Wholemeal brioches are the perfect solution if you are looking for a delicious way to start your day, without weighing yourself down too much. In fact, who doesn’t love croissants for breakfast? Fragrant, sweet and delicious, they are a real comfort food, but traditional ones are also rich in butter, fat and sugar. In short, not very suitable for those who follow a low-calorie diet or a healthy diet. So should you give up eating them? Absolutely not.
And here comes our wholemeal brioche, without butter and eggs. And with a very small amount of sugar, just 24 grams for 8 brioches.
It is not a question of flaky croissants, which have a laborious and long preparation and for which butter (or margarine) is necessary. But these wholemeal croissants are soft, digestible and very tasty.
Wholemeal brioche recipe
Wholemeal brioche
Ingredients
- 80 g of wholemeal flour
- 120 g of Manitoba flour
- 40ml of water
- 60 ml of fresh whole milk 1 tablespoon for brushing
- 24 g of sugar
- 24 ml of seed oil
- 1 g of dry brewer’s yeast
- a pinch of salt
- 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 5 g of honey
- 4 g of flax seeds
Instructions
- Mix wholemeal flour and manitoba flour in a bowl.
- Mix in the flax seeds. Prepare a yeast: in another bowl mix 40 g of flour taken from the total with the yeast and 20 ml of water.
- Knead for a few minutes with a spoon until a smooth and homogeneous batter is obtained. Cover it with plastic wrap and let it rise, in a warm place, until doubled in size.
- When the yeast has doubled in size and filled with air bubbles, pour the flour mixed with the flaxseed into a bowl of a planetary mixer (if you don’t have a planetary mixer, knead with your hands), add the yeast.
- Combine cold milk, sugar, vanilla extract. Knead vigorously with the dough hook until the dough is smooth and elastic, which detaches from the edges of the bowl.
- At this point, add the oil a little at a time: do not add more oil if the one added previously is not perfectly blended. You can do this step with the stand mixer (using the spiral hook) or by hand, on a work surface.
- When the mixture has perfectly absorbed all the oil and is well strung (ie very elastic, which does not stick to the work surface or bowl), flatten the dough with your fingertips to form a sort of rectangle.
- Fold it in three: fold the top side towards the center, fold the bottom side towards the center as well. Rotate the dough and repeat the operation, at this point turn it over, then pirlalo (give it a spherical shape), in order to make it rounder. Form a round loaf and leave it to rise for about 3 hours. If you want a lighter and more digestible dough, place it in the refrigerator, in the bowl covered with plastic wrap, for about 12 hours.
- When the compound is well leavened, tripled in volume, take it back and roll it out with a rolling pin to form a rectangle. Divide the rectangle into 8 triangles, so you get 8 croissants in total.
- Brush the triangles with honey. Roll each triangle from the widest base towards the tip.
- Place the croissants to rise on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper for a couple of hours.
- Preheat the oven to 180°, bake the croissants after having brushed them with a little milk and cook them for 15 minutes or until they are golden brown. Do the toothpick test: it should come out clean.
- Keep the croissants in food sachets for 3 days, or freeze them and take them out of the freezer if necessary, a couple of hours before consuming them.
Note
Wholemeal brioches in diets and menus
With the doses that we have indicated you will be able to obtain about 8 brioches. Each brioche brings about 131 calories, for a total, per portion of 262 calories (two croissants each).
A manageable amount within an important meal such as breakfast. We advise you to always combine carbohydrates with a protein source, which can be a cup of cow’s milk or a vegetable drink or a yogurt, and, if you want, complete with fresh fruit for more vitamins, fibers and natural sugars.
Nutritional properties of wholemeal brioches
The key ingredient in wholemeal croissants is of course wholemeal flour. It is an unrefined flour, therefore complete with bran and fibres.
Two elements that help intestinal transit and increase the sense of satiety. Among the great advantages of wholemeal flours (and of all wholemeal cereals), there is that of keeping blood sugar low. This is because the presence of fibers slows down the absorption of sugars, avoiding glycemic peaks and maintaining a sense of satiety for longer.
Another important ingredient are flax seeds which are used, ground, in place of eggs. They are a food very rich in good fats, i.e. with a high presence of Omega-3 and Omega-6. Here is their nutritional picture per 100 grams of product.
Mineral salts
- Ferro: 5,73 mg.
- Calcium: 255mg.
- Sodium: 30mg.
- Potassium: 813 mg.
- Phosphorus: 642 mg.
- Zinco: 4,34 mg.
- Magnesio: 392 mg.
- Rame: 1,22 mg.
- Selenium: 25.4 μg.
Water soluble vitamins
- B1: 1,64 mg.
- B2: 0,62 mg.
- C: 0,6 mg.
- B3: 3,08 mg.
- B6: 0,47 mg.
Fat-soluble vitamins
- E: 0,5 mg
- K: 4,3 μg
- Lutein + Zeaxanthin 651 µg.
Flax seeds have a strong antioxidant action, therefore protective of the tissues. Thanks to the high amount of Omega-3 and Omega-6 they protect our cardiovascular system. Flaxseeds also protect brain function and neurological tissue. In addition to being a real panacea for hair, skin and nails.
In closing, honey, a natural sweetener that is a real food, makes wholemeal brioche even more delicious. Not only sweetness, therefore, but also many precious trace elements for this product, a good source of vitamin C, potassium and iron. Ideal for children, sportsmen and convalescents.
