker to suit your tastes 🙂
This adapted nicely to the sourdough version per your recommendations on converting your other breads to sourdough. I made a plain sourdough loaf and a multigrain sourdough loaf and the multigrain sourdough stole the show.
Thank you, Kim, for your seemingly tireless research and “teaching” efforts and the way you’ve made a major dietary change into an art.
hello, can this or any of our other GF bread recipes be made in a bread maer?
An absolute winner once again! When you published your multigrain flour blend I was enthused for what was to come because I always feel so guilty eating too much when I make your yeast doughs because they’re soooo good but not that healthy!! This bread did not disappoint and I’m not ashamed to say I ate way too much haha 😅 My mom said she was very skeptical when I told her about this bread but when she tasted it she changed her tune!! I didn’t have quite the variety of seeds on hand as suggested in the recipe but I used 155 grams of a mixture of what I had and it worked great!
Hi, I have not tested this recipe at all. I have tested the artisan bread and pizza dough, and had great results though. And I am quite the baking beginner.
Anyway, I was wondering, have you considered sprouting the seeds? Extra action to do should not be much more than leaving the seeds for a day or so, maybe in the dark, and maybe you need to change the water once or something like that (the seeds might get bitter when you sprout them).
What I have been told is that sprouting makes more nutrients in the seeds available to the body, as long as they are living seeds at least.
Do not take any of what I have said about method or effect as gospel, do your own research. I am not a nutritional expert, and I cannot remember the details of what is for sprouting a seed in order to sow it, what is needed in order to eat it raw and what is needed for a breadbaking recipe. But I think it is worth looking into.
I wanted to let you know that on your flour blend page, the link for millet flour actually goes to the oat flour instead.
Thank you so much for alerting me! It is fixed now 😊
Hi Kim:
This bread is awesome. A soft, tender, fluffy bread with a delicious crust. Both my husband and I absolutely love it. I have a question, using your regular Artesian bread recipe can I use the multigrain bread flour blend and soak the whole psyllium husk to be able to bake bread someday? And as always, you’re recipes are sooooo good. No one can tell my baking is gf. Thank you 😊
Thanks, Shari! I’m so glad you liked it!!
Yes, you should be able to pre-soak the psyllium husks and make the artisan bread the same day. It might not be quite as easily manipulated as it is when refrigerated overnight, but it should still be able to be kneaded without too much trouble.
Love, love, love this new blend. I used the blend with my sourdough starter and the sourdough recipe. I thought, why not give it a whirl. I did add the seed mixture but was impatient and didn’t wait for them to “bloom.” Bit of a mistake on my part as the dough was extremely wet. I kneaded it with a bit more of the flour. Then I waited about 24 hours before I baked it. Not as open of a crumb as I prefer with your regular sourdough, but I blame myself for that as the dough was so wet. I think next time (and oh, yes! there will be a next time!), I may add just a bit more baking soda than the half teaspoon.
The bread is absolutely delicious!!!! I LOVE this blend. It is so tasty! I did sub the millet seed (a favorite of my cockatiel but not mine) for black sesame seed. Delicious! Thank you for all your time and energy figuring this out. I did bake this in a ceramic loaf pan with a lid (Emile Henry’s ceramic loaf pan–and no, I have no financial interest in the company) and it came out beautifully. Due to the wetness of the bread, I removed the lid after cooking for 50 minutes and baked it another 7 minutes with the lid off. The temp of the bread was about 110–112 F. Fully cooked and as I keep saying delicious! A definite keeper. Thank you so much again. I wish I could post pictures as it is gorgeous!
Yay!!!!!!!!!! I would LOVE to see your sourdough, so if you’re on instagram, please tag me @letthemeatglutenfreecake and I’ll share it with everyone too!! Thanks so much 🥰🥰🥰
Sorry, not on instgram at the moment. BTW, one interesting chemical reaction which occurred with my bread. I used sunflower seeds and also put in baking soda. That can cause a chemical reaction and turn your seeds a bright turquoise/green color. They are fine. They are not moldy. It is the result of an interaction between baking soda (an alkali) and a chemical in sunflower seeds known as chlorogenic acid.
VERY interesting! Something I never knew and will be on the lookout for if I make sourdough with the baking soda. Thank you for that!!
Hi DebbieD, can I asked what your sourdough starter is made of? I tried once with oat but that wasn’t successful. Hope you can help. Thanks . Minca
Hey there Minka! I started my gluten free sourdough starter with “regular” gluten free flour. Since I have been feeding it, I am starting to use other flours. I find that I need to use more of a 1:1 ratio of flour to water with the “other” flours, such as buckwheat, sourghum, etc. They also take a bit longer (about a week) to come into their own. Also, I find that they don’t bubble up as much as the “regular” gluten free flour. So, it is a learning experience for me as well. I find they give off a sour smell and have bubbles at the top. Hang in there. I am sure you will find success!
Hey, Minca (and Debbie!), I have a really great sourdough starter (new one that I’ve been using and it is a game changer) and I will be releasing it (with video) very soon!!
