Seeded Multigrain Sourdough

Before you start

Seeds added dry to bread pull water out of the dough as it bakes, leaving a crumbly loaf with hard little pebbles in it. A soaker fixes that. Here toasted sunflower, pumpkin and sesame seeds plus flax are steeped in an equal weight of boiling water until the flax turns gelatinous, then folded into a sourdough made with bread, whole wheat and rye flours. The seeds arrive already hydrated, so the crumb stays moist for days.

Baking it in a loaf pan keeps this formula practical: soaker-heavy dough is sticky and slack, and the pan gives it structure without fussy shaping. Expect the dough to feel wetter after the soaker goes in. Resist adding flour; wet hands and a bench scraper are enough.

Ingredients

• Seed soaker100 g (about ¾ cup total) mixed seeds: 30 g flax, 30 g sunflower, 25 g pumpkin, 15 g sesame — toast all but the flax in a dry pan until fragrant
• 100 g (scant ½ cup) boiling water
• Dough80 g levain (100% hydration) — 40 g flour and 40 g water fed with a spoonful of starter 4–6 hours earlier
• 300 g (2½ cups) bread flour
• 75 g (⅔ cup) whole wheat flour
• 25 g (¼ cup) whole rye flour
• 280 g (1 cup + 3 tbsp) water — about 27°C (80°F)
• 15 g (2 tsp) honey
• 9 g (1½ tsp) fine sea salt
• Finish2 tbsp rolled oats or extra seeds — for the top

Method

1. Toast the sunflower, pumpkin and sesame seeds in a dry skillet over medium heat for 3 to 4 minutes, stirring, until the sesame is light gold. Tip into a bowl with the flax, pour over the 100 g boiling water, stir and cover. Leave at least 1 hour; it should look thick, with no pooled water.
2. Mix the three flours, 260 g of the water and the honey until no dry patches remain. Cover and rest 30 minutes.
3. Add the levain, salt and remaining 20 g water. Pinch through the dough and fold it over itself for about 3 minutes, until it feels unified and slightly springy.
4. After 30 minutes, spread the soaker over the dough and squeeze it in with a wet hand until the seeds are evenly distributed. The dough will loosen and look shaggy again; that is normal.
5. Give the dough three sets of coil folds 30 minutes apart, lifting it from the middle and letting the ends tuck under. Then let it rest, covered, until it has grown by about 60% and shows bubbles at the edges, about 4 hours from mixing at 24–25°C (75–77°F).
6. Grease the loaf pan. Turn the dough onto a lightly wet counter, pat it into a rectangle as wide as the pan is long, and roll it up firmly into a log. Mist the top with water, roll it in the oats, and set it seam side down in the pan.
7. Cover and proof at room temperature for 2 to 3 hours, until the center of the dough domes about 1 cm (½ in) above the rim and a floured fingertip leaves a dent that springs back slowly.
8. Bake at 220°C (425°F) on the middle rack for 45 to 50 minutes, until deep brown and 96°C (205°F) in the center. Turn the loaf out after 10 minutes and cool on a rack for at least 2 hours before slicing.

Tips for success

• Weigh the seeds and water for the soaker; too little water and the seeds will steal moisture from the crumb.
• Rye and flax make the dough sticky. Keep a bowl of water nearby and wet your hands instead of reaching for flour.
• Cut with a serrated knife and a gentle sawing motion. Pressing down tears seeded crumb and pops seeds loose.

Substitutions

Whole rye flour

Replace with more whole wheat flour. The loaf will be a little lighter and less earthy, and the dough slightly less tacky.

Flax

Chia seeds absorb water similarly; use the same weight. Leaving out a gelling seed entirely makes the soaker runny, so cut the soaker water to 70 g.

Honey

Maple syrup or barley malt syrup swap one for one. Malt syrup deepens the color and adds a faint malty note.

Variations

Free-form boule

Shape into a tight round, proof in a floured banneton overnight in the refrigerator and bake in a preheated Dutch oven at 245°C (475°F), 20 minutes covered and 20 to 25 uncovered.

Toasted oat and walnut

Replace the pumpkin and sesame with 40 g rolled oats in the soaker and fold in 50 g chopped toasted walnuts with it.

Troubleshooting

Crumb is crumbly and seeds feel hard

The soaker was too short or too dry. Give it at least an hour, or soak overnight in the refrigerator, and check that it has absorbed all the water.

Loaf sank in the middle

It over-proofed in the pan, which happens quickly with whole grains. Bake when the dough is about 1 cm above the rim and the dent springs back slowly, not when it stays.

Pale sides and bottom

Glass or dark nonstick pans heat differently. Leave the loaf out of the pan for the last 5 minutes on the oven rack to color the sides.

Storage

Wrap the cooled loaf in a cloth or keep it in a bread box for 4 to 5 days; the hydrated seeds help it hold moisture. Freeze sliced bread in a zip-top bag for up to 3 months and toast slices straight from the freezer.

Safety notes

Do not taste the raw dough; raw flour is only made safe by baking. Contains wheat and sesame.