Bob’s Red Mill Hearty Whole Grain Bread Mix

Once again I can’t recall whether the folks at Bob’s Red Mill sent this bread mix to me, or whether I purchased it on my own. I believe I received it at the same time as the Bob’s Red Mill Homemade Wonderful Bread Mix, and I am continuing to (slowly) bake my way through the stash of mixes I have acquired – adapting them to be made without adding eggs, butter, milk, or other top food allergens. And so my disclaimer (to satisfy the FTC) is that I may have received this bread mix to review from the folks at Bob's Red Mill.

This is a unique bread mix – one that is more complex in ingredients than most. There are multiple grains including buckwheat, garbanzo bean, sorghum, fava bean, and teff. The starches include potato, corn, and tapioca. Potato flour is also used. The mix includes both xanthan gum and guar gum. And there are seeds – sunflower, sesame, and caraway seeds. And that’s not all – there is cocoa powder, evaporated cane juice, molasses, salt, yeast, onion powder, and soy lecithin. The yeast packet is included.

The sheer number of ingredients in this mix makes it less viable for many of the food allergy families that visit here. Those who are gluten-free and dairy-free and/or vegan may find it a great choice for a hearty bread. It is lower in sugar and higher in fiber than most bread mixes.

The only add-in item I needed to adapt was the eggs; I used ½ cup flaxseed gel instead. The other added ingredients are water, oil, and apple cider vinegar. If you decide to try it, watch your timer; my bread was done at 45 minutes (compared to the 60 to 65 minutes the package suggests it needs).

The bread is on the dense side but still very easy to slice. You can see it pictured here with homemade blackberry jam – a healthy start to the day!

I have also tried it with salami from Applegate Farms, sliced avocado, and homemade mustard. That was a very tasty sandwich!

I prefer the Homemade Wonderful Bread Mix to this one, as I found it to be more of an all-around bread and more likely to suitable for different dietary restrictions. If you try them, let me know what you think!