As a typical bread-loving Norwegian, it can be difficult to live in a country that is protein-obsessed and deathly afraid of carbs. But it didn’t stop me from making today’s recipe of whole grain, multi-seeded loaves of bread that
I think I’ve shared my first experience arriving in the U.S. seeing all the plastic-wrapped breads sitting on the shelves for weeks, thinking, “how is this possible? Why doesn’t the bread go bad?”
Yes, I know—I was pretty naive.
Then I picked up a slice, only to discover that it was mostly air, and I was able to squeeze it in the palm of my hand and shape it into a size smaller than a ping pong ball. I knew then, that this was not something I particularly wanted to put in my body.
This is when I became slightly obsessed with baking my own bread, buying specialty flours online, and seeking out health food stores that would have the kind of darker, whole wheat and grain types we use back home.
Why eat Norwegian-style bread, you ask? Here are a few reasons:
- Whole grains and seeds contain lots of nutrients and fiber, the latter helping you to stay fuller longer, causing you to eat less
- It will help lower your cholesterol
- Stabilizes your blood sugar levels, helping you stay more energetic throughout the day
- Contributes to good digestion and gut health
- Can help prevent diseases like cancer, diabetes and cardiovascular disease
A bonus reason is that as opposed to white bread, whole grains and seeds contain tons of vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants that help keep your body healthy.
Why not opt for both healthy AND delicious if you’re going to eat?
Norwegian bread is the way to go!
I am a believer in using quality grains and flours when making bread, cookies, pastries, and cakes. I use organic products from smaller producers whenever I can, and wholeheartedly believe that if everyone would do the same, we would see fewer people intolerant of gluten and grains, and less obesity.
Yes, that’s right.
There has never been as much obesity in the world since the widespread popularity of the Atkins Diet, where red meat, bacon, eggs, and cheese were touted as “health food” and food to eat if you wanted to slim down, whereas bread, pasta, and rice were looked upon as the devil himself.
Come to think of it, growing up in Norway, we ate bread for breakfast, lunch, and “kveldsmat” (a late-night meal after dinner, because Norwegians eat dinner super early, around 5 pm), and I never really saw any overweight people around. Food for thought, literally.
If you’re new to my blog, you might want to read my previous blog post about bread from my home region of Sunnmøre. It goes into more history and detail about breadmaking in Norway and includes another recipe for bread.
I don’t think I’m exaggerating when I say there are MILLIONS of recipes for homemade bread in Norway, we just love bread that much.
The best thing about making your own bread is that you know exactly what is in it, there are no fake additives and preservatives that may wreak havoc on your body, and of course: it tastes ten times better than any store-bought version you will find!
That is if you follow my recipe, of course! 🙂
This bread is made in two stages. You’ll combine the ingredients in the first batch as listed below, then wait a few hours before you add the ingredients from the second batch.
Trust me, the bread will be well worth your efforts!
You can also double the recipe to make six loaves and freeze them so you have for weeks to come (or if you’re as big of a bread lover as I am, only for two weeks, hahaha).
Happy baking and please comment if you do try it out or if you have any questions!
You can also stop by my FB page, Arctic Grub, and join in on the discussion about Norway and Norwegian food there!
MULTI-SEED, WHOLE GRAIN NORWEGIAN BREAD
Makes 3 loaves
1st batch:
a heaping 1/2 cup (75g) flax seeds
a heaping 1/2 cup (75g) chia seeds
a heaping 1/2 cup (75g) sunflower seeds
a heaping 1/2 cup (75g) pumpkin seeds
1 cup (100 grams) organic old-fashioned oats
2 cups (200 g) organic whole wheat flour
2 cups (200g) organic dark rye flour
4 cups (900ml) cold water
2nd batch:
1 cup (200ml) water
2 tbsp maple syrup or light syrup
2 tbsp sea salt
1 packet dry yeast (2 1/4 teaspoons) or 50 grams fresh yeast
5-6 cups organic all-purpose flour
Directions:
Combine all the ingredients from batch #1 in the bowl of a stand mixer (or a large bowl) and cover with plastic wrap or a clean towel. Let sit for at least 2 1/2 hours at room temp, or overnight if you can. This will expand the seeds and make them chewy, which will help bind them to the dough.
After the mixture from batch #1 has been sitting for several hours or overnight, add in the ingredients from batch #2, perhaps holding back a bit of the flour.
Fit the dough hook of the stand mixer on and mix for 5 minutes at low speed, then increase to high speed and knead the dough for another 5 minutes. Add more flour if necessary, until you get a smooth, elastic dough.
Let the dough rest for another 2 hours.
Prepare three loaf pans by greasing them lightly with oil. Then pour the dough onto a clean work surface, divide it into three equal pieces. Fit the pieces into each loaf pan (if you don’t have loaf pans you can also free bake them by shaping the pieces into loaves and placing them onto a baking sheet).
Cover the loaves with a clean towel, and let rest for another 45 minutes at room temp. Meanwhile, heat your oven to 440° Fahrenheit (220° Celcius).
Brush the top of the loaves with a little water, and sprinkle additional chia, sunflower, and pumpkin seeds on top.
Bake for about 30-35 minutes or so until the bottom is hard and makes a hollow noise when you tap them.
Cool for about an hour (if you can wait!) before slicing into it.
Serve with vegan butter and a cup of coffee or tea!
Ingredients
1st batch:
- heaping 1/2 cup (75 g) flax seeds
- heaping 1/2 cup (75 g) chia seeds
- heaping 1/2 cup (75 g) sunflower seeds
- heaping 1/2 cup (75 g) pumpkin seeds
- 1 cup (100 g) organic old-fashioned oats
- 2 cups (200 g) organic whole wheat flour
- 2 cups (200 g) organic dark rye flour
- 4 cups (900 mL) cold water
2nd batch:
- 1 cup (200 mL) water
- 2 tbsp maple syrup or light syrup
- 2 tbsp sea salt
- 1 packet dry yeast or 50 grams fresh yeast
- 5-6 cups organic all-purpose flour
Instructions
- Combine all the ingredients from batch #1 in the bowl of a stand mixer (or a large bowl) and cover with plastic wrap or a clean towel. Let sit for at least 2 1/2 hours at room temp, or overnight if you can. This will expand the seeds and make them chewy, which will help bind them to the dough.
