Seeded Sourdough Bread

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One of my favourite things to do lately is to experiment with my sourdough starter. I have been trying many different flour combinations and toppings and today will be sharing with you my recipe for a seeded sourdough bread!

This seeded sourdough bread is a variation of my classic white crusty sourdough loaf. This version substitutes ⅓ of the white flour with wholemeal flour and I then covered the bread in mixed seeds (sunflower, pumpkin and sesame), as well as adding some to the dough.

This seeded sourdough bread is fantastic for making sandwiches (it´s AMAZING with a thick layer of cream cheese) or for eating with soup!

Have you made a Sourdough Starter yet?

Have you got a sourdough starter bubbling away in the fridge? If not – why not?! Sourdough starters are amazing and the bread you make with them tastes so much better than yeasted bread!

If you are wanting to make your own sourdough starter, check out this post:

Baking Basics #4 | How to make your own Sourdough Starter

Adding Seeds To The Bread

Adding seeds to bread is fantastic. Not only for the flavour, but also for the nutritional benefits. Seeds are a great source of fibre and healthy fats!

When making this seeded sourdough bread, I added my mixed seeds in two ways. Directly to the dough and on top of the loaf.

After the first proof, when I was knocking back and shaping the dough, ready for the proofing basket, I kneaded in half of the seeds into the dough. I use a proofing basket for a 500g loaf. If you are unsure what to get, I would highly recommend this one.

When it came to making the seeded crust, I did it two ways, resulting in two slightly different breads.

Method 1 – Adding the seeds just before baking

The first time I made this seeded sourdough bread, I made it as I usually would and then put on the seeds just before baking. To do so, I had soaked them in water for a few hours, so that they were nice and plump and wouldn´t burn in the oven. To make them stick to the bread, I brushed the loaf with some beaten egg and then added the soaked seeds on top. It was a bit messy and the bread went quite flat as I was doing it. However, the seeds didn´t burn and stuck to the bread really well! The bread had quite an open texture, as sourdough should have, and tasted very good! Perfect for making sandwiches.

Method 2 – Adding the seeds before the second proof

For my second attempt, I rolled the shaped bread dough in mixed seeds before placing it into the proofing basket. This resulted in a slightly smaller, denser bread. I think coating the bread in the seeds before proofing restricted the bread dough´s growth over-night. However, it was a lot easier, less sticky than with the egg and still tasted really good. The seeds stuck reasonably well to the bread, not quite as well as with the egg, but well enough.

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Next time, I´ll probably stick to the second method, just because it was easier and still worked really well. I think something that restricted the growth was the fact that I rolled the whole bread in seeds. Although it was nice to also have seeds on the bottom of the loaf, next time I might just roll the top in the seeds.

Depending on how you would like your seeded sourdough bread to turn out, just follow whichever method you prefer.

More Bread Recipes:

• Crusty Sourdough Loaf
• Rye Sourdough Bread
• Irish Soda Bread
• German Wholemeal Seeded Loaf
• Cheese and Chive Scones

Seeded Sourdough Bread

Recipe

Ingredients:

• 250g sourdough starter
• 250g strong white flour (white bread flour)
• 125g strong wholemeal flour (wholemeal bread flour)
• 10g fine sea salt
• 130-140ml lukewarm water
• 100g mixed seeds, divided into 2 x 50g

Method:

1. Start by weighing out 250g of your active, bubbly sourdough starter (read about my feeding instructions for your starter prior to baking here).
2. To the bowl, add the two flours, salt and water and mix together with your hands until all the ingredients start to come together. It will still look a bit “shaggy” at this stage.
3. Turn the dough onto a lightly oiled surface to prevent sticking and knead for 10-15 mins until smooth. You´ll know it has been kneaded enough once it has reached “window-pane-stage”. This is when you can stretch out a piece of dough between your fingers, thin enough that when you hold it up against the light, you should be able to see through it and see the strands of gluten in the dough.
4. Return the dough to the lightly oiled bowl and leave to prove for 4-5 hours.
5. If you are wanting to add the seeds just before baking (see method 1 above), place 50g of the mixed seeds into a small bowl. Pour some cold water on top until covered and then leave to soak until needed.
6. After the first prove, turn the dough out onto your work surface. Sprinkle over half of the mixed seeds and knead them into the dough until they are evenly distributed.
7. Next, shape the dough into a round loaf by stretching the sides and folding them into the middle. Flip 180° so that the seam is facing down and rotate between your hands until you have formed a nice round ball. If you are wanting to add the seeds before the second proof (see method 2 above), sprinkle the remaining seeds onto your work surface in an even layer. If the dough is quite dry at this stage, you might want to wet it slightly with some water so that the seeds will stick. Roll the bread dough in the seeds until covered and then place into a well-floured proofing basket.
8. Place the dough into a well-floured proofing basket and leave to prove for a further 8 hours (overnight).
9. Preheat the oven to 220°C and place a roasting tray with cold water at the bottom of the oven.
10. Turn the bread onto a baking sheet lined with baking paper. If you are wanting to add the seeds at this stage (see method 1 above), carefully brush the bread with a bit of beaten egg (you can use the remaining egg to make scrambled eggs for breakfast to go with this bread!). Then drain the excess liquid from the seeds you have been soaking in water and spread them on top of your loaf. Create a slash (about 0.5 cm deep) on top of the bread with a sharp knife just before you put it in the oven.
11. Bake the bread in the preheated oven for 30 mins. Turn down the oven to 200°C and bake for a further 20-30 mins. You can judge if the bread is ready by its colour and if the bread sounds hollow when tapped from below (use oven gloves to pick up the bread).
12. Leave your Seeded Sourdough Bread on a wire rack to cool completely.