This homemade soft multigrain bread is prepared with multigrain hot cereal mix, such as 5 grain, 7 grain or 10 grain cereal. Whole or quick oats are an excellent option, too. It’s soft and fluffy like regular white sandwich bread, but has a hearty and satisfying flavor. Either instant or active-dry yeast work and you can even turn this dough into multigrain rolls.
Learn to bake homemade bread. I’ve noticed that’s a common baking goal at the start of each year. Today I’m sharing a new homemade bread recipe, one I’ve been perfecting for months. Using my regular white sandwich bread as the starting point for this new variation, I finally mastered a multigrain bread that’s both soft and sturdy. If you love homemade bread and crave added texture, you’ll enjoy this multigrain loaf. Bonus: You can use this dough for homemade rolls, too!
Soft Multigrain Bread Details
- Flavor: Slightly nutty with an earthy, satisfying flavor similar to whole wheat bread. A little brown sugar adds mild sweetness.
- Texture: This wholesome bread is wonderfully soft without being flimsy. It’s great for sandwiches, but perfectly satisfying plain or with a spread of butter.
- Ease: I categorize this as an intermediate baking recipe. The dough requires an extra step in the very beginning—soaking those grains in water. If you read the directions before starting, you’ll be set for success. Take your time and if you’re new to baking with yeast, review my Baking with Yeast Guide and How to Knead Dough posts first. Lots of helpful information there.
- Time: Between preparing the dough, both rises, and baking, set aside at least 4-5 hours to complete this recipe. But keep in mind that most of the time is hands off as the dough rises. You can even get started on the dough the night before.
If you love wholesome, hearty homemade bread like this, you’ll enjoy no knead honey oat bread and no knead seeded oat bread recipes too.
Video Tutorial: How to Make Soft Multigrain Bread
We need a careful blend & ratio of ingredients to produce a grain loaf that (1) rises tall, (2) maintains a soft fluffy texture, and (3) has legitimate structure for sturdy slices. The ingredients are practically the same as this sandwich bread, but we’re skipping the milk, using hot boiling water, adding grain cereal mix and seeds, slightly reducing the butter, and swapping regular sugar for brown sugar. Took lots of tweaking to perfect.
Key Ingredients You Need & Why
- Multigrain Hot Cereal Mix or Oats: If you read anything in this post, have it be this. This recipe starts with multigrain cereal, such as 5 grain, 7 grain or 10 grain cereal. You can also use whole or quick oats, but I do not recommend steel cut. There are many variations of hot cereal available in grocery stores—a multigrain version may include rye, barley, oats, whole wheat, and/or more. Honestly any grain cereal you mix with hot water works assuming there’s no flavors or sugars added (for example, don’t use brown sugar cinnamon oatmeal mix). If you can’t find any multigrain hot cereals at the store, you can purchase online—or just use plain oats. I really like this 7 grain + flax seed hot cereal. Multigrain baby cereal works too.
- Boiling Water: Just as you would make the hot cereal to eat, mix it with hot water. Use 1 and 3/4 cups (420ml) boiling water, then let the mixture cool until a digital thermometer reads about 110°F (43°C). This usually takes 20 minutes. If it’s too hot, the heat will kill the yeast.
- Brown Sugar: Sugar feeds the yeast, increases its activity, and tenderizes the dough. You can use regular white granulated sugar, but brown sugar was especially tasty in this loaf.
- Butter: To make a soft bread, you need fat in the dough. Butter promises a soft and flavorful loaf. 3 Tablespoons is plenty.
- Flour: If you have both bread flour and all-purpose flour on hand, I recommend using bread flour. All-purpose flour definitely works, but you get a sturdier and more bread-like texture from bread flour. I love using whole wheat flour when I can, but this dough is not fit for all whole wheat flour. In my recipe testing, I found that similar to homemade English muffins, replacing up to 1 cup of the bread/all-purpose flour with whole wheat flour worked just fine. The bread was a bit denser, but had great flavor. I usually make it with 3 cups of bread flour and 1/3 cup whole wheat flour. If you wish to use all whole wheat flour, follow my recipe for whole wheat bread instead.