- After the mixture from batch #1 has been sitting for several hours or overnight, add in the ingredients from batch #2, perhaps holding back a bit of the flour. Fit the dough hook of the stand mixer on and mix for 5 minutes at low speed, then increase to high speed and knead the dough for another 5 minutes. Add more flour if necessary, until you get a smooth, elastic dough.
- Let the dough rest for another 2 hours. Prepare three loaf pans by greasing them lightly with oil. Then pour the dough onto a clean work surface, divide it into three equal pieces. Fit the pieces into each loaf pan (if you don’t have loaf pans you can also free bake them by shaping the pieces into loaves and placing them onto a baking sheet).
- Cover the loaves with a clean towel, and let rest for another 45 minutes at room temp. Meanwhile, heat your oven to 440° Fahrenheit (220° Celcius).
- Brush the top of the loaves with a little water, and sprinkle additional chia, sunflower and pumpkin seeds on top. Bake for about 30-35 minutes or so until the bottom is hard and make a hollow noise when you tap them.
- Cool for about an hour (if you can wait) before slicing into it. Serve with vegan butter and a cup of coffee or tea!
Hi Sunny,
It’s “da farm”. I am a national educator and for personal purposes, I like to keep my personal and professional things separate so I use “da farm” for my personal Facebook page. For my professional page it is: https://www.facebook.com/sewingguild (in case you are interested). I do sewing education and machine embroidery education–another reason I’d like to visit Norway; I’m sure I could come away with some great ideas for artwork to digitize and sell.
For extra income I sell digital designs on http://www.EmbroideryDesigns.com and my most recent project was on the cover of “Creative Machine Embroidery”.
[image: Inline image 1]
My full-time “job” is online sewing education, my passion is machine embroidery and my second love is baking–and collecting old cook books. Over the years I’ve been trying Norwegian recipes–especially since we moved to SW WI five and a half years ago. There are several Norwegian communities around here. I also wrote you some time ago when you wrote about wine, telling you that if you ever get to this part of the state you also need to check out the local grape growers and wineries–there are many really delicious wines coming out of this area. You were also gracious enough to translate the words flour and sugar into Norwegian for me a couple of years back.
Here is the link to “Craftsy”: https://www.craftsy.com/ Craftsy has been around for several years now. It is on-line learning for the masses. Each person has to sign up to create an account and then I believe each person can still view one class for free upon signup. For members of where I teach online, the American Sewing Guild offers discounts on classes–but Craftsy also offers discounted classes and they are offered for those who sign up for their emails. Recently Craftsy was purchased by NBC Universal (https://www.craftsy.com/blog/2017/05/announcement/). Once a person signs up and purchases a class, they can watch the classes any time, chat with instructors, and the class is theirs to keep for a lifetime. I have taken some drawing classes, a cookie decorating class, a photography class (for work), and a couple of others on sewing. The instructors are professionals in their area of expertise and the filming is done at the studios in Colorado; I don’t know anything about their pay structure.
I hope I’m not being too forward, but I “chatted” on the site with a guy named Arnold just a few minutes ago and told him about you. Right now he said they are not accepting any more instructors, but I gave him your blog site and Facebook page and told him I think you would be an incredible asset to the Craftsy lineup. He’s going to check out your pages and tell the “powers that be” about you. I don’t know if it will lead anywhere or not, but I think you’d fit right in with their repertoire of instructors.
Thank you again for all you do to keep us informed about our heritage and transforming recipes!
Ramona Baird
Hi Ramona!
Thank you so much for your message, I really enjoy getting to know my readers and I absolutely LOVE the sound of what you do for a living! Super interesting and great to know there is such a huge interest for your craft.
I’m also very touched and grateful you think I’d be a good asset to Craftsy – while I’m not familiar with that particular channel, it sounds similar to Udemy and Creative Live – these things are right up my alley so I really appreciate you taking time out to put in a good word for me! You rock!!
If there is anything I can do for you in return, I hope you won’t hesitate to ask.
In the mean time, thanks so much for your support of my work and blog, it really means a lot!
Have a great weekend and speak to you soo!
Sunny xo
This is my favorite bread bread in the whole world! I love how long you have to wait between steps because I can get lots done while making fabulous bread. The last time I made it I got called to go out somewhere and had to let it rise for 5 hours. I was very upset that I had ruined it. When I punched it down and put it in the pans it only took 45 minutes to an hour to rise beautifully. It was high, beautiful and delicious! This let me know how flexible the recipe really is. Thank you so much for this recipe!! (I am part Norwegian).
Oh wow, I’m so happy to read this and grateful you enjoy my recipe! Thanks for the feedback… Also tip: If you do the first step the night before and leave the seeds and rye/wheat flour to soak in the water overnight it becomes even better! The seeds really expand making the bread juicy but still nice and dense. Thanks again for your kind note! – Sunny
Stupid question: do you use raw pumpkin seeds?
Hi Kris, there are never any stupid questions! 🙂 And yes, I use raw seeds for everything in this recipe!
Thank you so much for sharing your recipe of this delicious Norwegian bread. This is the first recipe of bread that tastes similar to Dutch bread. After 35 plus years living here, I now don’t bring back bread from the Netherlands anymore after discovering your recipe! It is just fabulous and reminds me of growing up and eating tons of delicious bread twice a day!
Appreciatively, Bertie Koelewijn
Hi Bertie, oh wow what a wonderful testimonial and feedback to receive, I’m so happy to hear – thank you so much, you have made my day! I appreciate it very much that you took time out of your day to comment – happy continued baking!!