Hi Kim, like Minca, I used the extra water when I made the dough ( I was so excited for the recipe I had your multigrain flour blend ready to go!). The next day I looked on the comments and confirmed my suspicions that the water was too much and so I took it out of the frig and proceeded to add more four with my mixer. I waited until today when I had both loaves done , cooled and tasted to let you know how amazing the recipe and flour blend is. In spite of the hydration adjustment, it was the best bread ever. By far. I have been gluten free, after celiac and fructose malabsorption dx, for 12 years now and have never had bread this “real”! I baked inside my cast iron Dutch oven once and once used a round stoneware pan and both were great. I was an accomplished home baker prior to dx, and g-f baking was so frustrating for so long.
I found your website before Christmas when I was looking, yet again, for a recipe that would give us back the “chocolate petit pans” that date back to Christmas baking with my mom and then my kids. I used your cinnamon roll dough as the basis and it was Perfect!! My family was in seventh heaven .
For lactose- intolerant folks, judeesglutenfree.com has a lactose free skim milk powder which has been working well for me in baking.
Thanks so much for all the time and energy you’ve put into creating your blends/recipes. They make all the difference . If anybody is hesitant to gather the products and blend the flours, let me reiterate- it’s worth it!
Awe, thank you so much, Kate! I truly appreciate your very kind words 🥰🥰🥰
What a delicious bread! The only small change I made was to use hemp seeds instead of whole flax, but otherwise I followed the recipe exactly. I used the dutch oven method and made 2 even sized loaves. (I let them rise in my bannetons.) I felt they did get a little darker than I’d like. I’ll have to play around with the timing next time, maybe less than 40 minutes with the lid on? It’s only been an hour and one loaf is almost gone because my husband and I can’t stop cutting another slice! Thanks so much for a delicious and hearty recipe!
I forgot to say, I have one humble suggestion for the recipe, and that would be to add the weights in grams for the liquids. It would be nice to be able to weigh everything rather than have to bring out measuring cups just for liquids. Otherwise, this is an awesome recipe!
Oh, did you not see the weight in milliliters? I always put the weight in milliliters right after the cup measurements for all liquids (although milliliters and grams are pretty much the same so it really doesn’t matter whether you use grams or milliliters). Do you not see that in the recipe card? I want to make sure everyone sees it because when I pull it up on my phone or laptop, I see both the cup measurements and the weight measurements.
OOF. I don’t know how I missed it the first time, but yes the milliliters are there. So I retract my suggestion. 🙂
So glad you liked it!!!
2 teaspoons of salt, is that correct? Mij bread is too salty and therefore too dense.
Hi!
Have made the dinner rolls (amazing) and the pizza crust ( baking remaining half today as artisan bread)9…all incredible!!!
Super excited about the multigrain bread mainly because the ingredients are better suited to our sensitivities, the question I have is – can it be made without the soaker as an alternative?
I plan to do it with the soaker but was just curious to know if it’s needful for the integrity of the entire recipe.
Never mind!!!
I was looking around and found the answer on the flour mix page!
Kim, Whole grain breads are my choice, so I am very excited to try this. I’ve always baked your breads on a pizza stone and followed your directions exactly. I would like to try this recipe in a loaf pan. Will you please give advice as to oven temperature and baking time. I have no idea where to start…Thank you!
I haven’t played around with it yet, but I’d suggest starting at a higher temp (400 F) for the first 10 minutes, then dropping down the temp to 350 F and baking for an additional 40-50 minutes (or more) but checking at 40 to see if it springs back when touched and feels relatively light in weight.
I would like to know if the dough is rather runny or more batter like? I made the dough and it’s now in the fridge to firm up after the 2 hours rise. But still wobbly. Or is the 540 ml water you mention in total, so in fact when making the dough add 540 -180 (psyllicum husk) – 120 (seeds soaker) = 240 ml of water? Thanks
Oh my gosh, YES! I am SO SORRY, Minca!! I made a HUGE typo. It was supposed to be 240ml of water for the dough, plus the other two amounts for the soaker/psyllium husks. Please accept my apology for having the incorrect amounts straight out of the gate!
No problem at all. Luckily we found it. Your recipes rock so i couldn’t understand why this one didn’t work for now. Thanks for the quick respons.
Succes! I would love to add a picture of the crumb because it looks and taste delicious. A winner. Thanks Kim.
Thanks for the recipe. Will definitely give it a try. If we use a loaf pan, do we still need to place a shallow tray in the lower shelf and pour hot water in it?
Can you replace the oats as they’re not considered gluten free in Australia?
I’d like to know this too, as although GF, I don’t do well with them. Thanks.
I think you could. I didn’t have pumpkin seeds so I added some more other seeds and some sesame seeds in it. As long as you have some flax meal in it and the total of your seed blend is 150-160 grams. Hope this helps.
Oats are not gluten free because they are contaminated either in growing or in processing with wheat. In Canada we have certified gluten free oats which are grown and processed in wheat free facilities. You may have some gluten free oats available but they may be harder to find. This used to be the case here in Canada also, but in the last few years they’ve become more widespread, thankfully. One still shouldn’t eat large quantities if one is celiac, max 125ml per day, but I’ve not had issues withem in these quantities. Hope that helps.