Add-In Options
Add-ins are completely optional, but I encourage seeds and/or nuts for a little texture. I usually use sunflower seeds. Other options include chopped pecans or walnuts, pepitas, raisins, dried cranberries, or a blend of these. You could also throw in smaller seeds such as chia, flax, or sesame. See recipe note below before starting.
Step-by-Step Photos
Soak the grain cereal in the boiling water, as pictured above.
Below left: After it cools down, whisk in the yeast and brown sugar. Below right: After 5-10 minutes, you’ll notice foam or bubbles on the surface. This means the yeast is active and ready. Note that the hot cereal that I use contains flax seeds so that’s what you’re seeing floating on top!
The dough will feel heavy. As instructed in the recipe below, knead it before letting it rise. If you’re new to bread-baking, my How to Knead Dough tutorial will be helpful here.
Below left: After you make and knead the dough, let it rise until doubled in size. Below right: Punch it down to release the air, then place on a lightly floured work surface.
Roll it out into an 8×15-inch rectangle:
Below left: Roll it up tightly starting with the 8-inch side, so you have an 8-inch roll to fit into your 9×5 inch loaf pan. (Unlike cinnamon rolls where you roll up the dough starting with the larger side.) Below right: Let it rise until it’s 1-2 inches above the rim of the pan.
Look at this height!
Bake until golden brown:
How do I test for doneness? Give the loaf a light tap. If it sounds hollow, it’s done. For a more accurate test, the bread is done when an instant read thermometer reads the center of the loaf as 195–200°F (90–93°C).
This multigrain bread is phenomenal when sliced and served warm. The exterior is crisp and crusty while cloaking a hearty, yet fluffy crumb inside. The whole slice is just so, so satisfying and cozy. This is definitely a homemade bread to try!
If you happen to have any leftovers, day old bread is perfect for soaking up flavors in an easy breakfast casserole.
Can I Make This Into Rolls?
I thought you’d ask! I tested this dough to make multigrain rolls and it worked wonderfully. Not quite as soft as regular dinner rolls and not quite as heavy as whole wheat dinner rolls. I will say that I preferred the multigrain sandwich bread because it had a little more texture from the crust. Served warm with a pat of butter, however, the rolls were fantastic. See recipe note for instructions. Though I haven’t tested it, I imagine you could use this dough to make 3-4 bread bowls, too.
Multigrain AND multipurpose!
More Yeast Bread Recipes
Browse all of my yeast bread recipes.
PrintSoft Multigrain Bread
- Prep Time: 3 hours, 40 minutes
- Cook Time: 34 minutes
- Total Time: 4 hours, 15 minutes
- Yield: 1 loaf
- Category: Bread
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: American
Description
This is wholesome multigrain bread with an irresistibly soft and fluffy interior. For best success, take the time to review the recipe notes before starting. Though not required, an instant read thermometer is helpful in a few of these steps.
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup (60g) dry multigrain cereal mix or old-fashioned whole rolled oats (see note)
- 1 and 3/4 cups (410ml) boiling water
- 2 and 1/4 teaspoons (7g) instant or active dry yeast (1 standard packet)
- 3 Tablespoons (37g) packed light or dark brown sugar
- 3 Tablespoons (43g) unsalted butter, softened to room temperature
- 1 and 1/2 teaspoons salt
- 3 and 1/3 cups (433g) bread flour (spooned and leveled), plus more as needed and for hands/work surface
- optional: 1/2 cup (60g) sunflower seeds, chopped nuts, pepitas, raisins, or dried cranberries
Instructions
- Prepare the dough: Place cereal mix in a large heatproof bowl (you can also use the bowl of your stand mixer). Pour boiling water on top. Let the mixture cool until a digital thermometer reads about 110°F (43°C). This usually takes 20 minutes. Pay attention to the temperature because if it’s too hot, it will kill the yeast. If it became too cool, however, it’s not a problem—the dough may just take a few extra minutes to rise.
- Whisk the yeast, sugar, and all of the warm water/cereal mixture in the bowl of your stand mixer fitted with a dough hook or paddle attachment. Cover and allow to sit for 5-10 minutes or until foamy and bubbly on the surface.
