Whole-Wheat Quinoa Bread

Whole-Wheat Quinoa Bread
Andrew Scrivani for The New York Times
Total Time
2 hours
Rating
5(376)
Notes
Read community notes

This moist, hearty bread slices beautifully for sandwiches or toast. The dough is sticky because of the moisture from the cooked quinoa, but resist the urge to add too much flour.

Featured in: King Among Grains

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Ingredients

Yield:Two loaves, about 16 slices in each loaf

    For the Sponge

    • teaspoons active dry yeast
    • 3cups lukewarm water
    • 1tablespoon agave syrup
    • 1tablespoon blackstrap molasses
    • 2cups all-purpose or white bread flour
    • 2cups whole-wheat flour

    For the Bread

    • ¼cup canola oil
    • 1scant tablespoon salt
    • 2cups cooked quinoa
    • 3 to 4cups whole-wheat flour, as needed
    • 1egg, beaten with 2 tablespoons water for egg wash
    • 1tablespoon sesame seeds
Ingredient Substitution Guide
Nutritional analysis per serving (14 servings)

315 calories; 7 grams fat; 1 gram saturated fat; 0 grams trans fat; 3 grams monounsaturated fat; 2 grams polyunsaturated fat; 56 grams carbohydrates; 7 grams dietary fiber; 2 grams sugars; 11 grams protein; 360 milligrams sodium

Note: The information shown is Edamam’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.

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Preparation

  1. For the Sponge

    1. Step 1

      In a large bowl, combine the yeast and water and stir until dissolved. Stir in the agave syrup and molasses. Whisk in the flours, 1 cup at a time. Stir or whisk this mixture 100 times, for about two minutes. Scrape down the sides of the bowl with a spatula, cover the bowl with plastic and leave to rise in a warm spot for one hour, until bubbly.

    2. Step 2

      Add the oil to the sponge and fold in, using a large spoon or spatula. Add the salt and fold in. Fold in the quinoa, then fold in 2 cups of the whole-wheat flour. Place another ½ cup whole-wheat flour on your work surface, then scrape out the dough. Use a paddle to help fold the dough over while kneading until it has absorbed the flour on your work surface. Flour your hands, and knead the dough for 10 minutes, adding flour as necessary, until it is elastic and springs back when you press it with your finger. It will be dense and sticky. Shape the dough into a ball. Rinse and dry your bowl, and coat it with oil. Place the dough in it, then flip the dough over so that it is coated with oil. Cover the bowl tightly with plastic wrap, and set in a warm spot to rise for one hour or until doubled.

    3. Step 3

      Punch down the dough, cover the bowl and allow the dough to rise again for 45 minutes to an hour.

    4. Step 4

      Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Divide the dough into two parts, and shape into loaves. Place half of the sesame seeds on your work surface, and gently roll the rounded side of one loaf over them so that they stick. Repeat with the remaining sesame seeds and the other loaf. Oil two 9-by-5-inch bread pans, and place the loaves in the pans, first seam side up, then seam side down. Cover with a damp towel and allow to rise for 30 minutes, or until the surface of the loaves rises above the edges of the bread pans.

    5. Step 5

      Gently brush the loaves with egg wash. Using a sharp knife, cut two or three ½-inch-deep slashes across the top of each loaf. (If this causes the loaves to deflate, let them sit for another 15 to 20 minutes.) Bake 50 to 55 minutes, brushing again halfway through with egg wash. The bread is done when it is golden brown and responds to tapping with a hollow sound. Remove from the pans and cool on a rack.

Tip
  • Advance preparation: These loaves freeze well for several weeks if wrapped airtight. The bread will keep for about five days, but refrigerate after three days.

Ratings

5 out of 5
376 user ratings
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Cooking Notes

This bread is SO moist and delicious! I covered mine with a generous mixture of pumpkin, sesame, sunflower and poppy seeds, dehydrated roasted garlic and sea salt. WOW! I also only used about 2 cups of extra whole wheat flour when kneading. I baked one loaf free form and another in a bread tin, both turned out just fine. Don't be fooled though, this recipe takes at least 3.5 hours not including baking time!

