When I think of homemade bread, I think of lazy Sunday mornings spent covered in flour with messy hair and no intention of showering. When the bread comes out of the oven, I slice that perfect piece out of the middle and slather it with butter and jam. Accompanied by an egg and a cup of good coffee, a simple weekend meal doesn’t get much better.
When John and I were living in Portland, we discovered the absolute best coffee shop in town. Yes, there are plenty as Pacific Coasters take their coffee seriously, but we found the absolute best.
Its name is Heart. Nestled in a little strip on Burnside sits the quaint little black and white shop with huge window fronts, a giant exposed roaster in the center of the store, newspapers strewn about in an messy stacks, a staff of beautiful blasé hipsters, and the best lattes in the world. What does this have to do with bread? A lot, in fact.
Heart Coffee is all about supporting local, as are most Portland businesses, which is why they carried the only the freshest local baked goods from around the area. Homemade whoopie pies, cinnamon rolls, giant wrapped muffins with berries plump and gushing out the side, and – our favorite – muesli toast.
Muesli simply means mixed granola – fruit, nuts, seeds, oats; whatever suits your fancy. But what few people experience is muesli in toast, which creates a euphoric combination of flavors and a sensational crunch that makes you resent regular toasts forevermore. Slather your slice with butter and honey and you have a near-perfect breakfast in tow.
Every Sunday morning before church, John and I would invite friends to meet us at Heart for coffee and a chat. Sometimes no one was quite awake. Sometimes it was too loud to hear yourself talk. Sometimes no one showed up but just us. But there was always, always a fresh loaf of muesli bread waiting to be thick sliced, toasted, and served alongside soft butter and local honey.
Pair that with a perfectly-crafted latte and Sunday mornings were never so awesome as this.
This loaf is a rustic style, but you could easily split into two small loaf pans to pull off a more formal shape. I, however, prefer the former.
The little raisins puffed out the side, which reminded me why it’s smart to keep them toward the center of the loaf. Else they get crisp and require dusting off before eating. Consider yourself tipped off to this little trick. Your thanks, my welcome.
I was so pleased with the way this batch turned out. Crusty on the outside, warm and soft on the inside with plenty of crunchy, sweet notes from the fruit and nuts. I lathered mine with a little butter and honey and it was a dream. But once it sets for a few days, it makes the perfect base for a french toast bake (recipe to come soon).
- 1.5 cups warm water
- 3 cups unbleached flour + ¼ cup whole wheat flour
- ½ tablespoon salt
- ¾ tablespoons fast acting yeast (~ one pack)
- ¼ cup raw pumpkin seeds
- ¼ cup raisins
- ¼ cup raw almonds
- Combine warm water (like bath water, or 110*), yeast, salt and flours in a large mixing bowl and stir. The result will be a sticky, rough dough. If using a stand mixer, beat at medium speed for about a minute. Otherwise just use a spoon to stir until well combined.
- Lift the dough out and lightly grease the bowl with nonstick spray or olive oil. Cover and let rise in the refrigerator for two hours. Alternatively, let rise for 2 hours at room temp and 2 hours in the fridge. I went straight for the fridge to save time.
- Once risen, lightly sprinkle the dough with flour and transfer to a floured work surface. Knead a few times and then add pumpkin seeds, almonds and raisins. Knead until until just combined, trying to keep the add-ins on the inside of the loaf, or else they’ll get too crisp while baking.
- Place on parchment-lined baking stone or lightly greased baking sheet. Sift a light coating of flour over the top; to help keep the dough moist. Let rest for 45-60 minutes.
- Preheat oven to 450°F while the dough rests. Place a metal or cast iron pan (not glass, Pyrex, or ceramic) on the lowest oven rack, and have 1 cup of hot water ready.
- When ready to bake, slash the bread 2 or 3 times with a knife, making a cut about ½-inch deep.
- Place bread in oven and carefully pour hot water into the shallow pan on the rack beneath. Expect it to bubble and steam; then close oven door quickly.
- Bake the bread for 25 to 35 minutes, or until deep, golden brown.
- Remove the bread from the oven and cool on a rack. Store leftovers in a plastic bag at room temp.
adapted from king arthur
Diane @ Life of Di. September 25, 2012 at 9:14 am
This bread looks simply amazing. I wish we would’ve gone to Heart while we were visiting Portland but we were really happy with Stumptown Coffee :)
Jessica@AKitchenAddiction September 25, 2012 at 9:25 am
This bread is fantastic! I must try!
Katie September 25, 2012 at 1:03 pm
Nothing better than baking bread. NOTHING. (Oh except maybe when you add muesli to it. holy heck.)
Katie (The Muffin Myth) September 26, 2012 at 2:43 am
That loaf looks fantastic! It reminds me of a fruit bread my grandfather used to make, which was fantastic hot out of the toaster and slathered with butter. I wonder how it would go down actually adding a muesli mix to the bread, oats and all? Thanks for the recipe!
Nicola February 18, 2013 at 1:20 am
Really good is the answer! Soak muesli in milk or cream for 15 minutes to an hour then add to the dough. Signe Johansen (Scandilicious Baking) has a great recipe.
Heather September 26, 2012 at 7:45 am
Oh WOW this is such a beautiful loaf of bread – I have never seen muesli bread, amazing!
