we are officially in the thicket of winter, which for most people means a miserable period of darkness and coldness and wetness and <insert your other gloomy adjectives of choice>.
but from misery breeds opportunity i say! an opportunity to indulge and find comfort in all the warm, lovely carbohydrates. an opportunity to crank your oven up to the highest setting and to hover by it as the aromas and heat waft out of the kitchen.
that doesn’t so bad right?
this recipe for seeded sourdough is perfect for those who, like me, also reach for heartier, darker whole grains during the winter. packed with flavor and seeds, serve this loaf warm with a thick slab of butter or with your favorite instant pot stews.
notes
at first glance, the hydration might seem alarmingly high (85%), but the wheat flour absorbs it all and yields an extensible, pliable dough that isn’t sticky or hard to work with. i promise.
i’ve added a hefty portion of rye in addition to the whole wheat to add even more depth of flavor and to balance out water absorption a bit. when i think of my favorite seeded loaves (mostly dutch and german breads), rye is always there.
lastly, the seeds i’m using in the recipe are merely suggestions — i’ve opted for pumpkin, sunflower, hemp, and fennel seeds (the fennel in particular adds a beautiful flavor and i’d highly recommend if you are a fennel fan), but feel free to use whatever fits your fancy. i would recommend 40g of larger seeds and 20g of smaller seeds.
baker’s percentage & basic timetable
the percentages for water and flour only account for the final dough build, and do not include the levain formula build.
| ingredient | baker’s percentage |
| whole wheat flour | 50% |
| bread flour | 35% |
| rye flour | 15% |
| water | 85% |
| salt | 2.5% |
| levain | 25% |
| seeds (dry) | 20% |
| step | time |
| levain build | 8 hours |
| bulk rise | 9 hours |
| folds | 3 folds 1 lamination |
| cold proof | 14 – 18 hours |
| bake | 45 minutes |
seeded sourdough
formula
- 15 g levain
- 15 g king arthur whole wheat flour
- 60 g king arthur all purpose flour
- 60 g water @ 85°F
- 150 g king arthur whole wheat flour
- 105 g king arthur flour bread flour
- 45 g bob's red mill dark rye flour
- 255 g water @ 90°F
- 7 g sea salt
- 75 g levain
- 20 g pumpkin seed
- 20 g sunflower seed
- 10 g hemp seed
- 10 g fennel seed
- 2 tbsp rolled oats
- 1 tbsp pumpkin seeds
- 1 tbsp sunflower seeds
- 1 tbsp flax seeds
method
- add seeds to a small jar, and cover with double the amount of water, about 120g. cover, and store in fridge overnight.
- refresh your starter using levain build formula, and stiff starter method.
- in a large bowl, mix all flours together. slowly add the water, mixing with a rubber spatula, making sure to incorporate the water into the flour well, stopping when all the flour is hydrated. let sit, covered, for 30 minutes.
- sprinkle salt evenly over autolysed dough. incorporate gently by folding dough over a 2-3 times. then, measure out ripe starter, and add to bowl. mix using the pincer method, for about 6-7 minutes. target final temperature should be 78 degrees.
- this dough needs 1 lamination (see below) to incorporate the seeds, and 3 stretch and folds afterwards, spaced 45 minutes apart. in the wintertime with a room temperature of around 70°F, this dough needed a bulk rise of about 9 hours.
- remove seed soaker from the fridge, and strain so there is no excess water.
- spray a clean surface with water. dump out dough and stretch out onto wet surface, like you're making pizza.
- sprinkle seed mixture onto dough evenly.
- fold dough up section by section, until it resembles a stack.
- incorporate seeds gently by mixing again using the pincer method for a few minutes.
- slowly transfer dough from bowl onto a lightly floured surface, so it lays out in a vaguely rectangular looking shape.
- stretch the dough very lightly and gently fold it onto itself 4 times
- i like shaping these like a batard, using what i like to call the "burrito method."
- 1. gently tug the top, short end of the vaguely rectangular looking shape, and fold over a small section.
- 2. grab a tiny bit of dough from the left side, and tug it over onto the right side. grab a tiny bit of dough from the right side and tug it over onto the left side. continue pattern downwards to form a stitch-like appearance.
- 3. when you get close to the bottom end, fold over a small piece upwards. then do one final stitch to seal.
- 4. take the top end of the burrito, and roll it over onto itself, kind of like a cinnamon roll.
- 5. seal the ends by pinching the holes shut.
- mix your multi-seed topper. i've included my ratio above, you can use whatever seeds or grains you'd like. just make sure these seeds are raw & untoasted — they'll get pretty toasty in the oven.
- if the top of the dough is sticky enough, you should be able to grab a handful of your seed coating and directly cover the smooth face of the batard. if the top is not sticky enough, you can take a spray bottle and lightly spray the top until damp. then, the seed coating should pretty easily adhere to the dough.
- lightly flour a lined bannetone or other proofing vesicle. flip the top of the dough over, and gently transfer the dough seam side up into the bannetone.
- place bannetone inside of a blastic bag to cover, and place in fridge overnight for 16 hours.
- place dutch oven with lid on into the oven. pre-heat oven to 495°F for an hour.
- dough is proofed when it passes the finger dent test. remove bannetone from fridge.
- flip dough out of bannetone onto a cut piece of parchment paper.
- scoring is tricky with this loaf because the seeds form a sort of crust on the proofed dough. i keep it simple with this loaf with just a single, vertical slash length wise, about 1/8" deep, and 1/4” away from both edges.
- transfer scored dough to dutch oven. decrease temperature to 485°F. with the lid on, bake for 30 minutes. then, decrease to 475°F and take the lid off. bake for about another 15 minutes, or whenever the crust turns the color you like it (i go for a pretty deep brown).
- let this loaf cool on a wire rack (or something else that allows the air to circulate) for at least 2 hours before slicing.
Thanks for sharing, it looks great! I’m trying this now, but just a question with the pincing after lamination – are you meant to break the gluten here or just softly push the seeds in? I’m worried it’s breaking the gluten strength and will end up over mixing.