- Add the butter, salt, and 1 cup (about 130g) flour. Beat on low speed for 30 seconds, scrape down the sides of the bowl with a silicone spatula, then add another cup of flour. Beat on medium speed until relatively incorporated (there may still be chunks of butter). Add all of the remaining flour and the seeds/nuts (if using), then beat on medium speed until the dough comes together and pulls away from the sides of the bowl, about 2 minutes. If it seems too sticky, add more flour, 1 Tablespoon at a time until it begins to pull away from the sides of the bowl. *If you do not own a mixer, you can mix this dough with a large wooden spoon or silicone spatula. It will take a bit of arm muscle!*
- Knead the dough: Keep the dough in the mixer and beat for an additional 3-5 full minutes, or knead by hand on a lightly floured surface for 3-5 full minutes. (If you’re new to bread-baking, my How to Knead Dough video tutorial can help here.) If the dough becomes too sticky during the kneading process, sprinkle 1 teaspoon of flour at a time on the dough or on the work surface/in the bowl to make a soft, slightly tacky dough. Do not add more flour than you need because you do not want a dry dough. After kneading, the dough should still feel a little soft. Poke it with your finger—if it slowly bounces back, your dough is ready to rise. You can also do a “windowpane test” to see if your dough has been kneaded long enough: tear off a small (roughly golfball-size) piece of dough and gently stretch it out until it’s thin enough for light to pass through it. Hold it up to a window or light. Does light pass through the stretched dough without the dough tearing first? If so, your dough has been kneaded long enough and is ready to rise. If not, keep kneading until it passes the windowpane test.
- 1st Rise: Lightly grease a large bowl with olive oil or nonstick spray. Place the dough in the bowl, turning it to coat all sides in the oil. Cover the bowl with aluminum foil, plastic wrap, or a clean kitchen towel. Allow the dough to rise in a relatively warm environment for 1-2 hours or until double in size. (I always let it rise on the counter. Takes about 2 hours. For a tiny reduction in rise time, see my answer to Where Should Dough Rise? in my Baking with Yeast Guide.)
- Grease a 9×5-inch loaf pan.
- Shape the bread: When the dough is ready, punch it down to release the air. Lightly flour a work surface, your hands, and a rolling pin. Roll the dough out into a large rectangle, about 8×15 inches. It does not have to be perfect– in fact, it will probably be rounded on the edges. That’s ok! Roll it up into an 8 inch log and place in the prepared loaf pan.
- 2nd Rise: Cover shaped loaf with aluminum foil, plastic wrap, or a clean kitchen towel. Allow to rise until it’s about 1-2 inches above the top of the loaf pan, about 1 hour. (See photo above for a visual.)
- Adjust oven rack to a lower position and preheat oven to 350°F (177°C). (It’s best to bake the bread towards the bottom of the oven so the top doesn’t burn.)
- Bake the bread: Bake for 35-40 minutes– if you notice the top browning too quickly during bake time, loosely tent the pan with aluminum foil. How to test for doneness– give the loaf a light tap. If it sounds hollow, it’s done. For a more accurate test, the bread is done when an instant read thermometer reads the center of the loaf as 195°F-200°F (90°C-93°C).
- Remove from the oven and allow bread to cool for a few minutes before slicing and serving. Feel free to let it cool completely before slicing, too.
- Cover leftover bread tightly and store at room temperature for 2-3 days or in the refrigerator for up to 10 days.
Notes
- Freezing Instructions: This dough isn’t ideal for freezing. The dough has a hard time rising after thawing. Instead, try the overnight instructions (next) or freeze the baked loaf. To freeze the baked loaf, allow the bread to cool completely, then freeze for up to 3 months. Thaw in the refrigerator or at room temperature, then reheat as desired.
- Overnight Instructions: Prepare the recipe through step 7. Cover the shaped bread tightly and refrigerate for up to about 15 hours. At least 2 hours before you need the bread the next day, remove from the refrigerator, keep covered, and allow to rise on the counter for about 1 hour before baking. Alternatively, you can let the dough have its 1st rise in the refrigerator overnight. Cover the dough tightly and place in the refrigerator for up to 12 hours. Remove from the refrigerator and allow the dough to fully rise for 2 more hours. Continue with step 6.
