Whole grain / multi grain bread making

[Kenny202]

Hi all. Normally make a white bread. Sometimes make a whole wheat with whole wheat flour. Interested in adding some whole grains, seeds etc. Seen a few mixes which seem pretty expensive. If I sourced the grains individually though it may be cheaper? I have seen whole wheat seeds quite cheap (wheat berries). Are these normally used just thrown in the mix. I can't seem to find it added to multi grain recipes. I have some oats and rye already. Sunflower seeds? Any other ideas? Is anyone sourcing some sort of multi grain mix...say in 1 kilo qtys?

 

I think Tops and some of these places sell some of these things but ends up costing 100 baht for a loaf of bread. Any help appreciated. 

[ezzra]

Try Lazada or Shopee they have those things in any quantities, also Big C has those very lovely all kinds of artisan breads and multi grains as well for a round a 100 baht for a decent size loaf which is not too bad price considering today's cost of living...

[grain]

I think if you're home baking a whole wheat-multi grain loaf of bread for 100Bt you're doing ok. My Thai missus buys various imported flour and mixed grains and things from Tops and bakery shops, I'd guess she's probably spending a couple hundred baht to produce a large loaf. However, to drive down costs you certainly could experiment with adding cheaper local things, like sunflower seeds and various crushed nuts & oats...but it sounds like you're already trying that. Not much option really, either make your own out of what's available locally, or pay for the imported goods in Tops.

[Kenny202]

3 minutes ago, grain said:

I think if you're home baking a whole wheat-multi grain loaf of bread for 100Bt you're doing ok. My Thai missus buys various imported flour and mixed grains and things from Tops and bakery shops, I'd guess she's probably spending a couple hundred baht to produce a large loaf. However, to drive down costs you certainly could experiment with adding cheaper local things, like sunflower seeds and various crushed nuts & oats...but it sounds like you're already trying that. Not much option really, either make your own out of what's available locally, or pay for the imported goods in Tops.

Thanks for the help, but respectfully 100-200 baht for a loaf of whole grain bread is uneconomical and un necessary. I can buy a made loaf from a bakery for around 80 baht. We eat a fair bit of bread so looking for long term economical solution. I can buy a 500 gram bag of whole grains 130 baht....use about 100grams of that with 1kg bag of flour total cost about 50 baht. 

[Denim]

As I can't get whole wheat flour locally I now just use regular white flour. 

 

To this I add pumpkin kernals ( 20 baht ) from Big C  and black sesame seeds. The sesame seeds are very cheap and tasty as well as apparently having lots of health benefits.. I have also added sunflower  kernals in the past but dropped these as being unnecessary .

[Kenny202]

2 minutes ago, Denim said:

As I can't get whole wheat flour locally I now just use regular white flour. 

 

To this I add pumpkin kernals ( 20 baht ) from Big C  and black sesame seeds. The sesame seeds are very cheap and tasty as well as apparently having lots of health benefits.. I have also added sunflower  kernals in the past but dropped these as being unnecessary .

you put the pumpkin seeds on top or in the loaf mate? Do you find you need to add more water than normal adding grains etc? I always find my whole meal or Rye etc never rises as much

[Denim]

2 hours ago, Kenny202 said:

you put the pumpkin seeds on top or in the loaf mate? Do you find you need to add more water than normal adding grains etc? I always find my whole meal or Rye etc never rises as much

Pumpkin kernels go in the dough mix along with the sesame seeds ( whole packet of pumpkin kernels  plus three of four tablespoons of black sesame ). 

 

I prepare the yeast in a separate bowl, adding warm water to it plus one table spoonful of sugar to help activate the yeast.  No oil used in the dough. When the yeast mix is frothy I combine it with the flour.

 

Following my mums good advice I always use precisely measured amount with everything to guarantee constant advice. I buy the yeast before baking and store it in the fridge to prevent it deteriorating ( this tip from youtube )

 

Here are the pumpkin kernels that go into making 2 loaves .

 

 

 

Apparently , there is a lot of zinc in pumpkin kernels which is good for virility !!

Edited June 5, 2022 by Denim

[Kenny202]

1 hour ago, Denim said:

Pumpkin kernels go in the dough mix along with the sesame seeds ( whole packet of pumpkin kernels  plus three of four tablespoons of black sesame ). 

 

I prepare the yeast in a separate bowl, adding warm water to it plus one table spoonful of sugar to help activate the yeast.  No oil used in the dough. When the yeast mix is frothy I combine it with the flour.

 

Following my mums good advice I always use precisely measured amount with everything to guarantee constant advice. I buy the yeast before baking and store it in the fridge to prevent it deteriorating ( this tip from youtube )

 

Here are the pumpkin kernels that go into making 2 loaves .

