Actually, we call them soakers, and they are bursting with nutrition. Raw seeds left to soak overnight to initiate the germination cycle of the seed. The seeds in this loaf are soaked right along with the flour in the soaker portion of the dough. Let the soaker sit for atleast 12 hours; sixteen would be even better. This loaf is always a favorite.
* If you would like to get a jump start on soaking the seeds, begin soaking them three or four hours before you add them to the soaker dough. The head start will be good for them and they will finish plumping up in the dough.
Before making this or any other yeast bread recipe
on this site may I suggest reading the
"Making Yeast Breads" section of this site.
Sprouted Seed Loaf
Preheat oven to 425F. Use a stone if you have one.
Final baking temperature will be 325F.
Cook time approx 35 minutes
Biga 2 Cup Freshly Ground Whole Wheat Flour 260 grams
1/4 tsp Instant Yeast -
3/4 Cup cool water 180 grams
Mix ingredients together and knead until incorporated, about 1 minute. Rest five minutes. Knead for an additional minute. Cover in air tight container and refrigetate 8 - 12 hours. Use anytime within 72 hours. I make mine before I go to bed. It does its thing while I'm sleeping. Make sure that you allow the Biga to warm to room temperature before using.
Soaker 2 Cup freshly Ground Wheat Flour 260 grams
1/2 tsp Salt -
1 Tbsp Flax Seed 12 grams
3 Tbsp Raw Hulled Sunflower Seeds 30 grams
3 Tbsp Raw Hulled Pumpkin Seeds
3/4 Cup Milk Scalded and Cooled 180 grams
2 Tbsp Honey 40 grams
Mix the soaker at the same time you do the Biga. You can keep the soaker on the counter, but I throw mine in the fridge. Just allow it to warm up to room temp before using.
Final Dough All of Biga
All of Soaker
2 tsp Active Dry Yeast
1 tsp Salt
2 Tbsp Honey
2 Tbsp Butter softened
Combine: Cut the Biga and the Soaker in pieces and add them to the bowl. Sprinkle the yeast and salt over the pre-doughs, add the honey and butter. Knead the doughs and enrichments together. Turn the dough out onto the counter and continue kneading until all of the ingredients are thoroughly incorporate, about four minutes. If needed, se a bench scraper to scrape up the dough and bring it back to you.
Knead: Knead an additional 10-12 minutes, approximately 600 strokes. The dough will become shaggy at first, but will begin to come together and form a ball. Remember your bench scraper. I knead with my left hand at this point and scrape the dough up and over with my right. DO NOT ADD ADDITIONAL FLOUR.
Autolyse: Place the dough in a lightly oiled bowl. Cover the dough with a damp towel or plastic wrap and allow the dough to rest for at least 20 minutes. If you can afford the time, allow the dough a full 30 minute autolyse. The dough will undergo a drastic change in texture as it rests and soaks in moisture.
Knead: After the autolyse, the dough will be smooth and elastic, another 10 minute kneading cycle and the dough will be ready for fermentation. Make sure your gluten is completely developed by doing the window pane test. See Making Yeast Breads
Fermentation: Place the dough in a lightly oiled container. I use a Clear container with tall straight sides which allows me to watch the dough. Allow the dough to rest and double in size, 45 minutes to an hour. During fermentation the flavors of the dough will continue to develop. The gluten is becoming even more elastic and the dough becomes fully hydrated.
Shape: Turn the dough out onto a lightly greased counter top. I use two methods combined to shape my loaves.
Roll the dough into a long rectangle. Fold the top third down and seal the edge by compressing it with your fingers. Fold the bottom third of the rectangle up over the top third and compress the seam. You have just created another rectangle only smaller. Turn the dough a half turn so that the length is going away from you, and roll it out again to a large rectangle.
Repeat this process a second time.
Roll the dough into a long rectangel the width of your bread pan. Tightly roll the dough up jelly roll style tugging slightly as you go. This will creat a nice tight outer layer on the bread and aid in a nice shape as the loaf proofs.
Place the rolled loaf into a lightly greased bread pan and allow it to proof until it has risen double.
Bake: Bake the loaf in a 425 degree oven with steam for five minutes. Turn the oven temperature down to 325 degrees and cook an additional 30 minutes or until the loaf is done.
Cool: Remove the bread from the oven and cool on a rack for five minutes. Remove the loaf from the pan and allow the loaf to cool completely.