Ingredients (2 Loaves)

SOAKER                                                            APPROXIMATE VOLUME MEASUREMENTS
200 g rye flour                                                  1cup + 1/2 cup + 2 tbsp. rye flour
111 g whole wheat flour                                     3/4 cup + 1 tbsp. + 1 tsp. whole wheat flour
5 g salt                                                             1/2 tsp.  salt
150 g flaxseeds                                                 1 cup - 1 tbsp. flaxseeds (whole)
272 g buttermilk                                                1 cup + 3 tbsp. buttermilk

BIGA

311 g bread flour                                               2 cups + 1/3 cup + 1 tbsp. bread flour

1 g instant yeast                                                1/4 tsp. instant yeast

203 g water                                                       3/4 cup + 2 tbsp. + 1 tsp. water

FINAL DOUGH

all soaker and biga                                            all soaker and biga
78 g bread flour                                               1/2 cup + 1 tbsp. +  1 1/2 tsp. bread flour                                         
7 g salt                                                            1 tsp. salt
10 g instant yeast                                             2 3/4 tsp. instant yeast
19 g honey                                                       1 tbsp. honey
14 g pumpkin seed oil (or other vegetable oil)     1 tbsp. pumpkin seed oil (or other vegetable oil)
milk, for brushing                                              milk, for brushing

Directions:

DAY 1

In the morning, stir together all soaker ingredients until well hydrated. Let sit at room temperature for 12 - 24 hrs.

Mix together all biga ingredients at low speed (mixer or hand) for 1 - 2 min., until no flour is left on bottom of bowl. Knead for 2 min. on medium-low speed. Let dough rest for 5 min., then knead for 1 more min. Place biga in lightly oiled bowl, cover and refrigerate.

In the evening, mix together all ingredients fo final dough until well combined (1 - 2 min. on low speed or by hand). Knead for 4 min. on medium-low speed. Let dough rest for 5 min., then resume kneading for another min.  Divide into 2 portions and place dough balls in lightly oiled 1-quart plastic containers (or bowls). Cover and refrigerate overnight.

DAY 2

Remove dough from refrigerator 2 hrs. before using. Shape into 2 boules and place on parchment lined baking sheet. Brush with milk. Score with big star shaped  (or round or square) cookie cutter.

Preheat oven to 425 F, including steam pan.

Let breads rise at room temperature for 45 - 60 min., or until they have grown to 1 1/2 times their original size.

Bake breads at 350 F for 20 min. (with steam), rotate them 180 degrees and continue baking for another 25 - 30 min. (internal temperature at least 195 F). Let cool on wire rack.

STRETCH AND FOLD TECHNIQUE:

Leinsamenbrot can also be made with stretch and fold technique. Prepare only soaker as pre-dough. Add biga ingredients to final dough.

For final dough, dissolve yeast in lukewarm water. Mix it with soaker and all other ingredients for 1 min. at low speed. Let dough sit for 5 min. Knead on medium-low speed for 2 min. Dough should be supple and very tacky, bordering on sticky (adjust with water if needed). Continue kneading for 4 more min., increasing speed to medium-high for last 30 sec. Dough should be tacky.

Stretch and fold dough 4 times, every 10 min. (40 min. total time). Refrigerate overnight.

Remove dough from refrigerator 3 hrs. before baking.

Shape cold dough into 2 boules. Place seam side down on parchment lined baking sheet. Brush with milk, then score with big cookie cutter. Let breads rise for ca. 2 - 3 hrs., or until grown 1 1/2 times their original size. Continue as in recipe above.

VOLUME MEASUREMENTS are only approximate calculations - you have to adjust with water or flour according to what the dough consistency should be like!!!

I love the way this sourdough WW bread came out. It has whole wheat berries (soaked briefly in hot water), whole flax seeds, molasses for color, honey, whole wheat and whole wheat white flour. It is 100% whole wheat without any VWG. I was thrilled with the complex flavors. Made two loaves, one with butter on top, one without to see how the different crusts would taste. Haven't cut the second open because we'll be eating it with Christmas dinner with the parents tonight.

Now on to the traditional Finnish Pulla (I'm Finnish) to practice braiding and a sweet potato  cinnamon pecan sticky bun for mom's birthday tomorrow.

Merry Christmas!

My daughter’s birthday is this week and as she loves hearty, artisan breads, I decided to bake Jeffrey Hamelman’s sourdough seed bread instead of a cake.  

I used King Arthur bread flour and Arrowhead Organic rye.  The seeds were purchased from an organic food coop.  The recipe was tweaked a bit.

Day one (of three): Assemble the liquid levain, soak the flax seeds, and toast the sunflower and sesame seeds:  

Liquid levain: 
4.8 oz. bread flour
6 oz. water
1 oz. mature culture

The recipe calls for a liquid culture.  I opted to try one ounce of my stiff sourdough culture straight from the refrigerator [it had been refreshed the day before] as an experiment.

Mix the levain and allow it to stand (covered, at 70F) for 12 to 16 hours.  The photo shows my levain about two hours after it had been mixed.