 

 

 

Apparently , there is a lot of zinc in pumpkin kernels which is good for virility !!

Thanks mate. I gave up adding the yeast to water / sugar a few years ago, found it detrimental if not zero effect. I do have a commercial mixer though so gets very thoroughly kneaded and that did make a huge difference. Store my yeast in the fridge too. Normally good for a year to year and half. Already got some pumpkin seeds this morning so they'll be going in. Got this mix off Lazada which should be ok. 

 

https://www.lazada.co.th/products/i2440609767-s8455699714.html?urlFlag=true&mp=1&spm=spm%3Da2o4m.order_details.item_title

 

Normally make a 1kg mix (2 loaves) white bread. My plan use 800 grams and make up the other 200 grams with The Lazada grain mix, pumpkin seeds, sesame seeds and whole wheat. Does that sound about right? Should I use more water? Normally use 3 and 1/3rd cups water per kilo bread flour

[Denim]

1 hour ago, Kenny202 said:

Thanks mate. I gave up adding the yeast to water / sugar a few years ago, found it detrimental if not zero effect. I do have a commercial mixer though so gets very thoroughly kneaded and that did make a huge difference. Store my yeast in the fridge too. Normally good for a year to year and half. Already got some pumpkin seeds this morning so they'll be going in. Got this mix off Lazada which should be ok. 

 

https://www.lazada.co.th/products/i2440609767-s8455699714.html?urlFlag=true&mp=1&spm=spm%3Da2o4m.order_details.item_title

 

Normally make a 1kg mix (2 loaves) white bread. My plan use 800 grams and make up the other 200 grams with The Lazada grain mix, pumpkin seeds, sesame seeds and whole wheat. Does that sound about right? Should I use more water? Normally use 3 and 1/3rd cups water per kilo bread flour

 

With the water , I found by experimentation the exact measured amount I need which helped a lot in taking away the guesswork. Same with everything else by experimenting I finally got the exact mix I wanted that filled the 2 loaf tins. I started at 800 grams of flour but came down to 760 as if the loaf was a little too big it tended to overflow the edge of the tin spoiling the finished shape a bit. For that amount of flour I use exactly 400ml of water/yeast mix. One thing about mixing the water with yeast beforehand is that it's easier to see how active the yeast is before I start. If the water bubbles up and expands nicely I know everything will be ok. If for whatever reason the yeast is a bit dead then I change plans and just bake the loaves out of the tin since I know that if I put the dough in the tins it won't rise enough to fill the them. What I then get is two sort of fat baguettes.

 

That mix you bought looks the business. In the small print at the bottom I think I can just make out  

' ground fine kitchen sink ' ????

Edited June 5, 2022 by Denim

[Yellowtail]

I'll have to try the pumpkin seeds, we get them as a byproduct of pumpkin soup.

 

Kid loves it when I throw in grated cheese. 

 

I like raisons and dates, but the dates are kind of a PITA. 

 

I quit proofing the yeast, but I make sure I use warm water.

 

I buy the half-kilo of yeast at Macro and keep it in the fridge, lasts for at least a year. 

[KhunLA]

Not much to add to the thread, except we keep our yeast in the freezer.

[grain]

23 hours ago, Kenny202 said:

Thanks for the help, but respectfully 100-200 baht for a loaf of whole grain bread is uneconomical and un necessary. I can buy a made loaf from a bakery for around 80 baht. We eat a fair bit of bread so looking for long term economical solution. I can buy a 500 gram bag of whole grains 130 baht....use about 100grams of that with 1kg bag of flour total cost about 50 baht. 

It's what happens when you buy imported ingredients to make foreign food. But you're on the right track and I'll pass some of this info onto my missis and see if she can knock up a mix from locally available ingredients and keep out of Tops.

[ChaiyaTH]

Guess it might be wise to start bulking a 12-24 month stock with the ingredients before we get near to winter too.

[Kenny202]

15 minutes ago, grain said:

It's what happens when you buy imported ingredients to make foreign food. But you're on the right track and I'll pass some of this info onto my missis and see if she can knock up a mix from locally available ingredients and keep out of Tops.

Yeah that's right mate. I use the Swann brand Bread flour about 30-35 baht a kilo and plenty of grains available here. I mean yeah if you're not worried about the money the convenience of Tops is great but I don't see the point of making bread myself if I can buy it ready made same price or cheaper. Make it at home for a reasonable price, good result win win. Do you freeze your bread? A lot of Thais (and farang) don't realize how well fresh bread freezes. We have a restaurant so have to freeze bread. I slice my loaves and put 4 slices to a bag and in the freezer. About 30 sec to a minute on defrost in the microwave and good as just from the oven ????