Simple Norwegian Brown Bread
A simple, delicious Norwegian brown bread that is perfect for toast, sandwiches, and slathering with Whipped Honey Cinnamon Butter! You can either make it into 2 large sandwich bread loaves or into 4 smaller loaves (kinda like what you would receive for an appetizer at a steakhouse).
Equipment
- electric mixer
- 2 1.5 qt. bread pans
Ingredients
- 2 pkgs active dry yeast
- 4 cups warm water 100 deg F.
- 1/4 cup molasses
- 1/4 cup honey
- 1 1/2 tsp. Sea salt
- 4 tbsp. Melted butter
- 4 1/2 c. All-purpose flour
- 2 1/2 c. Whole wheat flour
Instructions
- Add the 2 pkgs of active dry yeast to 4 cups of warm water (100 deg F.), and let it sit for 15 minutes until frothy.
- In a large mixing bowl, combine the melted butter, honey, molasses, sea salt, and yeast + water). Beat until incorporated with an electric mixer. Add in approximately 3 cups of the flour to make a batter.
- Beat with an electric mixer for 10 minutes.
- After beating for 10 minutes, the batter will look like pancake batter. Stir in as much of the remaining flour as you can to make a dough. Then turn out the dough onto a clean surface, and knead in the rest of the flour for several minutes until you arrive at a stiff, smooth dough that looks slightly glossy and hydrated but is not sticky.
- Place the dough into a lightly greased bowl (I use olive oil). Cover, and let rise in a fairly warm place for 1 hour or until doubled in size.
- Punch down dough to get all the air pockets out. Knead for another minute and shape into a ball. Place back into the greased bowl, cover, and let rise again for another hour until doubled in size.
- Divide the dough into 2 parts. Shape into loaves and place into 2 greased 1.5 qt. bread pans (I grease these with softened butter). Cover, and let rise for 30 minutes.
- To top with oats or seeds, brush the tops of the unbaked loaves with water or an egg wash. Then press the oats or seeds onto the top of the loaf. Bake at 350 degrees F. for 45 minutes until the loaves are brown and sound hollow when tapped.
- Cool on a cooling rack. Then slice, and enjoy!
Notes
- To make smaller, appetizer-size loaves, divide the dough into 4 parts and bake for half the time.
- To make an egg wash, beat 1 egg with 1 tbsp of water until fully incorporated. Then, brush some of the egg wash onto the top of the loaf. The egg wash will be like a glue to hold the oats or seeds on top of the loaf. It will also give the top of the loaf a glossy appearance.