Use Your Pantry Staples Fruit and Nut Bread

Ingredients

• 1-2 cup cooked bulgur (or other cooked whole grain, such as kasha, quinoa, brown rice, steel-cut oats, or grits)
• 1-2 cup diced dried fruit, of your choice (apricots, currants, dates, cranberries, cherries, raisins, sultanas ( or a mixture)
• 2/3 cup rolled oat (or dried muesli mixture)
• 1/2 cup unsalted sunflower seeds (or flax seeds, sesame seeds, poppy seeds, or seed of your choice)
• 1 1/2 cups very hot water
• 1/2 cup honey
• 2 teaspoons salt
• 2 teaspoons cinnamon or ginger or nutmeg, choose your favorite
• 1 1/2 tablespoons instant yeast
• 3-4 cups bread flour
• oil, for coating bowl
• 1 egg
• sugar, for sprinkling on tops (turbinado, caster) (optional)

Directions

1. 1

   Mix cooked cereal with hot water in a large mixing bowl.

2. 2

   Add dried fruit to mix, stir well, and leave to rest until mixture comes to room temperature.

3. 3

   Add honey, rolled oats, spices, salt and seeds, mix well.

4. 4

   Sprinkle in one cup of bread flour, mix until good and messy.

5. 5

   Add instant yeast, mix well.

6. 6

   Continue adding bread flour until mixture is ready to turn out and knead.

7. 7

   Knead on floured surface, adding flour until dough is tacky but no longer sticky. This will probably be about 10-15 minutes.

8. 8

   Add oil to bowl used for mixing, coat all sides. Add bread dough to bowl and flip around a few times to completely coat the dough with oil.

9. 9

   Set in a warm spot to rise for 60-75 minutes, until at least doubled in size.

10. 10

    Punch down dough, turn out to floured surface.

11. 11

    Knead again briefly, then cut into 2 loaves, or about 16-20 rolls.

12. 12

    Put into loaf pans, or shape into free-standing loaves, and set aside to rise for another 30-45 minutes, until doubled. Cover completely with plastic during rising time.

13. 13

    Just prior to baking, mix egg with about 3 tablespoons of water, and use mixture to brush over tops of bread. Sprinkle with sugar, if desired.

14. 14

    Bake 350 degrees F for 25-35 minutes for loaves, 15-20 minutes for rolls.

15. 15

    Cool on a wire rack.