Flaxseed and Oat Bran Broom Bread – 100% Whole Grain
Is that 22-ounce steak dinner from last night bogging you down? Suffering from a roughage-deficient diet? Move mountains with this high-fiber variation on the 100% whole wheat sandwich bread. Packed with flaxseeds and oat bran, this bread recipe provides the benefits of both soluble and insoluble fiber without the unpleasant side effects of pumpernickel.
If it’s still not obvious why cleaning equipment is involved in the bread name, here’s a video that might help:
recipe adapted from Peter Reinhart’s Whole Grain Breads
Yeastspotting at Wild Yeast Blog
Flaxseed and Oat Bran “Broom” Bread – 100% Whole Grain
makes one 8 1/2 x 4 1/2-inch pan loaf
For the Biga (Pre-fermented Dough):
Ingredients Volume Ounces Grams whole wheat flour 1 3/4 cups 8 227 instant yeast 1/4 tsp water, at room temperature 3/4 cup 6 170
Biga (Pre-fermented Dough) Instructions:
Mix the biga ingredients until a shaggy ball of dough is formed. Knead the biga for about 2 minutes or until the ingredients are evenly distributed.
Place the biga in a bowl and cover. Refrigerate for at least 8 hours and up to 3 days. Let the biga sit at room temperature for about 2 hours before using in the final dough.
For the Soaker:
Ingredients Volume Ounces Grams whole wheat flour 1 1/3 cups + 1 tbsp 6.5 184 oat bran 4 tbsp 1 28 flaxseeds 1 1/2 tbsp .5 14 kosher salt 1 tsp .14 4 water 3/4 cup + 2 tbsp 7 198
Soaker Instructions:
Mix the soaker ingredients until evenly hydrated. Cover and leave at room temperature for 12 to 24 hours.
Final Dough Formula:
Ingredients Volume Ounces Grams all of the biga, cut into 12 pieces all of the soaker, cut into 12 pieces whole wheat flour 7 tbsp 2 57 kosher salt 1/2 tbsp .18 5 instant yeast 2 1/4 tsp .25 7 granulated sugar 3 tbsp 1.5 43 olive oil 1 tbsp .5 14 oat bran, for topping (optional)
Final Dough Instructions:
Mix Mix all of the ingredients until evenly incorporated
Knead 8 to 10 minutes
Rest 5 minutes
Knead 1 minute to further strengthen the gluten
Bulk Ferment 45 to 60 minutes at room temperature in a lightly
oiled bowl, or until 1 1/2 times its size
Shape loaf pan shape, in a greased 8 1/2 x 4 1/2 loaf pan
Sprinkle the tops of the shaped dough with more oat bran (optional).
Preheat Oven 425ºF/218ºC
Final Proof 45 to 60 minutes at room temperature, or until
1 1/2 times its size
Score the proofed dough immediately before baking (optional).
Bake Lower the temperature immediately to 350ºF/177ºC.
Bake for 20 minutes. Rotate the loaf if necessary
and bake for another 20 to 30 minutes, until the
loaf registers 195ºF/91ºC in the center.
Cool At least 1 hour
Flaxseed and oat bran broom bread top view.
Flaxseed and oat bran broom bread side view.
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November 12th, 2008 at 4:10 am
Bread looks wholesome with rich nutrients, fiber foods.and oats. Oats considered as fiber rich, and low calorie.
Thanks for posting
Alice
November 12th, 2008 at 5:16 am
Those loaves are beautiful and look really perfect! A healthy choice…
Cheers,
Rosa
November 12th, 2008 at 5:20 am
Aw man, the Hulu video won’t load here!
Anyway, that bread is as perfect as can be. As usual! Look at that crumb and that lovely color!
November 12th, 2008 at 7:42 am
Well my colon feels clean just looking at that fiber… I love the bread. Oat bran is something I wish more people would bake with, it has such a nice flavor and is wicked good for you
November 12th, 2008 at 7:44 am
Ah, now I get it! I’ve been trying to get more oat bran into my diet, so I’m bookmarking to make this bread.
November 12th, 2008 at 8:38 am
A goooood looking healthy loaf:-)
November 12th, 2008 at 9:38 am
Too funny. I eat a bowl of hot oat bran almost every morning, but who needs a bowl when you can have broom bread?
November 12th, 2008 at 10:25 am
Those are so pretty, but sometimes things are just a bit too healthy – I think I’ll go eat some frosting with a spoon now…
November 12th, 2008 at 10:51 am
Pretty and healthy.Perfect bread.Truly professional work.
November 12th, 2008 at 12:17 pm
First of all, I love flaxseed. I add it to my yogurt every morning. Secondly, homemade bread—while I don’t get to make it as often as I’d like—is one of my favorite things on Earth. This loaf sounds particularly useful!
November 12th, 2008 at 4:05 pm
wow its healthy and its so nice
November 12th, 2008 at 10:34 pm
Umm…I’m scared of bran muffins. I think this would make me explode…
November 13th, 2008 at 12:07 am
That is a fine looking loaf.
Good for the tummy. I think it would be amazing toasted with a little apple butter. Yum.
November 13th, 2008 at 12:39 am
Even though the name choice is obvious, I’m still miffed at the message “We’re sorry. Currently our video library can only be streamed within the United States [...]“. Luckily, your bread photos and the recipe make up for the missing video.
Very impressive loft on 100% whole grain bread!
November 13th, 2008 at 6:20 am
Jude, these loaves looks terrific. I would like to make something like this after all the APF indulgence I have been through this month! The slashes looks so artistic:)
November 13th, 2008 at 9:00 am
You always have amazing looking bread. These are no exception. I love the design on top. I havent quite amstered that yet. I think I need a razor, all of my knifes just deflate the dough.
