A hearty four-grain loaf with a touch of honey

Sunset, Jan, 1992 by Karyn I. Lipman

FAT, ROUND, AND flavorful, this surprisingly fine-textured bread contains a variety of grains.

If you have trouble finding soy flour in a supermarket, check health-food stores.

Honey Multigrain

Hearth Bread

1 package active dry yeast 1 1/2 cups warm water (110 [degrees]) 3 tablespoons honey 3/4 cup milk, at room temperature

About 1 1/2 cups stone-ground whole-wheat flour or graham flour

About 3 3/4 cups all-purpose flour 3 tablespoons yellow cornmeal 3 tablespoons regular rolled oats 3 tablespoons soy flour 3 tablespoons salad oil 1/2 teaspoon salt

In a large bowl, combine yeast, 1 cup water, and honey; let stand 5 minutes to soften yeast. Add milk, whole-wheat flour, and 3/4 cup all-purpose flour, stir until moistened. Cover and keep in a warm place 1 to 2 hours.

Meanwhile, in a small bowl, combine remaining 1/2 cup warm water, cornmeal, and oats; let stand until grains soften, 1 to 2 hours. Add cornmeal mixture to yeast mixture along with 2 3/4 cups all-purpose flour, soy flour, oil, and salt.

By hand. Beat dough until stretchy; scrape onto a board lightly coated with all-purpose flour. Knead dough (add flour to prevent sticking) until smooth and elastic, about 10 minutes. Rinse, dry, and oil large bowl; turn dough over in bowl to oil top.

With a dough hook. Beat on high speed until dough pulls from sides of bowl, 5 to 8 minutes. If dough clings to bowl or is sticky, mix in all-purpose flour, 1 tablespoon at a time, as needed.

Cover dough in bowl with plastic wrap' let rise in a warm place until doubled, about 1 hour. Knead on a lightly floured board or beat with hook to release air.

Shape dough into a ball and set on an oiled 12-by 15-inch baking sheet. Pat into a 7-inch-wide round. Lightly cover with plastic wrap and let rise until puffy, 15 to 20 minutes; uncover.

Bake in a 350[degrees] oven until deep golden brown, about 50 minutes. Cool on a rack at least 10 minutes. Serve hot, warm, or cool. If made ahead, wrap airtight when cool; hold up until next day or freeze to store longer. Makes 1 loaf, about 3 pounds.--Hennie Wooldridge, Portland.

Per ounce: 64 cal.; 1.9 g protein; 1.1 g fat (0.2 sat.); 12 g carbo.; 25 mg sodium; 0.5 mg chol.