Cranberry Flaxseed Wholemeal Bread (using Breadmaker)

I've always loved the heavenly aroma of freshly baked bread whenever I pass by bakery shops. Breadmaking is something I never imagine I will do... well...not until I decided to get myself a Zojiroshi Breadmaker! This is one of my earliest bread loaf I made using my Zoji breadmaker. It's a super healthy and hearty loaf as I've added flaxseed meal, cranberries, wholemeal flour, sunflower and pumpkin seeds. There so much crunch and texture to the bread that I can down a few slices at one go!

I had a lot of encouragement from my friends Cheryl and Meng Choo on breadmaking. This bread recipe is adapted from Cheryl's Basic Loaf recipe to suit my Zoji breadmaker that makes a 1 pound bread loaf. Meng Choo has given me lots of guidance and tips on breadmaking and the type of yeast I should use.

My very first bread loaf did not turn out that well as I did not find it as soft and fluffy as described by Cheryl. After much 'investigation', Meng Choo narrowed it to the type of yeast used. I had used yeast that came in satchets. Meng Choo suggested I try using either Bake King's Instant Yeast (available at NTUC) or Bruggeman's Instant Yeast (available at Phoon Huat). I did and what resulted was soft and fluffy bread!!

Cranberry Flaxseed Wholemeal Bread
makes a small loaf (Depends on how thick you slice. I had about 8 slices)

Ingredients:
190g milk (cold)
1 egg yolk (cold)
20g butter
2 tablespoon sugar
1 tsp salt
140g bread flour
70g top flour
50g wholemeal flour
40g flaxseed meal
1 1/2 tsp instant yeast
50g dried cranberries (added when machine beeps)
50g sunflower and pumpkin seeds (added when machine beeps)

Method:

1. Place all ingredients into the pan except sunflower and pumpkin seeds based on the sequence listed above or by following your breadmaker manufacturers' instructions regarding the order of liquid/dry ingredients.

(I'm using Zojirushi breadmaker. I placed all the wet ingredients first, followed by the dry ingredients. Make a dent at the centre of the flour and pour the yeast in the dent last, making sure the yeast does not touch the liquid, sugar and salt. I will either add the butter together with the liquid or at the four corners of the pan on top of the flour.)

2. Make the mode selection for your breadmaker.
(For my Zojirushi breadmaker, I chose the 'soft' bread mode which takes 3 hours to complete.)

3. Press start and the machine will start kneading the dough after resting for 15 minutes.

4. When the machine beeps, add the sunflower and pumpkin seeds.
(For Zojirushi, it will beep near the end of the kneading cycle for adding these ingredients.)

5. Let the breadmaker do the rest.

6. When the bread is done, remove the bread from the pan immediately and let it cool completely on a wire rack before slicing.

Note:
As there is no added preservatives, the bread can only last for 2-3 days. Store in air-tight container.

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