this recipe is a variation on the sprouted wheat and seeds bread - it does not require sprouting time, so it is a little faster if you need bread and don't have sprouts! its very different as well - it has a soft light crust that doesn't tear and is easy to chew and slice... the soaked seeds give a great taste and texture, while providing extra nutrition, and the whole wheat flour around the crust also gives a nutty flavor... an excellent sandwich loaf!


THE RECIPE:
ideally, all ingredients should be organic for maximum health benefits...

1 cup starter

6 cups unbleached white flour
2 cups whole wheat flour
2 cups w.w. pastry flour

2 tbsp. unhulled sesame seeds
2 tbsp. raw sunflower seeds
2 tbsp. golden or regular flax seeds
2 tbsp. chia seeds

for the seeds, you will need 4 glass jars (pint and half pint mason jars, or reused nut butter or jelly jars work great)... in one jar, place 2 tbsp. of chia seeds in 2 cups of water - cover with lid and shake well, so all seeds are mixed with the water... this will become thick, much like tapioca pudding, and in addition to being highly nutritious, helps retain moisture in the bread... in the other 3 jars, add 2 tbsp. each: raw flax seeds, raw hulled sunflower seeds, raw unhulled sesame seeds, and add about 3/4 cup of water to each jar

you will also need to prepare your sourdough starter for baking the next morning... depending on the kind you are using, you will need about 1 cup of active starter for baking... i prepare mine at the same time as the seeds, adding water and flour so it is nice and bubbly by bake time!

next morning, rinse the sunflower, flax, and sesame seeds in a fine strainer under running water (do not rinse chia seeds - the entire contents of the jar go in the dough!) - soaking overnight and rinsing makes the seeds much easier to digest and in turn improves nutrition absorption... the flax seeds will be slimy and gooey, but just rinse them all together and set aside

in a large pot or bowl, combine all the flour *except* 1 cup of whole wheat - set this aside for kneading... add starter and 3 to 4 cups of water (depends how dry your flour is) to the flour, then add the rinsed seeds and the entire jar of chia seeds and water - it will be a little like pudding! stir all ingredients well, cover, and set aside for about 1 hour... add 1 1/2 to 2 tbsp. of sea salt, stir, then turn dough onto a well floured counter and knead for 10 minutes, using the remaining cup of whole wheat flour for kneading... return dough to pot, cover, and let sit for 4 hours

after 4 hours, remove from pot / bowl and on a board lightly dusted with the whole wheat flour... cut the dough evenly into loaves (usually i do 5 or 6 small loaves, but you can also use 3 to 4 loaf pans or whatever is handy), knead each piece, lightly cover in flour, and set aside... i just let them rise on the same floured board, with a piece of cloth / kitchen towel to cover them, to keep them from drying too much... when using loaf pans or baking dishes, it is necessary to oil them before adding the dough (it is also possible to use baking sheets to cook the loaves, but be sure that the bottoms of the bread are well floured, and keep an eye on them as they bake)... let your loaves raise another 4 hours

about 3 /12 hours into the second raising, pre-heat your oven to 500 degrees... i use a baking stone, and place the loaves directly onto that, without any oil or extra flour / corn meal etc. - slashing each loaf in three places to get an even bake... if you are using bread pans, just put them in directly... bake for about 25 minutes, until it turns a nice medium to dark brown... you may need to go 30 minutes if you do larger loaves or loaf pans, and timing also depends on your oven

remove and cool on wire racks and store in a bread box, or slice and freeze in freezer bags for future use... sourdough bread should not be refrigerated, or stored in plastic except for freezing... a bread box, paper bag, or aluminum foil work best! your bread should be light and fluffy, with a delicious nutty flavor and a mild healthy sweetness from the wheat sprouts... hope you enjoy!


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