What a fantastic bread recipe! I will definitely put this in my frequent bread making rotation. Thank you so much for sharing this with us!!!
Hi Ardin, so happy to hear you liked it! It’s in frequent rotation at my house too – my husband can’t live without it and I just made a new batch yesterday, lol! Enjoy and thanks so much for taking them time out to send me a note! Sunny 🙂
Finally a bread recipe right up my alley! A wonderful sandwich starts with the right bread. Yours looks perfection.
This bread is so delicious! I’m not much of a bread eater, but this might change things! A friend gave me a loaf she made and the recipe and today I made it for the first time. I find it so very filling, soft and chewy on the inside, crusty and toasty nuts on the outside – yum! Thanks for the recipe, it’s a keeper.
I’m so glad you enjoy this recipe! Thanks for the feedback, I really appreciate it!
– Sunny
Moin in den Norden, ein absolutes “Superlecker” Brot, gestern gebacken, Freunde probieren lassen, Brot ALLE. Danke für das tolle Rezept werde weiter deine Rezepte probieren. Liebe Grüße aus Niedersachsen
Hi Ingrid, so happy you enjoyed my bread recipe – thank you very much for your kind note (luckily I understand and can read German) ! Sunny
Do you score your loaves? Have you ever tried to make this as a sourdough bread?
Hi Dana, I do score my breads yes! I have tried making it as a sourdough bread but it alters the flavor profile too much and I don’t enjoy it as I feel it’s not similar to the authentic “grovbrød” flavor I am used to. That said there’s nothing wrong with it and will still make a tasty loaf! 🙂
The Greatest bread I have ever made!!!
Wow, thank you so much, I’m so happy to hear!! 🙂
Hi Sunny, I’m from Texas and I’m very pleased to tell you that I came across your recipe for this bread on Pintrest and jumped on it quickly. My oldest son has traveled to Norway on oilfield business several times and has raved about the breads put out at every meal. He gave a big thumbs up on your recipe after I made it. It was also a big hit at their church last Sunday, when a loaf was used for communion!! I look forward to more recipies of Norwegian origin. Thank you for sharing.
Hi Debora, what a pleasant surprise to read your comment and to know my bread was used for communion, wow! I am so happy you like my recipe and that the bread was received so well. I am planning to create more bread recipes in the near future, so stay tuned! Thanks again for taking the time to send me such a kind note! Sunny 🙂
Your bread looks amazing. Hoping to start it tomorrow. Quick question; what size loaf pans should I use?
Thanks so much
Hi Lisa, sorry for the delay in replying – the loaf pans I use for this are 9x5x3 inches so quite large but you can make either 3 or 4 loaves (latter if you have smaller pans), or you can even free-form them and bake them on a sheet tray! Hope they turn out well for you!
LOVING this recipe and this blog! Hope you don’t mind if I link you! Always looking for more veggie blogging buddies from around the world!!!
Hi Jennifer! So glad you found my blog and of course- link away!! Veggie buddies rock! Looking forward to staying in touch! 🙂 Sunny
Heading to the kitchen now to start some bread. Thanks for sharing! I spent a year as an exchange student in Finland during university and really miss the bread – I love to make my own but haven’t been able to find a really good scandinavian recipe (or two) that feels authentic. So glad I found your blog!
Hi Amie,
Thanks so much for your comment, I’m so glad you found my blog too! I hope you will like my recipe, it’s my husband’s favorite and I make it weekly. Happy baking! Hope to see you back on the blog soon. Sunny xx
Hello Sunny,
I have not yet tried it, but I am happy to have this recipe!
I try to stay away from white flour. Is it possible to substitute the 5-6 cups with another type of flour?
Hi Mary! You can substitute it with a different flour like spelt, although the texture will be different and won’t rise as much. Hope you will try it out and let me know how it turns out for you! 🙂
I loved the breads from north when I was there! Thank you for the recipe! I also a an entire loaf of the very black sweet rye bread served on Silva ferry trips buffet!! Do you know what it is called? I have tried and tried, my next attempt is to use barley malt from a home brew shop? I just can’t get it correct.
Jerrene
Hi Jerrene, thanks for your comment! I’m not sure exactly what bread you are referring to but it sounds Finnish as they use a lot of rye in their breads… Was that were you were? I found this link, not sure if it’s anything like you had, but I know they use molasses many times and often barley syrup too https://finnishfoodgirl.com/2013/05/finnish-rye-bread-ruisleipa/
Sounds like you are looking for the finnnish limmpu. It’s a very dark, sweet rye bread originally from eastern Finland. Delicious! I can only find recepies in finnish 🙁
Dear Sunny, thanks very much for the recipe of this fantastic Norwegian Bread. I have bread for the next 6-7 days . Next week I want to try other of your recipes, Thanks for sharing!!!
Hi Cris! How great to hear that you enjoyed the bread recipe, thanks so much for your comment and for trying it out! Hope you will continue to check in! 🙂
This is an all time favorite recipe in our household! We haven’t bought bread since I stumbled upon this recipe because nothing around here can compare. I’m using this same recipe, but turning them into rolls for our family’s Thanksgiving meal today. Very excited to share this with my loved ones
Hi Sloan, how wonderful to read your message and great to hear you love my bread recipe! Appreciate you taking the time out to share your feedback with me. Making them into rolls sounds like a fabulous idea! Happy Thanksgiving to you and your family and enjoy! – Sunny
Can you use all whole grain flour?
Yes although they most likely will be denser in consistency and you might want to add a little more water.
i tried your recipe and must say what a superb bread. I am from Germany and love BREAD … good bread that is … lol …. Even my husband who doesn’t really like ‘seedy’ bread loves it. I t will become a regular in my household….. the only thing i messed up on was the chia seeds, bought ground instead, but the bread still came out nice .. but I did need to add loads more flour. Wasn’t really sure what the dough suppose to look like, however, the end result…… YUMMMMMMM thank you for sharing such a wonderful recipe ….