November 13th, 2008 at 3:34 pm
top view and side view look georgeous!
Healthy but a bit heavy for my “white bread’s” tastebuds
November 13th, 2008 at 4:37 pm
Looks like my kind of bread. I always go for the nutty, chewy, whole wheat bread. This would sweep your colon right out!
November 13th, 2008 at 7:21 pm
Too funny, haven’t since that video since it first aired.
Nice looking bread, as always.
November 14th, 2008 at 3:03 am
[...] Flaxseed and Oat Bran Broom Bread ~ Apple Pie, Patis, and Pâté [...]
November 14th, 2008 at 3:08 pm
Each of your breads is a piece of perfection! Wonderful!
Please come and collect something from my blog. Thanks!
November 15th, 2008 at 1:54 pm
Manggy, Elizabeth – Sorry about that… Couldn’t find this video on Youtube.
What was I thinking posting this video? Not exactly the most appetizing thing to go with a recipe.
November 17th, 2008 at 6:49 am
Looks very good, like all your breads.
Is it called a broom bread because it cleans out your insides?
November 17th, 2008 at 4:19 pm
Umm. I LOVE whole grains. I don’t really consider a bread that only contains 4 T. oat bran and 1 1./2 T. flax seed that much different than plain old whole wheat. (I put 2 T. of ground flax seed on my cereal in the morning and 1/4 c. oat bran in my smoothie.) It is possible to up the oat bran and flax seed and still maintain the moist, tight crumb and regular bread. I have recipe for a whole wheat bread/ oat bran/flax bread that has 5 T. flax and 10 T. oat bran per loaf. And I wish it contained more!!
November 20th, 2008 at 8:01 am
Oh, the bread looks delicious. I always prefer grainy breads.
And that video, hilarious. Just sent it to Jim, who (when I met him he was a physical trainer nut) used to practically eat only fiber one.
April 19th, 2009 at 6:19 pm
I made these once before and really loved them. I used wheat bran because it was what I had but otherwise followed this recipe. I was a little scared when I pulled the loaves from the oven and felt how heavy they were, but wow what good bread!
I just started another biga and soaker for my next set of this bread, and had one question. Have you made this bread free form, and do you think I would need to do anything to the dough to make it work.
Thanks for the great recipe
April 23rd, 2009 at 8:25 pm
The baked bread was really heavy for me, too. I haven’t tried this specific recipe free form but there’s no reason why it wouldn’t work. I remember it being stiff enough.
I’d do the final proof in the the pans with the seam side up, flip them over onto a pan or baking stone, and maybe score it from side to side so it doesn’t expand sideways too much.
July 8th, 2009 at 4:44 am
I made the biga this morning and it was too wet to really “knead”. I mixed it and plunged my hand in a few times but definitely didn’t knead it. Should I have kept adding flour until I really did get a shaggy ball? It’s been sitting in the fridge all day now – is it too late to force it into a shaggy ball instead of the damp lump that is its current identity? Pretty sure I won’t be cutting it into pieces either. Pulling off soggy blobs, more like. That said, I’m really looking forward to making the soaker tonight and then making the bread tomorrow!
July 20th, 2009 at 10:32 pm
Sorry, I’ve been so completely out of the blogging loop. How did it go? The biga should firm up after the long resting time and I wouldn’t worry about it until the next day. Try not to add too much flour because it will affect the taste and baking times considerably. Did you weigh the ingredients by any chance?
July 20th, 2009 at 10:37 pm
Thanks for responding! In the end it did work out nicely – sorry, should have posted a follow-up, I hate it when posters only complain and then never actually say: by the way, terrific recipe, worked out fabulously.
I have been using the volume measurements. Would you advise using the weight measurements? I can do that instead if that’s your recommendation (for the next bread I make from your gorgeous site).
July 26th, 2009 at 5:17 pm
Absolutely. I weigh the ingredients in everything I bake whenever possible. A cup of flour can vary so much in weight depending on its brand and the way it is measured. It guarantees consistency, among other things, so it’s one less thing to worry about when learning to bake.
Thanks for the kind words.
December 9th, 2009 at 4:30 am
The loaves look wonderful.
January 20th, 2010 at 4:31 am
Really great site that you have built good info thanks.
November 6th, 2010 at 10:13 pm
Just made it and it’s delicious. Thanks for sharing the recipe. And sorry to see you’ve stopped updating.
October 31st, 2011 at 8:41 pm
I am an avid bread baker and not so avid poster-on-blogs but I’d have to say your blog has been a fantastic discovery! This bread is fantastic although THAT IS SO MUCH SUGAR for a supposedly healthy bread! Hell, I don’t even put that much in my sweet doughs! I stopped at 2 tbls (20g on my scales) and will only do 1 tsp to 1 tbls next time. I am an Australian so really don’t require sugar in my bread!! Living in America means baking my own bread every week – not eating the garbage that is available or spending a fortune on ‘artisanal’ breads. Love your flaxseed and sesame crackers too – sans honey is gorgeous with blue cheese!! My go-to bread book has been “The Italian Baker” by Carol Field but I think it is time to invest in one of the Peter Reinhart books. Thanks for a great site – now onto the next recipe!
November 26th, 2011 at 1:33 pm
I made this bread for Thanksgiving. Started with the recipe from the book but made two changes that worked out great. I used 50/50 oat bran and wheat bran rather than just the 4tbs of Oat that was prescribed. I also added in about 3TBS of Almond Flour to the Soaker. And – since it was for a holiday, I added 2tsp of honey to the Bigga and, sorry Caroline, but I used honey and put in a wee bit extra for the final mix. It came out as absolute perfection!
December 4th, 2011 at 1:54 pm
Yep, top player and a hero to many but Legend is a little strong, Agreed!
April 12th, 2012 at 8:08 am
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