Sprinkle yeast and then honey over the top and stir to dissolve.
Gradually mix in 2 cups bread flour, the gluten, and 1 cup whole wheat flour ( or 1 cup of your mixed flours).
Stir.
Cover yeast mixture with tea towel and let stand 30 minutes.
Stir shelled sunflower seeds, fruit, butter, and salt into yeast mixture.
Gradually stir in enough remaining whole wheat flour to form soft dough.
Knead dough on floured surface until smooth and elastic, adding more whole wheat flour if dough is sticky, about 10-15 minutes by hand or 6 minutes by mixer.
Grease clean large bowl.
Place dough in bowl, turning to coat completely.
Cover with tea towel.
Let rise in warm draft-free area until doubled and dough does not spring back when 2 fingers are pressed into side, 2 hours or so.
Punch dough down.
Let stand 10 minutes.
Grease pans. Shape dough into desired shapes and place in pans.
Cover with tea towel.
Let loaf rise in warm draft-free area until almost doubled in volume, about 45 minutes.
Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.
Brush top of loaf with egg and sprinkle rolled oats over the top, or dust with flour or cornmeal.
Bake until golden brown, about 45 minutes to 1 hour., depending on the shape and size of your loaves.
Cool bread slightly.
Serve bread warm or at room temperature. Makes 1 or 2 loaves, depending on shape.
Video
Notes
Harvest bread makes great dinner rolls, too.
Bread recipes with fruit and nuts require a longer baking time than you may be used to because of the amount of dried fruit. The fruit releases moisture and the bread will be soggy if not cooked long enough. The benefit to that is that it will stay fresher longer, too.
This multi-grain fruit and nut bread recipe is good made into an oblong loaf shape and sliced for sandwiches (try a chicken salad, or peanut butter) or made in a cloche or oval.
It makes great French toast, too!
Any grain combination of flour that you like is fine -- just maintain the total number of cups.
Use at least half white bread flour or use at least ½ cup of vital wheat gluten to give the dough elasticity. I used white flour, whole wheat and (dry) oatmeal in this one..but have used soy, rye, bran, cracked wheat and other combinations in the past.
Use a mixture of whatever kind of dried fruit you like but make sure that the pieces are similar in size. Dice dates and figs, for example, so that they are about the same size as the raisins in this recipe. Doing so will help to ensure even distribution of the fruit and a better texture overall.