Kansas Sunflower Bread

Sorry, no picture for this one. This is primarily a white based bread with whole grains. The next time I make it, I think I'll substitute more whole wheat flour for the white flour, or even eliminate the white flour. I really enjoyed the texture of this bread. Enjoy!

Recipe adapted from King Arthur Flour

1 cup boiling water
1/4 cup white wheat bulgur (I only found red wheat, so that's what I used)
1/2 cup sunflower seeds
1/4 cup rolled oats
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
2 eggs
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
2 tablespoons honey
1 tablespoon granulated sugar
2 teaspoons instant yeast
1 cup (4 ounces) white whole wheat
2 cups + 2 tablespoons* (9 ounces) King Arthur Unbleached Special Bread Flour

*Use this amount in the summer. In winter, you'll probably only need to use 3 cups of flour.

Manual Method: In a large mixing bowl, pour the boiling water over the bulgur, and let the mixture sit till it's lukewarm, about 15 minutes. Add the seeds, oats, salt, eggs, oil, honey, sugar, yeast, and enough flour to make a soft dough. Knead the dough on a lightly oiled surface until it's smooth, then place it in a lightly greased bowl, cover the bowl, and allow the dough to rise for 1 to 1 1/2 hours, or until it's doubled in bulk.

Remove the dough from the bowl, shape it into a loaf, and place it in a lightly greased 8 1/2 x 4 1/2-inch bread pan. Cover the pan with lightly greased plastic wrap, and set the loaf aside to rise till it's crowned about 1 inch over the rim of the pan, 45 minutes to 1 hour.

Bake the bread in a preheated 350°F oven for 35 minutes or until it tests done, draping it lightly with aluminum foil, shiny side up, after 20 minutes if it appears to be getting too brown. Remove the pan from the oven, and turn the loaf out onto a wire rack to cool completely. Yield: 1 loaf.

Bread Machine Method: In the pan of your bread machine, pour the boiling water over the bulgur, and let the mixture sit till it's lukewarm, about 15 minutes. Add the remaining ingredients, place the pan in the machine, program the machine for Manual or Dough, and press Start. When the machine has completed its cycle, remove the dough, and shape and bake it as directed above. Yield: 1 loaf.

I baked the bread in my machine as well, just adjusted my baking time to 37 minutes.