Hi Karin – so glad to hear you liked my recipe, thanks so much for your comment! Yes, I feel that sometimes you have to add lots more flour, it varies from time to time, the humidity of where you are, etc. it’s a favorite in my household too – my husband demands it weekly! Lol! xo
Sunny, I so agree with you. I am born and raised in Germany where we too eat a lot of whole grain breads. I totally get your statement about the plastic wrapped breads in America. Fresh bread from our local village bakery is the thing I miss the most living here and for that reason I also started bread baking some years back. Pumpernickel and sunflower seeds are my favorite to bake. I order my flour from a small mill in Oregon.
Reading your blog feels very familiar with me. Good to know I am not alone on this topic.
And me and my hubby are big bread eaters and are also both very slender. Meat is almost non existing in our diets.
Happy baking, Siggy
Hi Sigrid! Nice to hear from you and I’m glad you found my blog! Many Europeans have resonated with my bread post, and am happy to hear it does with you too. I believe if you eat quality grains/wheat, it’s beneficial for your health – without additives and other unhealthy ingredients. Hope you will continue to check in at Arctic Grub and stay in touch! Have a great week, Sunny
I just found your blog and this recipe on Pinterest right after I got thru putting on the dough for my own German bread. I have different German bread recipes and the easier and less time consuming the better, since I have to tend to my husband a lot because he is severely handicapped. I too am from Germany and can not stand to eat the bread here! I also use different seeds in mine but have not used Chia or Pumpkin seeds yet. Right now I bake one that only takes 4 hours all together and it also is delicious. So I am very curios about your bread and as soon as ai buy pumpkin seeds and chia seeds I will make it! Cant wait to for it.
Thanks for sharing!
Hi Ruth, great to hear from you – thanks for taking the time out to write me and happy you found my blog too! I happen to love German bread as well, I think they are very similar in many ways to Scandinavian breads, so I understand your grievances with the breads found here… 🙂
I hope you will try my recipe one of these days, and please let me know if you do! 🙂 Thanks, Sunny
Can’t wait to try this bread. If I don’t have a standing mixer, I guess I’d just need to do a lot of kneading (pun intended)?!
Also can I substitute bread flour for APF?
Hi there! Yes you can absolutely knead by hand (none of the old Norwegian housewives had fancy standmixers 🙂 – so get your workout and baking done in one go! And absolutely, using bread flour for APF works just fine, I do that all the time! happy baking!
What size stand mixer are you using? I just tried making this, and it did NOT fit in my standard Kitchen-Aid. I almost ruined my mixer. The dough went up over the hook and into the mixer. I had to turn it out and knead it by hand.
Hi Cary, sorry to hear of your troubles. I have a professional 6 Kitchen Aid standmixer..haven’t had any feedback like this, did you add all the flour at once? It’s best to add it in batches and that way you can monitor how big the dough gets. Typically it reduces down after kneading on slow for 5 minutes first like the recipe says…
Yeah, mine is the standard one, which is 4.5 qt, according to Amazon. I did add the flour in batches, but it is definitely too much for that size.
Ah ok – I think mine is 6-8 qts. Again sorry to hear and hope the bread still turned out good!
I had the same situation, but I had mixed the “first batch” in the bowl of my Kitchen Aid and realized that I would not fit the rest of the ingredients in it. So I just divided the first batch in half and divided the ingredients for the “second batch” in half and made two smaller batches. When they had finished in the mixer, I combined them and kneaded them all together. Worked like a charm!
Excellent recipe!!! My family is not much for “seedy” breads, but they love this! It will a regular in our house. I like that it has so much fibre too!
Hi Sharlene,
Thanks so much for your kind and wonderful comment, I’m so glad you enjoyed the bread! I like it for the same reason, such an excellent source of fiber and a bread you can thoroughly feel good about eating. Thanks again! Sunny 🙂
Hello Sunny! Reaching out to you today from cold, drizzley Kansas City. Getting ready to make this yummy-looking bread and have one question: Do I just toss the yeast in to the mixture or “bloom” it in water first?
Thanks so much for this – I am in love with breads like this!! I’ll let you know how it turns out. 🙂
Hi Pam! Great to hear from you and thanks for stopping by. Yes you can just toss the yeast in the mix, no need for it to bloom.. because the bread mixture will be rising for so many hours, it’s a slow development for the yeast, part of the reason why this bread is so yummy! Happy baking and yes, do let me know what you think! I make these every other weekend, my hubby is addicted! 🙂
Hello Sunny –
After traveling in Norway and Sweden I have been on the lookout for good Scandinavian bread recipes. This one looks gorgeous! I have a question – in batch one it says 1 cup of whole wheat flour, 200 grams in parentheses. However 200 grams is almost 2 cups of flour. Better to go with cups or grams? Thanks much!
Lois Murray
This sounds great. I have been collecting Norse recipes as I am 1/2 Norwegian. Miss my grandma’s lefse. Is this bread better for diabetics. I try not to eat any bread but the 35 calorie stuff that tastes like cardboard. I’m trying to lose weight also.
Hi Cher, yes this bread is as healthy as they come, you can reduce the amount of regular flour and increase whole wheat flour if you’d like. And the bread has no processed sugar. Of course bread is to be consumed in moderation if you’re trying to lose weight, but if you want to eat some, definitely try this one! Thanks for stopping by! 🙂
Made this today and……thank you for the recipe.
I don’t have your big Kitchen Aid , mine is smaller so I divided the recipe in half.
I used whey from my kefir instead of water and didn’t have wheat bran so I omitted it. LOVE this bread, will make again.
This is a 5 star bread.
Hi Gramma Di! So glad you liked my recipe and thanks so much for taking the time out to write me, it’s very much appreciated! Thanks again and hope you will continue to stop by from time to time! Cheers, Sunny
This is an absolutely delicious bread! Love the texture with all the seeds, and the whole grain flours. Have made this one twice so far, and it will be a frequent presence in my kitchen!. Thank you
Hi Pam,
I’m so glad to hear you were happy with the recipe, thanks for your kind comment, yay!!
this bread looks delicious . can’t wait to try it, would make a nice Christmas gift!