Quite delicious--made 2 large loaves, 1 medium.

Brushed with water (not egg), pressed sesame seeds lightly into top before baking rather than rolling in. Honey instead of agave.

I’ve been making the bread regularly for many months now, and it is reliably wonderful. I often throw in a couple of cups of other grains, like cornmeal, oats, wheat bran or wheat germ, in place of some of the flour and that adds flavor and texture. This recipe makes two large loaves for me, or if I bake in coffee cans, two larger ones and one smaller one. For efficiency, I cook a lot of quinoa, cool it, and put it in 2-cup containers in the freezer. That eliminates one whole step.

I am on the fence between 4 and 5 stars. It was the slightest bit dry, but that may have been because I didn't fully heed the warning about resisting the temptation about adding too much flour. I'm not used to such a sticky dough. (next time- measure!)
The bread was still great. Great flavor and volume. I didn't have agave or molasses, and I didn't want to use honey, so I just used a little sugar. I also only had about a cup of cooked quinoa, so I used oatmeal.

I made a half-recipe with no issue. A terrific bread with subtle flavor and satisfying density.

Not 2 hours, closer to 5. About 3 1/2 hours of proofing, almost an hour of baking, plus the mixing and kneading. It was a production.

Excellent recipe. Like the other posters, I used honey in place of agave. I didn't have a problem with dryness, though I started with the lower amount of flour and then worked up to consistency. I also used Reinhardt's windowpane method for knowing when kneading was done.
Finally, I baked the bread to 195-200 degrees. The recipe takes a few hours, but unlike many good whole wheat breads didn't take days. The final product has rich flavor, nutty, yet very slightly sweet, hearty but not bland.

This is a great recipe if you follow the amounts listed (weigh the ingredients if you can) and keep to the timeline as it is written. However, to achieve "sticky", but workable dough, you must be able to "feel" when you have added enough flour. After 3 cups of wheat flour it was a sticky mess. I added nearly 4 1/2 cups of wheat flour before I felt it was ready to prove. The resulting bread was moist, had nice crumb, and tasted pleasantly "woody", with sweet notes. I will make it again very soon

Wonderful, healthy bread that tastes great, doesn't crumble even when toasted. A big hit. The dough was sooo incredibly sticky, but I managed to get around that part. I am a landscape oil painter and always have a box of those cheap disposable exam gloves in the studio. The sticky sponge was easy to manipulate with the gloves.

I really like this recipe! Like several others I subbed honey for agave, and I didn't add all of the flour mixture. The dough was a bit sticky, but kneaded easily with mixer. It took about 35 minutes of baking to get it to 195-200 degrees. The texture is wonderful and I really like the taste. I used red quinoa, so there are dark specks throughout the bread. Looking forward to tomorrow's sandwich!

I made this in my KitchenAid Mixer with excellent results. With no agave or molasses, I substituted with one T of maple syrup and one T of barley malt syrup. I didn't have a lot of bubbles after one hour of resting the sponge, but my kitchen was quite warm, so I forged ahead. I needed about 4.5 cups (yes, weigh your flours!!!) of wheat flour before the dough pulled away from the sides of the bowl. I think next time, I will skip the egg wash, but it's quite a hearty sandwich loaf. Will make again

I love this bread, I've made it three times now but I think it's a rather difficult recipe. The dough is very sticky and my Kitchenaid was struggling so I pulled out the entire mass, divided into 3 and kneaded by hand. Quite the workout! When I was done I had 3 loaves not 2, and they were plenty large enough. I would suggest cutting recipe in half the first time you bake it. Guests really love this bread so it's worth the effort (& flour all over the kitchen!)

This bread is awesome! No issues with dryness, and has a deep, nutty flavor. However, it was definitely dense and sticky to work with. Held little form when placing the loaves in the pans. Created a lovely crumb, and beautiful color.

