A healthy, filling, delicious bread made with the digestive benefits of sourdough and nutritional benefits of whole grains and seeds.
Sourdough May Help With Gluten Intolerance
Have you jumped on the sourdough train yet? You probably ought to. It’s a great ride. For years, I tried different gluten free breads, and I was always left a little sad. There are options out there that are decent, if gluten free is your only option but I didn’t want just decent.
When I finally discovered sourdough twelve years ago, I was so thrilled. With sourdough, I could make delicious, soft, satisfying bread that didn’t bother my children. It was a lifesaver.
One of the best things about sourdough is that it works for loads of different recipes. It isn’t just for bread. Breakfast items are wonderful with sourdough. Crackers, tortillas, crusts, muffins all benefit from sourdough. It’s amazing.
Unfortunately, not all people who need to be gluten free can tolerate sourdough. My dad is allergic to wheat and not gluten and he can’t have sourdough.
I have made sourdough a few times for people with extreme reactions to gluten and with sourdough bread, soaked for at least 15 hours, they have not had the same reaction. Try it out and see if it will work for you, but do it carefully, especially if you have extreme reactions.
Multigrain or Whole Grain
This recipe calls for a multigrain flour. I grind multiple different grains to make my flour. I keep a supply of it always on hand.
You can use whatever whole grain flour you have at your house in this recipe, or you can make your own multigrain flour, if you want.
I grind together equal parts whole wheat, Kamut, einkorn, spelt, and rye. You can add barley if you want or oats or just choose a couple of these grains.
The bread is really totally flexible and yummy with all different options.
To Seed or Not to Seed
The other flexible part of this recipe is the seeds. I make a mixture of 5-6 seeds, depending on what I have in my pantry that week.
I typically use pumpkin seeds, hemp hearts, chia seeds, flax seeds, sunflower seeds and sesame seeds. Sometimes I throw in some millet or amaranth, if I have it.
The seeds are really based on preference. You can skip them completely if you want. You can add more than the 5 tablespoons the recipe calls for as well. I personally love the crunch and nutrition they add to the bread.
These seeds increase the protein in the bread as well as levels of magnesium and zinc. Many of them are full of good omega fats that our bodies need.
Seeded Multigrain Sourdough Bread
1 1/2 cups water
1/2 cup light olive oil or butter – see notes
1 cup active sourdough starter
1/2 cup molasses or honey or half of each
1 tablespoon salt
1 egg – optional
5 tablespoons seed mixture – optional
3-4 cups multigrain flour
2-3 cups all purpose flour
Add water, oil or butter, starter, sweetener, salt, egg (optional) and seed mixture (optional) and multigrain flour to a mixer (I use a Bosch) or a bowl. Mix until combined. Add all purpose flour 1/2 cup at a time until the mixture comes together into a smooth dough and clears the side of the bowl. When you lightly press the dough with your finger it should not stick to your finger. Transfer dough to a large bowl or tupperware. Cover lightly with a lid or plastic wrap. You do not want the lid to be on tightly. The sourdough needs room to breath.
Let the dough sit on your counter until it has doubled in size. This dough takes 12-15 hours to double at my house because it is a heavier dough. Once the dough has doubled, remove from container and form the dough into desired shape. It makes two loaves. (It is yummy for rolls or pizza crust as well.) Once shaped, cover and let double again. Its rise is slow so be patient.
If I bake this dough in a dutch oven (my prefered method), I put the dutch oven on a pizza stone so the bottom doesn’t get too dark. I bake it covered at 400 degrees for 20 minutes. After the 20 minutes, I remove the lid and insert an instant read thermometer into the partially cooked bread. Let it continue to cook until the internal temperature gets to 190-200 degrees.
If I bake it in loaf pans, I put my loaf pans on top of a pizza stone so the bottom doesn’t get too dark and I cover the tops with foil after about 20 minutes of baking so the tops don’t get too dark either. The loaves I bake to 180 degrees.
Tweak It Notes
- OIL or BUTTER – You can use extra virgin olive oil or coconut oil but the flavor comes through in the final product. I love the extra virgin olive oil in this recipe but it’s not for everyone. Typically I love coconut oil in bread but in this recipe for some reason, I don’t love the flavor that comes through in the final product. My daughter bakes and sells this bread and so when we are making it to sell I always use an organic light olive oil. I like the flavor of the butter in it as well but mostly I skip it for my dairy free kids. Try out different oils or combinations of them to see which you love the most.
- SWEETENER – I love to use all molasses but it is a stronger flavor. When my daughter sells this bread she uses half honey and half molasses. You can do all honey as well.
- SOURDOUGH STARTER – I usually mix this bread up at night so I pull my starter out of my fridge midday and feed it so that by evening it is happy and bubbly and ready for rising my dough. There are gobs of tutorials on line for making a sourdough starter but since it has been such a popular thing as of late, you can probably find a friend to share some of their starter with you. You can also buy a starter online. Cultures for Health is a good company. Or come to my house and I will give you some anytime.
- FLOUR – This recipe is so adaptable. You can use just whole grain wheat if that is all you have or even just two different grains. I always have all these grains on hand so it makes sense for me to use them all. Don’t feel like you have to run out and buy all the different grains I listed to make this bread. Use what you have and test it out. It is yummy in lots of different ways. I love to buy my grains from Azure Standard. Their prices are typically the cheapest and they always have lots of options.
- SEEDS – Use them or don’t or use one type of seed or two. It really is based on your preference. I love the crunch and nutrition they add but they are not necessary for the integrity of the bread.