Thanks, Linda! Let me know how it turns out for you – and what a great idea to make it as a gift!
Could you please confirm if this information is correct?
1 cup (100 g) organic old-fashioned oats
1 cup (200 g) organic whole wheat flour
1 cup (200 g) organic dark rye flour
200 grams = 2 cups…….or should l be using the cup amount or gram amount?
Hope to hear back from you. Thank you.
Hi Rose! Please use the gram amounts – it should be 2 cups each of the whole wheat and dark rye flours. Apologies about the mistake and I’ll get that fixed! Happy baking!
Thank you so much for getting back to me. The bread looks amazing! I’ll let you know how it turns out.
Of course and so happy you are inspired to make it – look forward to seeing the results!
Hi Karen, the recipe calls for either 50 grams of FRESH yeast (which is not the same as active dry yeast and can be found at specialty stores in the refrigerated section) or 1 packet, equal to 2 1/4 tsp active dry yeast. So you added too much dry yeast, essentially…If you are using active dry yeast, just add 2 tsp and that should be enough. Hope that clears is up!! Thanks for your comment and hope your bread turns out perfect next time! 🙂
Hi, is there a sourdough version of this bread?
Hi Aida, not yet but working on it! 🙂
I want to make this but 75 grams of wheat bran measures almost 2 1/2 cups. Which measurements do I follow?
Hi Deborah, thanks for your note and so sorry about this – it should read flax seeds, not wheat bran! No idea how that happened but the recipe has been updated. I always recommend weighing your ingredients when baking so I would use the 75 gram measure. Thanks so much and happy baking!
I am excited to try this! I also am interested about a sourdough starter instead of the dried yeast.
Hi Sunny, I’m sorry I’ve never baked bread with seeds before. Are the seeds raw or roasted? I’m assuming no salt unroasted. Just wanting to double-check.
Thank you,
Noreen
Hi Noreen, yes, the seeds are raw and unsalted (they will ‘toast’ in the oven) 🙂 Hope you’ll enjoy the loaves, they are a favorite in my household!
Thank you!!
Hi Sunny, sorry one more question as I am making this tomorrow. Dry Yeast, I’m assuming this is the same as Active Dry Yeast here in the states? I googled it and had somewhat conflicting answers so I was concerned.
Thank you again,
Noreen
Hi Noreen,
Yes you can safely use Active Dry Yeast, that is what I use too 🙂 Happy baking!
Hi Sunny! I just stumbled across your blog through Pinterest and found this bread recipe! I am so excited to try this out, I couldn’t agree more with you aboutNorth American bread. I live in Canada and struggle with my love hate for carbs! Thank you so much for posting this, I was so happy to see it was vegan!!
Kenysha
Hi Kenysha, thanks so much for your note and so happy you want to try my bread recipe out! I make this every few weeks regularly in my house, my husband is addicted, lol! Happy baking! 🙂
Thank you so much for your quick response!
Hi, do you have any suggestions for making this gluten free? Gf baking can be so tricky with different flours being excessively absorbent and throwing off the recipe. I want this bread so much but can’t eat the gluten!
Hi Sunshine, thanks for your message. I honestly haven’t experimented much with gluten free baking and admit it’s not my forté unfortunately… You are right that the gf flours are super absorbent which make the breads dense but I know there must be a trick to successfully replacing the white flour (the whole wheat flour you could easily replace with a gf flour). I’m not sure I was much help here – sorry!
I appreciate the quick reply! I’m going to experiment, if I get it right I’ll happily share what I did! My aim is to keep it as nutritional and tasty as yours.
Ok great! Can’t wait to hear what you come up with!
Will the bread have a rye flavor? If so, strong or light flavor?
Hi Gail, no rye flavor at all!
Do you use a convection oven at 440F or regular oven? Thank you.
Hi Rose, I have a regular oven but you can keep the same temperature for a convection oven too (even better!). Hope that helps 🙂
I tried this recipe this weekend. The loaves were absolutely gorgeous but they had a pungent sour smell and taste. I was not able to eat them. Is this normal? Maybe I made an error somewhere but I wonder if the two batches is what caused this sourness. Thanks
Hi Eleni, that doesn’t sound normal at all… I haven’t had anyone tell me this happened to them either. Did you follow the recipe exactly? How long did you let the first step sit (with the seeds and whole grain flours)?
I noticed all ingredients were in weight however the AP flour was 5-6 cups. Do you also weigh the AP flour? And also what is the consistency of the dough after kneading in mixer should it come together more like a ball? Thanks by the way the bread is absolutely delicious
Hi Cynthia, I recommend always using the gram measurements and weighing the ingredients. I provide the cup measures just for rough reference and for some U.S. readers. Baking should always be done by weighing ingredients for a more accurate measure. Yes, the consistency of the dough should be almost like a ball with a light sticky texture before you let the dough rest for the first time. Hope this helps and so glad you like the bread! Sunny 🙂
Good morning, may I assume that the loaf pans used are the 8.5″ x 4.5″?
Also…..I plan on making either a 1/3 or 1/2 recipe. I live alone and cost of ingredients lead me to do this. I know sometimes that making a partial recipe changes the outcome. Have you or any reader made a half recipe with complete success?
All of my ancestry comes from Scandinavia. I am excited to make this recipe. It’s what I’ve been hoping to find. Now…..my next adventure is the quest for an exceptional Julekake Christmas Bread! But…..this bread comes first! Thank you for sharing.
Hi Julie,
My loaf pans are about 5.5 x 9.5 inch I think but you can use yours fine. I haven’t made half the recipe personally but I know of other readers who have done so successfully. The only thing I wouldn’t halve is the amount of yeast – I would keep that the same.
