The idea for this ancient grain flaxseed sourdough came from a wonderful recipe by Northwest Sourdough blog called Flaxseed Heaven. I got obsessed with it from the first time I tried it. Of course, I went on to make it with ancient grains, and after a whole bunch of experiments I settled on the recipe that I’m posting here. I tried to describe the steps so that even folks without any artisan bread baking experience would be able to follow easily. As a rule in bread baking, after bulk fermentation the dough gets placed into proofing baskets (bannetons) for some time, then transferred to a Dutch oven from there, but I skip that step for two reasons: it’s harder to shape doughs with ancient flours plus addition of soaked flaxseeds adds to the stickiness of the dough; and I haven’t noticed the difference with or without basket proofing in this particular bread. The only thing that’s absolutely essential is the use of a Dutch oven, that’s what allows you to create a truly artisan bread – with shiny crispy crust and moist and soft crumb.
One of the most common complaints with homemade bread is how fast it becomes stale; the reason is during baking the protein (gluten) forms dry matrix that we know as crumb, while squeezing out moisture. When the bread is fresh, some water still remains within that matrix but as the breads stale – moisture steadily evaporates. You can think of it this way: bread left uncovered on the counter will eventually become completely dry, that is – with no water remaining within. That’s where the gelatinous mucilage from flaxseeds becomes the hero of the day – it absorbs and holds the moisture because of its unique ability to form strong bonds with water – and produce breads that are wonderfully moist and stay moist, day after day.
Typically, ingredients for artisan breads need to be measured in grams, which would require the use of a scale, and I’m the first one to say that if you are trying to achieve the best baking outcome – weighing ingredients on a metric scale is a way to go (the reason is that flour volume, when measured in cups, can vary depending on the levels of moisture, density, etc). BUT – this recipe is very forgiving, and you will get a great bread even if your volumes are slightly off, and that’s why I’m including measurements in cups. I’ve used different flours in this bread, from all spelt to a combination of spelt/einkorn/kamut/emmer. None of these pictures I have depict well enough the lovely, chewy and moist texture of this bread, and of course, flaxseeds add a host of health benefits to a bread that’s already very nutritious and easily digestible.
HOW TO MAKE ANCIENT GRAIN FLAXSEED SOURDOUGH
Ingredients
80g (1/2 cup) whole golden flaxseeds
640g (3 cups) water, divided
110g (4 tablespoons) sourdough starter (I use rye sourdough starter)
750g (6 cups) all-purpose spelt flour – or – 500g (4 cups) spelt flour and 250g (2 cups) einkorn or kamut flour
15 g (2.5 teaspoons) salt
Instructions
Toast flax seeds in a skillet until they start crackling and smell toasty.
In a medium bowl, combine flax seeds with 320g (1.5 cup) water. Set aside.
In a large bowl, whisk 320g (1.5 cups) water with the starter until milky and bubbly. Add 500g (4 cups) of sifted spelt flour (I use a fine strainer like this for sifting); mix with a spoon until no dry bits remain (the dough will be sticky). Cover and leave for 30 minutes.
At the end of 30 minutes, add flax seed mixture and salt. Mix with large spoon or stiff spatula to incorporate the seeds.
Add the rest of the flour; mix to combine with a spoon first, then with your hand. Keep dipping your hand in water up to your wrist and knead using stretch and fold movements until flour is incorporated. The dough will be sticky. Cover tightly and leave at room temperature for 30 minutes.
Now you have a choice – to cover the dough and leave it at room temperature for 8-10 hours, until it significantly increases in size – OR – to perform several rounds of stretch and fold, described right below (S&F helps the dough develop better leading to a fluffier bread with more open crumb).
Wet your hand to your wrist (to keep knuckles from getting sticky), and do a series of ‘stretch and fold’ –Â grab the underside of the dough, stretch upwards, then fold on top of itself. Rotate the bowl quarter way, grab another side of the dough, stretch and fold again. Do that four times. And repeat the same steps 5-6 times every 30 minutes. At the end of that time, the dough will feel full, soft and billowy.
After all the rounds of stretch and fold, leave the dough to ferment for 4-6 hours, until it doubles in size.
Very gently, trying not to deflate the dough, use a spatula to separate half the dough into another bowl. Allow the dough to rest again for 30 minutes.