I absolutely love this recipe, it is the go-to recipe every time I crave for a homemade bread because it is easy to make (yes the dough is sticky but the result is worthy) it guarantees a good source of protein thanks to the quinoa, the flavor is amazing, so rich and nutty, it toasts beautifully! Thanks

This bread recipe is going into my heavy rotation. Moist but holds together, toasts beautifully. The dough does look very sticky - I added a bit extra flour but that did not seem to dry the bread out. Also added an extra 1/3 cup of cooked quinoa since I had some left over, and (unintentionally) swapped one cup of white flour for more whole wheat. Baked texture was great, so I may consider swapping out even more of the white flour next time. A keeper!

This recipe came out beautifully until I tried to remove it from the pan. I used a glass loaf pan and oiled it as instructed but it stuck terribly. The top crust had baked over the edge in some spots and it was a struggle to get it out in one piece. Did anyone else have this problem? Next time I’ll use parchment paper.

This bread looked beautiful until I tried to get it out of the pan. I used a glass loaf pan that I oiled as instructed, but it stuck horribly. Some parts of the top crust stuck to the edges too. Did anyone else have this problem? Next time I’m using parchment paper.

Great recipe! Next time maybe a tad more salt - I used kosher, so maybe that was why it seemed to need more. Also, maybe I’ll substitute a little of the neutral oil with sesame oil (no more than a teaspoon, huh?). The seeds on top were so very tasty!

Love this recipe. Very forgiving. I used a combo of sprouted flours, spelt, einkorn, kamut, buckwheat and some rye. Cook barley and quinoa and and Bam! Deliciousness!

This bread is very moist and has a wholesome taste. It was time consuming to make, but would make it again because it’s so good!

I was looking for something with more protein for my heart disease reversal vegan diet and this bread fits the bill. The quinoa adds protein and a nutty flavor. I skipped the seeds because I don't need them. Takes way long to make--I started at 9 am and I'm having a slice at 4pm--so plan ahead! Super gooey dough, very sticky, never formed a loaf consistency, even thought I messed up the ingredients, but the final product is yum. Moist, nutty, hearty.

Another reviewer pointed this out but I want to reiterate that by the instructions this recipe involves about 3.5 hours of proofing/rising alone, to say nothing of the hands on time. So it is NOT a 2-hour project. That said, it’s well worth the effort for a hearty and nutritious loaf. I have made it a few times with great results. Although the dough is sticky, as several others have mentioned, I find that I end up using about 3.5 total cups of flour in Step 2 and that seems about perfect.

Bread holds up so well toasted and it’s fantastic with peanut butter. This is the first bread I’ve ever made and it wasn’t super easy, but it did turn out pretty well! I’d definitely like to try making it again and like someone else said I think I’d just stick the sesame seeds on the top instead of rolling.

This is a wonderful bread. I’ve made it several times now. I use my stand mixer for the stirring and kneading, with a bit of kneading by hand at the end. I substitute one cup of the whole wheat flour with a combination of hemp hearts, ground flax and wheat bran. I roll the loaves in sesame, sunflower, poppy and fax seed. It bakes up perfectly in my steam oven set at 340F for 35-40 minutes. It’s delicious.

Quick question: doesn’t the inclusion of eggs make this non-vegan?

I love this bread. Followed the recipe exactly the first time round and it turned out wonderfully. Moist, dense but not too dense, not too sweet, and maybe a TMI but man it really can keep you regular. Looking forward to experimenting with different grains in next time!

This bread is now a staple in our home. I’ve used brown rice, buckwheat and millet instead of the quinoa and all turned out great. The best tasting is millet: nutty, sweet and makes incredible toast.

One cup flour more than the recipe indicates.

Lovely flavour but takes longer than 2 hours. I also took mine out at 45 minutes and it was slightly burned on the crust. Next time will bake for 40 minutes.

I used maple syrup instead of agave. Bread has a very nice texture toasted.

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