I happen to also have a great recipe for julekake/Christmas bread, you can find that here: https://arcticgrub.com/norwegian-julebrod-part-2/
Happy baking and let me know how the bread comes out for you!
My bread dough is resting right now. As someone else commented, I will have to halve this recipe next time… the batch was just too big for my kitchenaid. I very anxious to try the bread out!
Thank you!
Hi. I love this bread recipe but have a question. I made it about a month ago and am making another batch right now. It is all on it’s first rise, but I wanted to ask if you could clarify the measurements as I’m making adjustments this time on my own but would love for others to make this and understand the weight differences in flour. Two cups of my Bob’s red mill rye flour weighs 280G. Would it be better to just use the cup measurement or the grams? Also same question for batch 2. I’m a newbie but the loaves I made last month looked and tasted amazing!!!!! I thank you from the bottom of our hearts. YUM!!!
Hi Dory – thanks for your message, and glad to hear you like my recipe! I always recommend using the grams measurements, as many flours /people’s measurements of cups can vary. So use the 200 grams rye flour in batch 1, and then for batch 2 with the AP flour, you don’t have to be so precise and can use the cups, as you’ll just notice and add one cup at a time to see how much you’ll need (I’ve needed anywhere from 5-8 cups, depending on the day – some days are more humid than others, etc.). Hope that makes sense! Thanks again for your question and happy baking! – Sunny 🙂
Thank you! I”m making my 3rd batch and it looks just like yours. I took my last batch out of the oven five min too soon and it was a little undercooked but was fine toasted! My issue could have been that I ground up the flax instead of leaving it whole. It is more absorbable by the body that way but definitely changed the recipe. A user error for sure. I’m commenting incase another baker reads this and thinks the same thing. This time I will cook as long as you posted and just cover it if it gets too dark. Every oven is different. Thank you so much!!! It is great holiday day bread!
Hi Dory, in the first part when you soak the seeds with the two flours and water, it actually helps germinate the seeds and releases their enzymes, making it more absorbable, so you don’t need to grind it up that way. I actually prefer doing the first step at night/before going to bed and let it soak overnight, that way the seeds really expands and makes the bread even juicier and with an even greater texture. You are right, every oven is different so I’d say start checking the bread at 25 minutes – I find 30-35 minutes in my oven is the perfect time but it can also change according to what temperature and humidity it is outside, etc. Happy to hear you enjoy the bread and thanks so much for your feedback! 🙂
I made this for the first time (new to bread making), and absolutely loved it! I gave a loaf to my brother & sister-n-law, which was a huge success.
Very healthy to the processed bread sold in the States.
I can’t wait to try more of your recipes
Hi Dee, so glad to hear that you liked my recipe! Appreciate you taking the time out to send a comment very much and hope you will try out more recipes soon 🙂 Happy holidays!
Hi Jill, Sorry for the late reply- I use old fashioned rolled oats in the oats but I think it will work with either 🙂
-Sunny
If I only have instant yeast how much should I use? The recipe looks wonderful and can’t wait to try it!
Thanks.
Hi Pat, you can use the same amount of instant yeast because none of the liquids are warm so shouldn’t make much of a difference. Happy baking!
I would like to make this bread but I wonder if all the flours have to be organic? I always use regular ingredients.
I love trying all different types of breads and this one sounds amazing!!!
Hi Sarah, nice to hear from you and happy to hear you want to try my recipe! No need for the flours to be organic – have at it! 🙂
– Sunny
Thanks for confirming!!!!
This looks so delicious! Plan on making it today. I wonder if I could use a 10 grain cereal I place of one of the ingredients in batch 1?
Hi Melinda, great to hear that you want to try out my recipe! I’d keep the rye flour in the first batch but you can replace the whole wheat with the 10 grain cereal, should work fine! 🙂
Make this every week! Always make the first batch the night before and appreciate the difference in the seeds!
Hi Jill, thanks so much for your positive and kind feedback – I really appreciate it and so happy the recipe has been such a hit with you! (I make it pretty regularly too, my husband loves it!) Sunny
This bread is so delicious & satisfying. I didn’t have chia seeds so I used Bob’s Red Mill 10 grain cereal. I cut the recipe in half, baked in a preheated 5 1/2 quart Dutch oven at 450 degrees for 45 minutes. A perfect recipe, thank you so much for sharing!
Hi Melinda, I’m so happy my bread recipe turned out well for you – thanks very much for sharing your success and modifications with us! Sunny
I made this bread today. It is the best multigrain bread I made ever. We love the taste and texture and it’s definitely one I will redo. Thank you for sharing this recipe.
Hi Jacinthe, I’m so thrilled to read your message and that you enjoyed my recipe! Thanks so much for taking time to send me this positive feedback and enjoy the bread! – Sunny
The minute I saw this I had to make it! It looked so delicious and nourishing . Truly best bread I’ve ever had and I can’t believe I made it! Will be making this regularly. Looking forward to trying your other recipes, too! Maybe I was Norwegian in a past life?
Hi Krista, wow your message made me so happy to read, thank you for your wonderful review! I’m so glad I could inspire you to bake and that I’ve channeled your inner Norwegian Thanks again and let me know if you decide to try any of my other recipes! – Sunny xx
This recipe looks great I assume it will work well for yeast rolls?
Hi Sharon, I haven’t personally made this recipe into rolls but can’t see a reason why it wouldn’t work – you’ll just have to reduce the baking time to probably about 15 minutes. Good luck and let me know how it goes if you try it out! Sunny
Great bread! It reminded me of breads I have grown up eating even though I am not Norwegian. I ended up hand kneading it at the end because my KitchenAid mixer is only 4.5 quarts and could not hold everything. It was easy and satisfying to knead it with all of those seeds inside! I made it exactly as the recipe was written except I used a lighter rye flour because I could not easily find dark rye. I will be making this regularly. Thank you for a fabulous bread recipe!
