This is my third version of a seed bread. This one is based on a recipe in Emmanuel Hadjiandreou’s book How to Make Sourdough. He had in mind forming the dough into a long loaf but I made it into a boule so that I could bake it in my Lodge combo cooker. I also added a little bit of yeast to ensure a good rise in a reasonable period of time.
The bread contains 70 g. of seeds. The author used 30 g. sesame seeds, 30 g. linseeds, and 10 g. hemp seeds. I used seeds that I had on hand, which were 15 g. flaxseeds, 15 g. sesame seeds, 20 g. sunflower seeds, and 20 g. pumpkin seeds. The pumpkin seeds were a mistake since the outer part is not edible. (Are there hulled pumpkin seeds which I should have used?)
70 g. mixed seeds (See note above)
100 g. boiling water
400 g. whole wheat flour (I used Turkey Red)
8 g. salt
20 g. 50/50 sourdough starter
¼ tsp. yeast
250 g. lukewarm water
Rolled oats to coat the loaf (I wanted to use Old-Fashioned Oats but all I had on hand was 1-minute oats, but they were fine)
Combine the seeds and the boiling water in a small bowl. Let the seeds soak for 30 minutes.
In a medium container, mix together the flour and salt.
Put the seeds and their liquid in a large mixing bowl. Add the sourdough starter, yeast, and lukewarm water. Stir and let the yeast bloom for 5 minutes. Add the flour and salt. Mix with a dough whisk until a dough is formed. Cover and allow to rest for 10 minutes. With a wet hand, stretch and fold the dough and then recover to rest for another 10 minutes. Repeat for a total of 4 sets of stretches and folds. After the 4th stretch and fold set cover the dough and let it rise until doubled, 4-6 hours, depending on kitchen temperature.
After the dough has proofed, flour a work surface and a banneton with a cloth liner. Sprinkle a layer of rolled oats on the banneton. Ease the dough out of the doubling container and with floured hands form it into a ball. Put it in the banneton seam side up and put the entire container in a clean plastic bag, such as a supermarket produce bag. Tie the bag closed and put the banneton and bag into the refrigerator for an overnight rise.
The next morning, put a Lodge combo cooker bottom and top (~5 quart in size) separately into the oven and heat to 450 degrees. After about 30 minutes when everything is preheated, put a circle of baking parchment on top of the dough, put a plate on top of the baking parchment, and flip the plate and banneton over so the banneton is on top and the plate is underneath. Remove the banneton and score the top with a lamé or sharp knife in a hashtag pattern.
Put the dough carefully in the bottom of the combo cooker and put the lid on. Bake for 30 minutes. Remove the lid and bake for another 15-20 minutes until the crust is nicely browned but not burned. Remove the pot from the oven and with a spatula, remove the bread from the pot and allow to cool on a wire rack for at least 30 minutes before cutting it.