Flax seed soaker:   
2.2 oz. flax seeds
6.7 oz. cold water

After you’ve mixed the levain, place 2.2 oz. flax seeds in a container and gently add  6.7 oz. cold water.  Cover and let stand for 12 to 16 hours.   As the flax seeds absorb the water, the mixture will appear gelatinous.

Toast the sunflower and sesame seeds:
3.8 oz. sunflower seeds (shelled)
1.9 oz sesame seeds

The sunflower seeds were toasted on a cookie sheet in a 325F oven for about 20 minutes (stirred occasionally) until browned.  The sesame seeds were browned in a cast iron pan over direct flame.  Stir constantly or they’ll pop out of the pan all over your stove top.

The toasted  seeds were mixed together (smelling oh, so heavenly), moved to a glass bowl, then covered and allowed to rest overnight so the nutty flavors could meld.  

Day two:  Mixing, fermentation, shape, and retard:
1 lb. 8.6 oz. bread flour
2.6 oz whole rye flour
11.3 oz. water.  
.7 oz salt (1 T plus ½ tsp)
All (8.9 oz) of the flax seed soaker
All (5.7 oz) of the toasted sunflower and sesame seeds
10.8 oz. liquid levain (all of the liquid levain except for 2T [1 oz]) (I added all 10.9 oz.)

The desired dough temperature is 76F (see note at the end of this text).

All of the ingredients were added to my KA spiral mixer.  Hamelman instructs to mix at first speed for three minutes, then at second speed for another three minutes.  I think Bread was written primarily for professional bakers and that those mixing instructions are for a heavy duty commercial mixer, so I don’t follow them.

I used the first speed only long enough to make sure the levain, water, salt, flour, and seeds were well mixed, then let the dough autolyse for 20 minutes.  After the autolyse, the dough was moved to my counter top where I stretched and folded until it felt supple.

Bulk fermentation is 2.5 hours.  The dough next was placed in a bowl for the bulk fermentation.  I folded it twice at 50-minute intervals.

I retarded the bread on a full sheet of parchment placed on a three-sided cookie sheet.  These three loaves were placed in a large food-grade plastic bag and moved to the refrigerator. The recipe calls for two large loaves, but I prefer three smaller loaves.

Final fermentation: The final fermentation can be up to 18 hours at 42F.

Day three: Bake and cool.

These loaves rose nicely during the final fermentation and even while unbaked, the perfume of the toasted seeds was quite wonderful.

The retarded breads had about an hour’s warm-up time while the oven was preheated to 460F.  They were scored and moved to the hot oven stone, then half a cup of hot water was dumped in the broiler pan under the stone.  Total bake time was 45 minutes.

The fragrance of the cooling bread was awesome.

I’ll give myself a “D” for scoring, but at least it’s a small improvement.

I waited 24 hours before slicing the bread, to allow the flavors to combine and mature.  The mix of the sunflower, flax, and sesame seeds, combined with the caramelized crust, provides a burst of flavor that borders on smokiness.  I loved the taste, fragrance, and texture of this bread.

A different take on crumb:  The kids and grandkids claim that too many holes means there’s too little bread, so they call it diet bread.  This should make them all happy.

If you enjoy an aromatic hearty bread, I’d encourage you to try Hamelman’s SD seed bread.  It's delicious toasted for breakfast, or with a bit of unsalted butter with a salad.  Or even plain!

Now, about desired dough temperature.  If you have Hamelman’s Bread, you’ll have read pages 382-385.  If you’re not familiar with the term, it is a formula used to determine the correct temperature of the water to be added to your flour and other ingredients.  It makes a difference in the quality of your bread.

Rather than reinventing the wheel, I direct you to WildYeast's blog where she so masterfully covers the subject and even provides a free downloadable calculator.  (Thank you, Susan!).

Hamelman's Rye with Flax Seeds1

Hamelman's Flaxseed Bread - crumb

Jeffrey Hamelman's Flaxseed Bread from "Bread" is a 60% sourdough rye. It is almost exactly the same formula as his 66% sourdough rye, with the addition of flaxseeds added to the dough as a soaker. This is a delicious bread, but the wonderful flavor really comes together the day after baking.  One day 2, it is mildly sour with a prominant, hearty rye flavor mixed with a very distinct flavor of flaxseed. The seseme seeds on top, which Hamelman says are traditional, add another nice flavor and a nice additional crunch.

I have made many rye breads before and love them, but this is my first attempt at one of Hamelman's German-style rye breads. I must give credit to Eric (ehanner), whose beautiful rye breads from Hamelman inspired me to take the plunge.

 David

This morning I proofed and baked  Jeffery Hamelman's "Sourdough Seed Bread" from his book, "Bread." This is basically a pain au levain with toasted seseme and sunflower seeds and a soaker of flax seeds. Hamelman is clear that this bread's flavor benefits from slow fermentation. You can spike the dough with commercial yeast, but it's better not to. You can bake it the day it's mixed, but it's better to let it cold-retard. I went for all the flavor I could get, and I got it in abundance!

Recipe can be found here (http://www.sqpixels.net/files/3seedbrearolls01.html)