Pinkston’s Health Loaf

There are many “health loaf” bread recipes out there. Most have a combination of flours and some have nuts, seeds, and other ingredients to boost nutritional values.

There is one original one, though, at least from what I can gather from a bread recipe box I was sifting through. This recipe I got from my mother in law, who is a recipe collector as well, and it’s a newspaper clipping from the L.A. Times. It was made a few times (based on the condition of the paper I have), and it’s on my ‘to bake’ list. It looks promising!

From the recipe:

“When the story of Marion and Myron Pinkston, the very youthful Mormon couple, was featured in the Food Section [of The L.A. Times] recently, we received written and telephone requests for Marion’s “health loaf.”

The bread, a mix of cooked oats, whole wheat and rye flours and wheat germ, is part of their daily prescription for good health, she said. Toast it, she suggests, then spread with a little diet margarine for a favorite jam for a morning treat.”

This health loaf recipe contains honey, molasses, and a bit of orange marmalade and almond extract. I may try this in my bread machine to make the kneading quicker, but I would need to adjust the amount of flour in the recipe. This one calls for 4 cups of bread flour, but doesn’t use it all. The recipe starts out with 2 cups of bread flour, and adds up to 2 more cups as needed during the hand kneading process.

Pinkston's Health Loaf (Yeast Bread Recipe)

Renee Shelton

Adapted from a L.A. Times clipping.

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RECIPE TAG: yeast breads

SERVINGS: 2 loaves

Ingredients

  

• 3 packages dry yeast
• 2 1/2 cups warm water (105-115 degrees F)
• 1 cup nonfat dry milk powder
• 2 1/2 tablespoons honey
• 1 1/2 teaspoons molasses
• 1 tablespoon orange marmalade
• 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
• 1/4 teaspoon almond extract
• 1 tablespoon salt
• 1/4 cup rye flour
• 2 tablespoons wheat germ
• 1/2 cup cooked oatmeal (leftovers are great)
• 2 cups whole wheat flour
• 4 cups bread flour, about and more as needed

Instructions

 

• Sprinkle the dry yeast over the warm water in a large mixing bowl and stir until dissolved.
• Add in the milk, honey, molasses, orange marmalade, oil, almond extract, and salt. Stir until combined.
• Mix in the rye flour, wheat germ, cooked oatmeal, whole wheat flour, and 2 cups of the bread flour. Mix until a dough forms. Transfer to a well floured work surface, and knead for 10 minutes adding additional bread flour as needed to prevent dough from sticking.
• Transfer the dough to a large, oiled bowl, turning the dough to oiled side up and seam side down. Lightly cover and let rest in a warm area until doubled in size, about an hour.
• Punch down dough, place on work surface, lightly cover, and let rest for 20 minutes.
• Divide the dough in half. Knead one piece lightly and roll out into a rectangle as long as the loaf pan and 3 times as wide. Fold in each side and place seam side down in an oiled loaf pan. Repeat with other dough piece. Let loaves rise until doubled in size, about 40 minutes.
• Bake in preheated 350 degree oven for about 50 minutes, or until the dough tests done and sounds hollow when tapped.
• Cool on wire racks.