Hemp Protein Powder Bread

The famous Cornell Bread was created in the 1940s by Dr. Clive McKay, a nutrition professor at the school. Made with a blend of soy flour, milk powder and wheat germ, it was meant to be economical and healthful. Because Dr. McKay wanted the recipe to appeal to the masses the recipe called for white flour rather than whole wheat. Later, as the recipe gained popularity, health oriented bakers began substituting whole wheat flour.

So now there are different versions of the recipe, most with a combination of flours along with the signature blend of soy flour, dry milk and wheat germ. My version is a little unusual. I couldn't find soy flour and substituted hemp protein powder to make Hemp Protein Powder Bread.

Jane Brody's Cornell Bread

My version of the recipe is an offshoot of Jane Brody's recipe from Jane Brody's Good Food Book. In addition to the wheat flour (and the hemp protein powder), I added a little honey. I also halved the recipe to make one nice sized loaf. We love it! Fuzz has been eating it with turkey sandwiches and I've been using it for peanut butter toast.   It's a little denser than most yeast breads thanks to the protein powder, but it slices neatly and has a pleasant flavor. Hemp protein powder is a greenish color, so the bread has interesting, earthy hue that looks nice when topped with pumpkin seeds. This is how the dough looked right before I put it in the oven.

Omitting the Milk Powder

And that was batch one. I've made it three times already with variations.  For those of you who do not drink milk, I'm happy to say Hemp Protein Powder Bread can also be made by omitting the milk powder and using almond milk in place of some of the water.  Here's a picture of the results, though in this loaf I used a bit less flour (13.5 oz instead of 15 oz) and the top sank.

I made the almond milk variation again with the full 15 oz of flour and had a nicer top.  Despite the slightly sinkage, all of the variations worked and had a good texture.

When we finally eat all this bread, I think I'll try another variation from Mother Earth News.  It is sweeter and uses 100% whole wheat flour. Jane Brody has another similar recipe that is sweeter and calls for the addition of oats. It's called High Protein 3 Grain Bread and I think the hemp protein powder would work well in that, too.

And finally, if you don't have time to make bread but are interesting what I think is a pretty fascinating evolution of a bread recipe, here's an article about Dr. McCay and is famous bread from the Soy Info Center.

• Oat, Flax & Hemp Chocolate Chip Cookies
• Yeast Banana Bread
• Raw Hemp Chocolate Chunk Blondies
• Chocolate Chip Peanut Butter Protein Cookies
• Small Batch Banana Muffins with Protein Powder

Recipe

Hemp Protein Powder Bread

Cookie Madness

Hemp Protein Powder Bread is a twist on the old Cornell Bread which was made with a combination of all-purpose flour and soy flour.

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Prep Time 20 minutes mins

Cook Time 3 hours hrs 20 minutes mins

Total Time 3 hours hrs 40 minutes mins

Course Bread

Cuisine American

Servings 24

Ingredients

 

• 1 ½ cups warm water see variation
• 1 packet active dry yeast 2 ¼ teaspoons
• 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
• 1 ½ cups whole wheat flour 7.5 oz -- I used the weight, volume is estimate
• 1 ½ cups bread flour 7.5 oz I used the weight, volume is an estimate
• ½ cup hemp protein powder or soy flour
• 1 ½ tablespoons wheat germ
• ¼ cup plus 2 tablespoons dry milk powder see almond milk variation
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 2 tablespoons honey

Instructions

 

• Grease an 8 ½ by 4 ½ inch (or a 9x5 inch) loaf pan and line with a strip of parchment, then grease parchment and dust pan with flour.
• Dissolve the yeast in the warm water and set aside.
• In the bowl of a stand mixer, combine the flour, bread flour, wheat germ, protein powder, milk powder and salt. Stir well.
• Add the water/yeast mixture and the honey and stir until blended, then attach dough hook and allow the mixer to knead the dough for about 7 minutes or until it is smooth and elastic, stopping after a minute or two to scrape the side of the bowl. If dough is sticking to the sides, sprinkle more flour around the sides of the bowl. Dough should be fairly hefty and clear the sides. It should not be too sticky.
• Transfer dough to a greased bowl. Cover and allow it to rise for about an hour or until doubled in bulk. This could take an hour to an hour and a half.
• Punch down the dough, shape into a ball, then squish it into a brick shape and transfer to a loaf pan. Allow the dough to rise for another hour.
• If desired, brush the top of the loaf with a little egg white and sprinkle on some pumpkin or sunflower seeds.
• Bake at 350 degrees F. for about 50 minutes or until dough sounds hollow when tapped.
• Let cool completely before slicing. Makes 1 30 oz loaf.

Notes

If you don't have the dry milk powder and want to use regular milk or a vegan milk such as almond milk, omit the dry milk powder and use 1 cup of milk (or almond milk) and ½ cup of warm water. Dissolve the yeast in the half cup of water. In my experience, the almond milk version has a slightly less rounded top.

Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!