- Special Tools (affiliate links): Electric Stand Mixer | 9×5-inch Loaf Pan | Rolling Pin | 7 Grain Hot Cereal
- Grain Cereal: Use dry multigrain cereal that you would use to make hot cereal, such as 5 grain, 7 grain, or 10 grain cereal. You can also use quick or whole oats, but I do not recommend steel cut oats. There are many variations of hot cereal available in grocery stores– a multigrain version may include rye, barley, oats, whole wheat, and/or more. Honestly any grain cereal you mix with hot water works assuming there’s no flavors or sugars added (for example, don’t use brown sugar cinnamon oatmeal mix). If you can’t find any multigrain hot cereals at the store, you can purchase online– or just use plain oats. I really like this 7 grain + flax seed hot cereal. Multigrain baby cereal works too.
- Yeast: You can use active-dry or instant yeast. The instructions are the same no matter which you use.
- Flours: If you have both bread flour and all-purpose flour on hand, I recommend using bread flour. All-purpose flour definitely works, but you get a sturdier and more bread-like texture from bread flour. I love using whole wheat flour when I can, but this dough is not fit for all whole wheat flour. In my recipe testing, I found that replacing up to 1 cup (around 130g) of the bread/all-purpose flour with whole wheat flour worked just fine. The bread was a bit denser, but had great flavor. I usually make it with 3 cups of bread flour and 1/3 cup whole wheat flour.
- Seeds/Add-Ins: The pictured loaf was prepared with 1/2 cup (60g) of sunflower seeds. I love extra flavor and texture, so I’ve been increasing that amount to 2/3 cup (80g). Use any of the suggested add-ins like sunflower seeds, pecans, walnuts, pepitas, raisins, dried cranberries, or a blend of these. If you want to use smaller seeds, such as poppy, chia, flax, or sesame, I recommend reducing the amount to 2 or 3 Tablespoons. You could, however, blend these smaller seeds with larger seeds/nuts/dried fruit for a total of 1/2 or 2/3 cup (60 or 80g).
- Multigrain rolls: Make the dough as written above through the first rise (steps 1-5), then follow steps 5-10 in my dinner rolls recipe. Bake time is 25-26 minutes.
- If You Want to Top with Oats or Seeds: If you want to top the dough with oats or seeds prior to baking, carefully brush the dough after the 2nd rise (step 8) with 1 egg white beaten with 1 Tbsp water, then sprinkle 2 Tbsp of oats or seeds on top. Neither will stick without the egg white brushed on first. I did this with the pictured rolls.
- Doubling this recipe: For best results, I recommend making two separate batches of dough. However, if you want to double the recipe all in 1 mixing bowl, double all of the ingredients except for the yeast. Use 2 and 1/4 teaspoons yeast. This amount of dough may overwhelm your stand mixer, so I recommend mixing the dough with a large wooden spoon or silicone spatula instead. It will take a bit of arm muscle.
This bread is so easy to make, even for a yeast-intimidated baker like me! I have made this bread several times now and successfully substituted 2 cups of white whole wheat flour for 2 cups of the bread flour with good results. I do have a question though. When my dough goes through the 2nd rise in the pan, it puffs up nicely and smooth on top. However, as the loaf is baking an little ‘dip’ forms in the middle of the loaf. It still bakes all the way through and tastes great! I just wasn’t sure what happens during baking to cause it to dip that way. Thank you!
Hi Erica! This could be from the dough being slightly over-proofed. Try reducing the second rise time a bit to see if that helps. We’re so glad you love this bread!
This is a great bread recipe and it turned out well for me. I used 2 and 2/3 cups of all-purpose flour and 2/3 cups of wheat flour and it turned out amazing. It was extremely soft on the inside and paired with garlic butter, it was delicious on its own. I highly recommend it!
Absolutely fantastic recipe, great success. The proof was in the eating yummy. Will definitely make again, also will try other recipes, thank you Sally.
This bread recipe is absolutely amazing .
I initially used wholemeal flour and love it but remade it this weekend with white spelt flour and multigrain porridge with flaxseed and poppy seed. I reduced my water by 15% to account for the spelt flour requiring less liquid. Absolutely amazing !!!!!
If you live in the UK the Sainsbury’s Multigrain Porridge Oats is amazing in this recipe.
I highly recommend this recipe to everyone!!!!
