Easy Seeded Sourdough Bread Recipe • Heartbeet Kitchen (2024)

FAQs

Do you need to soak seeds before adding to sourdough? ›

Then, add the entire soaker—water and seeds and all—into the dough before the first set of stretch and folds during bulk fermentation. Soaking softens the seeds to ensure they're texturally palatable; if they're not soaked, you'll likely end up with hard seeds in the end loaf of bread.

Before the first set of stretch and folds, spread the seed soaker, sunflower seeds, and lemon zest (optional) over the dough. Each set of folds will help incorporate the mixture into the dough.

Sourdough bread's fiber, potassium, phosphorus, and sodium content all support a heart-healthy diet. The soluble fiber found in sourdough bread binds to dietary cholesterol in the small intestine, helping pass this fat through the system instead of absorbing it.

Other natural ingredients can be added but genuine sourdough bread making does not involve the use of baker's yeast, chemical raising agents, so-called processing aids or other additives.

As a general rule of thumb, your seeds will sprout even if you don't soak your seeds before planting, but with soaking, the germination time decreases, and the germination rate increases. Seeds that have a continual flow of moisture to uptake have much higher chances of success.

You can soak seeds overnight, strain them, and add them to a bread dough during mixing (easiest) or during an early round of stretching and folding the dough (better gluten development).

Hold back the sesame and sunflower seeds until just before the first set of stretch and folds during bulk fermentation.

It's nutritious.

Sourdough contains a variety of vitamins and nutrients, making it super beneficial to your day-to-day health.

So it's a no-brainer flaxseed bread is a great alternative to your regular loaf. Research shows flax seed and flaxbread can reduce your risk of heart disease, cancer, stroke, and diabetes to boot. We like Alvarado St. Bakery Essential Flaxseed Bread, made from sprouted organic whole flax seeds and wheat berries.

What is the healthiest flour for sourdough bread? ›

Whole Wheat Flour: Some bakers swear by using whole wheat flour in their starters. This flour includes the whole grain of wheat, including the bran, endosperm, and germ.

When choosing a sourdough loaf, look for ones that have whole wheat, spelt or rye, Rizzo adds. Some studies suggest that Einkhorn wheat, a type of "ancient grain," may offer more nutritional benefits. When comparing nutrition labels, try to opt for the one with fewer ingredients and less sodium and sugar.

Potential Drawbacks

Therefore, sourdough bread is not a safe choice for people with celiac disease or a wheat allergy, and it is not an ideal choice for people who are eating gluten-free or avoid wheat for any other reason.

Sourdough breads can be made from any type of flour, but the most common is wheat flour, which does contain gluten. As a result, it's not suitable for people with celiac disease or gluten intolerance.

Refined grains, such as the grains found in white bread and white pasta, are known to increase inflammation across the whole body. Sourdough bread and rye bread are both good options for an anti-inflammatory diet. The best sourdough and rye bread varieties to reduce gut inflammation are those made from whole grains.

When to add seeds to sourdough: I like to add the seeds on top of the dough right before the 2nd set of stretch and folds, with a tiny bit of water. I then do my normal stretch and fold technique, and let rest for 30 minutes. Repeating that stretch and fold 2 more times, for a total of 4 stretch and folds.

Almost all seeds can be pre-soaked, but it is large seeds, seeds with thick coats and wrinkled seeds that will benefit most. Small seeds benefit less and are difficult to handle when wet. Examples of seeds that benefit from soaking include peas, beets, cucumber, corn, squash, pumpkin and beans.

Thus, soaking of sesame seeds for 12–14 h before sprouting can be used to improve the proximate composition and functional properties of sesame seeds, hence, increase the utilization of the flour.

Before adding the seeds though, you should soak them because otherwise, the seeds will pull A LOT of moisture from your dough. Some seeds need soaking (ie, chia and flax) while others (like sunflower seeds) don't need soaking.