I saw your pic on foodgawker and it stopped me in my tracts, I couldn’t click fast enough to see what that pic was all about and who the creator was- thanks for sharing!
Nicole September 26, 2012 at 11:07 am
Wow, what a fantastic looking loaf!
Angie@Angie's Recipes September 26, 2012 at 11:17 am
What a gorgeous muesli bread!
Rhyann September 26, 2012 at 11:24 am
This bread is absolutely gorgeous (and your photos are stunning too!). I’ve yet to try muesli cereal, but have always loved all the ingredients in it. I’m sure I’d love this too.
Amanda September 26, 2012 at 2:53 pm
This is a really gorgeous bread, and the recipe is so simple!! I will definitely be adapting this for a future post! Thank you for sharing :)
Roxana | Roxana's Home Baking September 26, 2012 at 7:01 pm
I saw this bread on Foodgawker and my heart just skipped a beat! I had to come and check it out.
I love love musli and the rustic look of this loaf make me rush in the kitchen and bake it.
Thanks for the recipe
Frida September 27, 2012 at 7:19 am
This looks awesome! Could you use anything else than fast-acting yeast? I’m from Denmark, and I don’t think I can get it. I really want to try baking this loaf! :)
Dana September 27, 2012 at 8:44 am
Frida! Thanks for inquiring. You can probably swap in regular yeast, but you may wan to leave it to rise a bit longer than the 2 hour suggestion. Hope that helps! Let me know if it works out! – Dana
Federico October 3, 2012 at 4:41 pm
Fantastic recipe. Just baked it for the first time tonight, excellent result (I used an assorted raisins&nuts mix, still tastes super!)
Carol | a cup of mascarpone October 7, 2012 at 7:12 am
Oh My Goodness – this is absolutely gorgeous!!! Thank you for this fabulous recipe!
Averie @ Averie Cooks October 11, 2012 at 11:47 am
I love muesli bread and when I travel to places where it’s the local type of bread, I’m in heaven. Looks awesome. Pinned!
Aspen October 11, 2012 at 8:50 pm
Could you use all whole wheat flour, you think? I’m going to try it according to the directions to start with. It’s beautiful!!
Dana October 12, 2012 at 9:02 am
I would recommend half, OR using whole wheat PASTRY flour. Hope that helps!
Jfv December 7, 2012 at 8:52 am
Thank you so much for posting your recipe. I tried it yesterday, my first time to make bread and I’m so happy with how it turned out. My husband loves it and he said he would never buy bread from store again.
sonia monagheddu January 10, 2013 at 4:40 am
Hi, I’m Sonia, italian foodblogger sorry for my bad english, I want tell you that I have included the link of this recipe (which I liked very much) in the section on my blog dedicated to “10 ways to make” (“10 Modi di fare”) aromatic bread.
http://www.oggipanesalamedomani.it/2012/03/26/filoncini-al-cioccolato/
I hope not to bother you, have a nice day
Sonia
Tina January 19, 2013 at 7:57 pm
Looks fantastic! I was wondering if you could make the dough in a breadmaker?
Carolina February 2, 2013 at 6:30 pm
I will be trying this bread in and will post results. Amazing pics,enjoyed the story and the recipe looks amazing! I’ve become addicted to the itty bitty piece of muesli bread that comes inside a protein pack i get @ Starbucks and although it’s cold and quick it satisfies me so much I had to look up a recipe and found you:) thanx and Ill be sure to K. i. t to keep everyone informed of RESULTS LOL:)
De February 13, 2013 at 5:16 pm
Loved this recipe. Making it for the 2nd time tonight :)
Lucy February 17, 2013 at 3:48 pm
I have just discovered your blog and am enjoying browsing through it. I love muesli bread too, especially toasted. That cafe sounds wonderful. A tip for you – soak your fruit in warm water for about twenty minutes before kneading into the dough as this stops it from burning which is what has happened to the fruits that got stuck on the outside! Your thanks, my welcome! :-)
Dana February 17, 2013 at 10:07 pm
Thanks for the tip!
Erika February 19, 2013 at 1:08 pm
Hi Dana! Just wanted to drop by and let you know that I made this with 1 cup AP flour + the rest whole wheat flour and loved it!!! I haven’t made bread in a long time but my roommate and I can’t stop eating it. My roommate, by the way, also made your banana bread bites and vegan doughnuts. We are huge fans. Thanks for the amazing recipes!!
Hannah February 22, 2013 at 12:29 pm
I made this bread, and it is delicious. I like so smear it with a little honey and alond butter and dust it with cinnamon. Just wondering; have you ever tried soaking the raisins for a little bit before putting them in the dough? Maybe they wouldn’t get so crispy then. It facinates me how the ones on the outside get all round and puffy.I will make this again.:)
r March 29, 2013 at 11:26 am
im making this as I write this. never used fast acting yeast or cold rise. I am supposing that the combo of yeast and cold produces a different flavour or texture? I’ll give the photos five stars though I’ve yet to taste the finished product!!!
Derek Matthews May 9, 2013 at 4:16 pm
Just finished using this recipe and it came out great. The only thing that would make it better would be 3/4 brown sugar for sweetness! Otherwise, it was great! Thanks!