It wasn’t until I started baking my own bread that I realized the “wheat” bread lining the store shelves was actually entirely bad for me. I’ve been studying food and nutrition for years now and delved into veganism almost 5 years ago now. At that time, no vegan foods lined the shelves, so I learned how to make everything myself. This was not a bad thing.

Since that time, I have owned and operated my own bakery/cafe and sadly closed the doors when we moved out of state. Now I am back in my hometown baking bread, pastries, and bagels for the summer markets.

Most of my baked goods are vegan, though I do cater to the small-town non-vegans by offering occasional cheese breads. There was a learning curve with not using butter, too. There’s a reason it’s in most all baked goods!

Anyway, here is my absolute favorite bread recipe that makes the perfect, dense, whole-grain sandwich. No ingredients you don’t want, no dairy products, no animal products whatsoever, and absolutely no guilt.

Vegan Seeded Whole Grain Bread

yields: 1 loaf | vegan

Ingredients

• 1 tbsp active dry yeast
• 3 tbsp oil (any kind you have on hand, I use olive oil)
• 5 tbsp agave
• 1 1/3 cups lukewarm water
• 1 1/2 tsp fine sea salt
• 4 cups stone ground whole wheat flour
• 1/4 cup raw sunflower seeds
• 1/4 cup raw pepitas

Directions

1. Measure out lukewarm water, yeast, oil, and agave into mixer bowl and let sit until yeast activates (is bubbly).
2. Add in remaining ingredients and mix on setting 2 until ingredients are well incorporated and dough ball is wet but not sticky. Wheat bread works best when it remains a little wet.
3. Form dough into a ball, grease the bowl, then cover with a wet, warm towel for about an hour. Dough should double in size.
4. Punch down the dough and form it into a loaf shape and place in a greased loaf pan (I use 9″x5″). Cover with a wet, warm towel, preheat the oven to 350 degrees, and let sit on top of oven for another hour or until loaf is a good 2 inches above the pan.
5. Once loaf has risen, use a sharp knife to score the top. Scoring bread helps it rise without ripping if it needs to expand more during its time in the oven.
6. Place loaf in the middle of the oven and bake for 40-45 minutes. Immediately remove from pan once done and let cool on a cooling rack for a couple hours.

HINT: A good indicator of a loaf being done is by knocking on the bottom of it. Does it sound hollow? If so, it is done.

If you make this loaf, tag @emmilynels on IG. I’d love to share your re-creations!