What a great recipe! Rose marvelously. Very tasty w pecan add in
Great recipe ! After many failed attempts with other recipes I stumbled on Sally’s Recipe. Being in the UK and wanting a higher fiber loaf I used strong brown flour instead of the bread flour and opted for jumbo rolled oats for my cereal. the result was a soft fluffy loaf that I can’t wait to slice in the morning
I just wish there was a way to complete omit the sugar
When I started making bread/pizza, I only used 1/8tsp (or a pinch) white sugar to get the yeast to bubble (for 500g flour) and I enjoyed what I made (and my tastes have become fussier/more refined because I cook so much from scratch). When I started adding wholemeal flour, I upped the sugar a touch (roughly 1tbsp brown sugar per 500g flour) because I felt it needed an extra boost of flavour and because I loved the bread I stuck to that. My point is, it’s a myth that yeast needs pure sugar to rise, it’s got sugar in bread flour. The sugar is there for flavour of the final loaf, and that’s up to your tastebuds 🙂
This is an excellent recipe, from stem to stern. I cannot say how lovely this bread is, texture, taste and contour. Love that it’s a multigrain bread with options. What a great addition to your collection!!
I had to look twice at this recipe! I’ve been making my own similar to this for years! I have soaked the oats and also been lazy and just added them in, just makes for longer rise. I have now been experimenting with same method but with sourdough! Also have made pasta dough sheets with rodgers 9 grain porridge and tortillas! Skies the limit, keep on baking and thanks for getting the word out on adding yummy whole grains!
Well said Helen, I agree completely! I enjoyed watching this bread bake. I used oats instead of multigrain hot cereal. I added sunflower and pumpkin seeds as well as walnuts chopped finely.
I look forward to trying the hot cereal next time!!
I have many recipes from sally’sbakingaddiction!
First of all, let me say that this raised well over the top of the pan. I have never had a loaf raise as well. I used gluten free sourdough starter, 1 cup, and decreased the water by half cup and the flour by 3/4 cup, used 3/4 cup whole wheat flour and 1 1/2 cups plus 1/3 cup bread flour. The only other thing I changed was to add 1 Tablespoons psyllium husks. This rose well and baked in about 45 minutes. For the add ins, I used 1/4 cup sunflower seeds and 1/4 cup chopped walnuts. I did include the yeast, even though I used sourdough. Thank you so much for this recipe. I keep a GF sourdough starter for my bread (GF) and use the starter as well for my husband’s wheat bread.
Can you add vital wheat gluten to this recipe? If so, how would you adjust the recipe?
Hi Kinda, we haven’t tried adding vital wheat gluten to this recipe before. If you decide to give anything a try, we’d love to know how it goes.
This bread is absolutely perfect! I used old fashioned oats because that’s what I had on hand and would not change a thing. Dough was exactly as described and so easy to work with. I split into two smaller loaves after the first rise so I can make little sandwiches for my 2 and 4 year old! Turned out better than expected and was SO straightforward.
Thank you for this recipe!
Hi Sally
We have stopped buying bread at the store.
This recipe has become the bread of choice in our home. So easy, So delicious and so versatile. Starting with Bob’s Red mill multi grain cereal, we add a half cup of combined chopped pecans, walnuts, sunflower seeds, flaxseed, hemp seed, whatever we want and it always comes out perfect.
Thanks for another winner!
I love this bread, but mine always collapses. I proof it in my oven and it rises beautifully. After the second rise it looks exactly like the pictures, but as soon as I take it out of the oven it totally collapses. The bread still tastes really good, but it stinks getting robbed of the ah-ha moment. Any advice?
Hi Matthew! Over proofed dough will quickly collapse when it’s baked – an easy fix for next time. Don’t let the dough rise for too long or in too hot of an environment.
Made this bread, and surprised me with how huge both rises were! The bread is amazingly delicious though! I used oats as the “hot cereal”. This bread is so soft and fluffy, and hard not to consume all at once. Thanks for a great recipe!
Loved this recipe! So easy to follow and the bread was delicious! Definitely making this again. Thanks for sharing!
It was quite tasty though I could have baked it a bit longer judging by the moistness in the center. I’d love to bake this bread in smaller pans and maybe use the extra dough for rolls, but not sure how to judge the amount?