Hi Mary, I’m so happy that you loved my recipe, thank you very much for taking the time out to comment – much appreciated! Wishing you many successful baking times in the kitchen ahead!! Thanks again, Sunny
When I originally commented I clicked the “Notify me when new comments are added” checkbox and now each time a
comment is added I get three emails with the same comment.
Is there any way you can remove me from that service? Thank you!
Phenomenal bread, nothing else I can say.
So glad you enjoyed it, thanks very much for your comment!
– Sunny
I made your Norwegian bread today. It came out better than I thought it would, not because of you but because of me. I don’t always have success. I found out a few years back that my ancestors came from Norway, Fjellstad was the town, when they arrived at Ellis Island their name was changed to Johnson because their last last name was to hard to spell. I had always thought that I was German and French. Ancestry dot com shows I’m a Viking and I love it. It also explains a lot of other things, which I won’t go into. Anyway the bread is very nice and pretty easy to make. It is a hardy bread and looks like it will stand up to any abuse it put it through. Thank you for the recipe.
Hi Gregory, thanks so much for taking the time out to write to me and share a bit about your story! I always enjoy hearing from my readers and their backgrounds, how fun that you found out you are a Viking! Also happy to hear that my recipe came out well for you. Thanks again for your note and enjoy the bread! Sunny
I cannot say enough good things about this bread. I am blessed with a Kitchen Aid Professional 600, and it is perfect to make this bread. The store was out or Rye flour so I used two extra cups of whole wheat and subbed honey for the maple syrup. But it is so amazing and did that gorgeous little splitty thing on top as it cooked, just like your picture. So happy . . . . . I am in bread heaven.
Hi Robbie, I’m so happy that you enjoyed my recipe, thanks so much for taking the time to comment! Bread heaven is a great place to be… glad I could contribute to your bliss. Enjoy! Sunny 🙂
By chance, do you think this can be made gluten free?
Hi Jolanta, while I haven’t tried, I can’t see why not but may yield a different structure/texture? Give it a go! 🙂
I am preparing to make your bread. Are the seeds shelled or unshelled?
Thank you!
Hi Jill, the seeds are unshelled – hope I got to you in time! – Sunny
Finally got this bread baked and I am in LOVE! My paternal grandparents came to USA from Norway, and we love our bread, especially like this! Thank you for this recipe and for your advice! Merry Christmas!
Hi Jill,
Thanks so much for your message, I’m so glad to hear you liked my recipe! God jul / Merry Christmas to you too!
This looks like an amazing recipe. Love how healthy this is.
Thank you Angela, I hope you will try it out! 🙂 Sunny
Love this recipe! Can’t wait to try it!! Thanks for sharing!
Thanks, Sandra – I hope you it comes out well for you!
What size is the “packet” of yeast? My dr yeast came in a jar. Thank you!
Hi Casey! A packet of yeast is 2 1/4 teaspoons. Hope that helps!
You have two different recipes posted. Which one is correct? I made the first one because that’s the first one that came up when I scrolled down. Based on the comments that I read after I’d mixed the dough so now I’m a bit worried how it’ll turn out.
I was looking for a copycat Cobs Lekkerbrot and this recipe looks similar.
I hope my bread turns out.
Please clarify which recipe is the ‘correct’ one. Thanks!
Hi Kate, thanks for your message and apologies for the confusion on the different recipes. Always follow the grams directions (not the cups), so the bottom one is correct in terms of the cup measurement but if you followed the grams it should turn out ok either way. Please let me know and appreciate your writing me, I will have it corrected. Thank you, Sunny
Thanks for the reply!
I have been baking bread for decades and this bread is unequivocally THE BEST bread I’ve ever made! It’s a new favorite. We don’t eat store bought bread so it now will be the main bread I bake.
I form it into 3 loaves; bake one and freeze the other two. The night before, I take out the formed loaf of dough and let it thaw in the fridge, then take it out in the morning, let it rise and bake. I bake it at 400 for about 35 minutes. Amazing and delicious!!!
I was looking for a recipe similar to Cobs Lekkerbrot and this is the closest I’ve found.
THANK YOU!!
p.s. My background is German. We Europeans have a ‘thing’ about good bread!
This is the BEST bread. I am making my second batch now. I have a question. In the text part of your message you have batch 1 with wheat bran and down in the recipe you have flax seeds. I used both but wasn’t sure which was the best one.
Thank you for this wonderful recipe
Hi Jane, I am so happy you like the bread! Apologies for the different ingredient listings, either way should work just fine – I tend to use brown and golden flax seeds but any seeds and even wheat bran will work fine! 🙂
Love. Love!
I ate one whole loaf myself. It is soooo good and moist and healthy!will make again!
Hi Ani, so happy you loved the bread! Thank you! 🙂
I do not have a stand mixer! How should I proceed manually??
Hi Dorte, it will be fine to knead by hand – just add a few extra minutes (15 min total) and that should do it!
I’ve made this bread about a dozen times and it’s delicious! I bake them in the smaller Pullman loaf pans so they’re nice and sandwich-bread shaped. Really fantastic recipe as written. For future bakes, I tried out a number of changes based on on-hand ingredients and a desire to have a more standard-shaped loaf.
Couple of notes from my experience:
-Any seeds/grains work. I’ve used King Arthur Flour six-grain mix; added nuts; subbed ground flax or ground chia – it all works.
-Likewise, any sweet syrup works. -maple, molasses, blackstrap molasses and date syrup.
-The first batch stays good in the fridge for longer than 24 hours, so I often mix up the first batch a day or so ahead of baking day to save time.
-To prevent the bread top from splitting:
— I knead the dough until there is a decent gluten “windowpane”
— Shape the loaf using any sandwich loaf shaping technique (like KAF)
-After shaping the loaf, I place it top-side down onto a cutting board with the toppings thickly scattered. Gently press, flip and the seeds/grains cover the top of the bread nicely.
Thank you for freely sharing this delicious bread recipe.