Put a Dutch oven with lid into your oven, turn it on to 475ºF (250ºC), and set timer for 20 minutes.
Put Dutch oven on the counter, remove the lid, and gently pour (yes – pour!) the dough into the hot Dutch oven, using a soft spatula to scrape all the dough from the bowl.
Put the lid back on, transfer to the oven and bake for 20 minutes.
At the end of 20 minutes, remove the lid, and continue baking for 20-25 more minutes. Don’t go beyond 30 minutes uncovered trying to achieve deep brown color, there is something about flax seeds that prevents crust from getting really brown.
ANCIENT GRAIN FLAXSEED SOURDOUGH
Ancient Grain Flaxseed Sourdough
Ingredients
- 80 g 1/2 cup whole golden flaxseeds
- 640 g (3 cups) water divided
- 110 g (4 tablespoons) sourdough starter (I use rye starter)
- 750 g (6 cups) all-purpose spelt flour - or - 500g (4 cups) spelt flour and 250g (2 cups) einkorn or kamut or emmer flour
- 15 g 2.5 teaspoons salt
Instructions
- Toast flax seeds in a skillet until they start crackling and smell toasty. In a medium bowl, combine flax seeds with 320g (1.5 cup) water. Set aside.
- In a large bowl, whisk 320g (1.5 cups) water with the starter until milky and bubbly. Add 500g (4 cups) of sifted spelt flour (I use a fine sieve; mix with a spoon until no dry bits remain (the dough will be sticky). Cover and leave for 30 minutes.
- At the end of 30 minutes, add flaxseed mixture and salt. Mix with large spoon or stiff spatula to incorporate the seeds. Add the rest of the flour; mix to combine with a spoon first, then with your hand. Keep dipping your hand in water up to your wrist and knead using stretch and fold movements until flour is incorporated. The dough will be sticky. Cover tightly and leave at room temperature for 30 minutes.
- Now you have a choice - to cover the dough and leave it at room temperature for 8-10 hours, until it significantly increases in size - OR - to perform several rounds of stretch and fold, described right below (S&F helps the dough develop better leading to a fluffier bread with more open crumb).
- Wet your hand to your wrist (to keep knuckles from getting sticky), and do a series of 'stretch and fold' - grab the underside of the dough, stretch upwards, then fold on top of itself. Rotate the bowl quarter way, grab another side of the dough, stretch and fold again. Do that four times. And repeat the same steps 5-6 times every 30 minutes. At the end of that time, the dough will feel full, soft and billowy.
- After all the rounds of stretch and fold, leave the dough to ferment for 4-6 hours, until it doubles in size.
- Very gently, trying not to deflate the dough, use a spatula to separate half the dough into another bowl. Allow the dough to rest again for 30 minutes. Put a Dutch oven with lid into your oven, turn it on to 475ºF (250ºC), and set timer for 20 minutes. Put Dutch oven on the counter, remove the lid, and gently pour (yes - pour!) the dough into the hot Dutch oven, using a soft spatula to scrape all the dough from the bowl.
- Put the lid back on, transfer to the oven and bake for 20 minutes. At the end of 20 minutes, remove the lid, and continue baking for 20-25 more minutes. Don't go beyond 30 minutes uncovered trying to achieve deep brown color, there is something about flax seeds that prevents crust from getting really brown.
Notes
AND SOME MORE PHOTOS 🙂
I made this ancient grain flaxseed sourdough bread in a large oval Dutch oven with half and half all-purpose spelt flour and all-purpose einkorn flour, and scored it 10 minutes after putting it into the oven.
These loaves are made from this recipe as well with the only difference that I ground the flaxseeds in a coffee grinder and added half a teaspoon of cardamom, just because 🙂
ANCIENT GRAIN FLAXSEED SOURDOUGH
13 comments
You make baking a boule look so easy and perfect. This has turned out beautifully!
Hi just stumbled across your site the other day. I am so happy I did!! really like what I see/read. This bread looks amazing! will be giving it a go some time in the near future. I have never made bread before. but want to get away from store bought. and this recipe makes me want to give it a try. what is all-purpose spelt flour? I have heard of spelt berries etc. but not all-purpose spelt flour. also where do you buy your spelt flour from? Thanks, for sharing you are greatly appreciated.