Hi Laura, we’re so glad you enjoyed this broad! If you found the center to be too moist, a few extra minutes of bake time will help to make sure the bread is completely baked through. You can divide the dough into smaller portions for smaller pans. The size of the rolled out dough rectangles should be smaller — you’ll want the rolled up dough to be about an inch shorter in length than your pan, so that it has room to rise. The exact size and bake time will depend on the size of the loaf pans, so keep a close eye on the baking bread. Hope this is helpful!
Mine is still in the oven but it rose incredibly fast, like 45 minutes. I doubled the recipe but not the yeast. I can’t wait to try it!! Nice high rising bread. Ya gotta love that ❤️
I’ll check back with a taste rating in a few hours.
Made this today, cooling but looks amazing!
This loaf is perfection! I made my own brown sugar, it is easy and I have to store less items that way. I will be making this again and again! Thank you!
I followed the recipe using weight, but the dough is very sticky, did not make a nice ball like in the video. I added a few tablespoons of extra flour, but still didn’t seem to want to form into a nice ball. The ball was very sticky. Is that normal? I am afraid to add too much flour. It is on its first rise so I’ll see how it goes.
Hi Melanie! A lot of factors go into this such as mixing time, speed, weather, yeast, and temperature of water. Feel free to add a little more flour to make a soft, yet workable dough next time. Hope you love this bread!
I never remember seeing a single loaf of store bought bread at my grandmother’s house my whole life. Hers was called “Cracked Wheat” and this recipe smells like her house and tastes like my childhood! Thanks so much for the memories!
I thought the white bread was amazing, but in classic Sally fashion, this bread totally ups the game! The only bread that seems to have made it into our regular weekly plan. I bake every Sunday and it’s usually gone by mid-week, lol! This bread is soft and delicious, and not fussy to make at all. I can’t wait for a whole wheat healthier version soon! 🙂
I made these with rolled oats and sunflower seeds. I made them into rolls. They were delicious!
I did put olive oil on the bottom of the pan but the rolls really stuck. I guess I needed to add a lot of oil? I cooked them in a glass 13×9 pan.
Hi Becky! We find that non-stick baking/cooking spray works best to prevent the bread from sticking. So glad you loved this recipe!
Thank you so much .I will try if there is a lot of difference in the taste. This bread is so good my friends and neighbors want me to bake them a bread.
Keeping a few shaped loaf in the freezer will save me time when they ask for it♡♡
Hello, love this soft bread followed to the “T”. Comes out perfect every time .I was wondering if freezing the shaped dough after the first rise is possible and how will I proceed after. THANKS
Hi Nicole! See recipe notes for freezing instructions.
Made this yesterday! So good! Perfect sandwich bread. The detailed instructions really helped. Thanks Sally!
Can i use milk instead of water?
Hi Lara, you could use boiling milk instead of water if you’d like. The bread will be much softer and the slices may be pretty flimsy.
Is there a way to make the hot cereal mix? I can find grains at a organic store, but they’re sell separately, and I don’t find any hot cereal mix at the grocery’s.
I prefer multigrain rather than just using oats, so I would love to know if there’s a way.
Thanks a lot!
Hi Ana, you could use whole oats and mix with any of the following: brown rice, barley, millet, or flax seeds. For best results, make sure the majority of the mixture is whole oats.
Where has this recipe been all my life? Taste and texture are spot on. It’s just what I have been looking for. Thanks so much for all of your tweaks.
i am currently looking at the dough on 1st rise and it has been almost 3 hrs with almost no rise. I know the yeast was good and i was careful about the cooled water/grain mix. i have baked bread for years. no clue why it is not working. when i was mixing it was very dry and would not hold together, added 2 tbsp of water to make it work but it still felt dryish. can’t decide if i should wait longer? punch down and try a 2nd rise? i have it propped up so near oven light which is warmish. could not do the oven trick as i only have plastic bowls at the moment. any ideas? was so looking forward to this.
Hi Julie! It sounds like there may be too much flour in your dough if it was dry – how are you measuring your flour? We always recommend using the spoon and level method. We also recommend giving this baking with yeast guide a read – especially the section titled “What if My Dough Isn’t Rising?”. Your dough may need more time to rise in a warmer environment. Hope this helps!
Love this recipe. I added two tablespoons of molasses rather than brown sugar. For the starting cereal I used Granola Fruit Seeds and nuts. I added about 1/4 cup of sunflower,pumpkin and super seeds with a bit of quinoa.