Hi Marie, thanks so much for your wonderful feedback and for sharing your experience and tips! Really great and so happy that you enjoy my recipe! Thanks again! Sunny 🙂
This bread looks amazing! Can you use a bread machine for this recipe?
Hi Dee, thanks for the nice comment. Honestly, I’ve never tried it in a bread machine and would think it would need that kneading in the stand mixer to get the correct texture as it’s a very gluten heavy bread. But that said, I can’t say it won’t work either – maybe try with a smaller batch to see how it works out? Let me know if you try! 🙂
Lynn
Wonderful bread! Second time making it. Question? If making small pans of bread, should I reduce the time and temperature for cooking?
First time I have replied hope I get through and get and answer.
Thanks
Hi Lynn! Great to hear from you and so glad you like my bread recipe! So I would keep the temperature the same for smaller pans, but yes- reduce the time. Not sure how small your loaf pans are but I would try 20 minutes first and then go from there, depending on the size… Hope that helps!
Excellent bread. Didn’t have chia so I used red quinoa. Will definitely make again.
Hi Diane, so glad to hear you enjoyed my bread recipe! Red quinoa sounds like a great substitute, I’ll have to try that sometime! Thanks again! 🙂 Sunny
Hi Sunny! In your recipes for this bread, one of them had Flax seeds involved and the other had wheat bran instead. Which would you recommend?
Also, the reason I looked up “Norwegian bread recipes” was because I became close friends with a girl named Sol from Norway, and she talked about the same thing you did; that she loves bread from her home country, but in America/Australia it is crazy different and not filling. I longed to try some of her home bread! So thanks for this recipe. I’m excited to make it.
Hi Addie! Thanks for your note and apologies for the confusion in the recipe. I like to use flax seeds now, but there’s nothing wrong with wheat bran – either will work just fine! In fact, sometimes I experiment witt different seeds, it doesn’t really matter, the result will always be delicious 🙂 I hope you like my recipe and thanks again for writing in! 🙂
Good day, a reader pointed out 2 years ago another error. The 75 grams of wheat bran is supposed to be 75 grams of flax seed. This has still not been corrected in the recipe.
I love this bread! I have never used loaf pans and just shape the loaves free-form on a large parchment-lined rimmed baking sheet. I have made 3 loaves and 4 loaves, but my favorite is 6 smaller loaves so I can freeze some and (maybe) share a loaf with friends and neighbors.
Regarding the mixer: I, too, have been using the smaller 4.5 qt Kitchenaid. I just split the 1st step into 2 bowls and worked from there. It was more accurate for me this way than dividing it post-soak. I just got the 6 quart mixer so I’ll amend the review later.
Hi Janet! So happy you enjoy my recipe and agree, you could totally do them free-form, that’s how my mom did it when I was younger. The dough is rather large because most Norwegians will bake a huge batch and just freeze, like you do, so it’s great to do them in stages if your stand mixer is smaller. Appreciate hearing from you! Sunny 🙂
Currently in Bergen, Norway for the next year. I have fallen in love with their bread and crackers with Edamer cheese and jams. Just completed your recipe and it came out perfect! I didn’t know if I needed coarse and fine grain rye, so I did a 50/50. Also, their packets of dry yeast here feel heavier and look bigger than in the states. I used a whole packet, but putting dry grams could be useful. I had to look up the conversion for fresh yeast to dry and it was almost the whole packet. I didn’t have a standard 9×5 loaf pan as many here are skinnier and longer which made cook time less by about 7 min. Overall, very pleased!
Hi Kristy, great to hear from you and thanks for your comment!So happy to hear the bread came out well for you, as for the rye flour – you did well combining both coarse and fine grain, I often do that but either way the bread will come out good. Thanks for the tips on adding the gram count on the yeast, I will take that into account going forward! I also have a whole virtual course on Norwegian bread making that will launch on January 30th, that will have five additional recipes (Class/video modules + theory) that you may be interested in checking out https://sunnygandara.com/breadcourse
Either way, thanks for trying out my bread recipe and enjoy Bergen!!
Sunny 🙂
Absolutely delicious bread!
Hi Shree! So glad you like my recipe! Thanks for your comment and enjoy! 🙂 Sunny
My first time every making bread in my 65 yrs! This was so delicious and I couldn’t stop eating it. Thanks for sharing.
hi Mindy! Oh wow, how wonderful to hear! Thanks for taking the time to comment; I’m so happy you enjoyed my recipe! Sunny:)
I tried this out yesterday. It is amazing! I will absolutely be making this bread again!
Hi Jacque – so glad you enjoyed my recipe, and appreciate the comment! Enjoy! – Sunny 🙂
Fabulous and worth the time it takes. Best and most delicious bread I’ve ever had.
Hi Katie, wow- thanks so much for that wonderful review and message, so happy you enjoyed! Thank you again!! Sunny 🙂
Best bread ever—-and I’ve been making breads for decades! Its filling, delicious, and I feel good about its nutritional value. Thanks you!
Hi Sheila, Thanks so much for the nice comment, I’m so happy you enjoyed the bread!!
Despite not haveing all of the necessary seeds and substituting lentils for one of them, the resulting loaves are delicious. I soaked the seeds and flours overnight.
Glad to hear the bread turned out well for you, thanks for your comment! 🙂
The print version has Flax but the web version has wheat bran. Which one do I use?
Hi Laura, sorry for the inconsistency – I will fix the error. I typically use flax, as I like the texture better but wheat bran would work too!
Amazing flavor
Thanks so much! 🙂
JUST DELICIOUS and so SATISFYING, BOTH TO MAKE AND TO EAT 🙂
Thank you very much for the positive feedback, Deb! So glad you enjoyed! 🙂
I love the Multi-seed whole grain norwegian bread. It was given to me by a friend and I can’t wait to bake my own.Thank you.
So glad you enjoyed, Tina – thanks for taking the time to comment! Happy baking! 🙂