Hi Theresa, thank you so much! 🙂 All-purpose spelt flour is kind of white-ish, made from spelt berries but has bran and germ removed for lighter consistency so it creates better breads. I often use it as a base for some of my doughs, then add other (mostly freshly ground) flours and seeds. I buy VitaSpelt brand at Whole Foods and stock up when it’s on sale.
Thank you! Great recipe, worked well for me and I’m definitely not an experienced bread maker. I used white spelt and fresh ground einkorn. In case this is usefull to anyone: this recipe (which is listed as making 2 loaves in an avg sized dutch oven) made 1 (one) loaf in my giant 11 quart dutch oven – it’s the only size dutch oven I have.
Thank you so much for the review, Dina! So happy you enjoyed it 🙂 I keep making this bread over and over, because my toddlers love it so much. Yesterday I made with with poppy seeds that I added to the dough at the same time as flax seed mixture, and it’s almost all gone. I find that when I make it with all spelt flour, the bread rises in the oven a lot more than when I use it with in combination with einkorn so it it goes further with spelt only. But I make it with einkorn and kamut a lot too because I love the taste.
Hey Valeria! I am so excited to let you know this bread turned out fantastic!! I used a combination of spelt and barley flour and I had a rice flour starter and it was just super! First time baking a sourdough in my dutch oven as well. Your instructions were flawless, the toasty smell of the flax was wonderful. I am going to be trying your other sourdough recipes. I am so happy I found your website. Please keep sharing and creating!
Yay, so glad it worked well for you, Meghna! And thank you so much for dropping a note 🙂 Have a great day!
Hello Valeria, I am interested in making this bread possibly this week. I am an inexperienced bread maker. I have a couple of questions I hope you can answer. Is it possible to use regular flaxseed? Also, you mentioned you used ground flaxseed in one of the loafs; did you toast, grind, and then incorporate the flaxseed with water? Lastly, using a well floured bread basket is really out of the question with this sticky dough? Thank you for sharing your time and experiences.
Hi Vanessa!You can use any kind of flaxseed you’d like, I used the dark kind before and there is no difference in taste whatsoever. The reason I use the lighter seeds in this recipe is for esthetics, the bread looks more appetizing, at least I think so :).
I didn’t toast the flax before grinding it, I just mixed it with water. I have to say I like the whole toasted seeds better, even though technically it’s healthier to grind them since they would absorb better.
If you look at Northwest Sourdough recipe, Theresa shapes and basket proofs her loaves, but I didn’t have good luck doing that with spelt. You could potentially reduce the amount of water. I just find it a lot easier to do it my way. So basically, I wouldn’t recommend a basket, but it’s entirely up to you.
And – thank you! 🙂
Hi Valeria. I love the sound of your recipe as I have food sensitivities and this is perfect for me! Thank you. I’m having a problem making it work though. This is the second time I’ve made it and it’s not going so well for me. Yesterday I bought a Crock-Pot thinking it would turn out better but it turned out about 1 1/2″ high, burnt on the bottom, stuck terribly to the pot, was overydone on top and unerdone inside. 475° seems so hot.! I’m clearly no expert at this. Help!
Hi Margie, thanks! Sorry to hear about the trouble.. Do you mean – Dutch oven or actually a crock pot? I never had luck with crock pot baking… Do you preheat the oven with the baking vessel covered with a lid? And do you keep the lid on during first part of baking? Having the lid on is really important because that’s what keeps the steam in and creates that nice looking crispy crust and open crumb. The bread should pop right out when baked. 475ºF is a standard temperature for this type of baking. You can try to reduce it to 425º after 15 minutes or so. Another thing I started doing with my old Dutch ovens is lining them with parchment paper before I put dough in, what works well for me is 365 Whole Foods brand parchment paper and the stuff that they sell at Costco.
Oh yes, sorry, I did mean dutch oven. Yes, I did all of the above. When I baked the second half I put a little oil around the pot first and raised the pot up higher in the oven and it slipped out beautifuly, but it’s only about an inch high, looks like a big cookie. Tastes good though!
I wonder if your Dutch oven is too big if it came out too flat? Since the dough is so liquid, a baking vessel needs to be the size of a loaf 🙂