Sunny Whole Wheat Sourdough Bread

This is a variation of the 100% Whole Wheat Sourdough Bread I already posted. I personally like this one better. The flavor is more mild and the tartness of the wheat is mellowed by the molasses and the sunflower seeds. I called this bread Sunny Whole Wheat because of the use of sunflower seeds and honey in the bread. It's nice to have a a couple slices of this in the morning for breakfast. Enjoy!

 


Sunny Whole Wheat Sourdough Bread
182 g starter
378g whole wheat flour
210g water, warm but not hot
57g butter, melted and cooled
20g blackstrap molasses
40g organic honey
1 1/2 tsp sea salt
65g organic raw sunflower seeds, chopped in a food processor

In a large bowl mix the starter and water. Stir in the honey, butter, sunflower seeds and sea salt. Mix in the flour until well combined. The dough should be a somewhat shaggy dough. Cover and allow the dough to rest 20 minutes. Turn the dough onto a floured surface and knead until smooth. I often knead the dough directly in the bowl.

Cover and allow the dough to ferment 3 hours. Do two stretch and folds; one every 1 1/2 hours. After three hours the dough should be just about doubled. Turn dough onto a floured surface and gently deflate the dough and shape the dough into a loaf. Place in a 8 1/2 x 4 1/2 loaf pan. Cover and allow to rise for 4 to 6 hours or until the dough has risen 1 inch above the rim of the pan.

Bake in a preheated 350F oven for 20 minutes. Remove from the oven and cover with foil and bake for an additional 20 to 25 minutes or until done. Bread will be golden and the interior temperature should be 205F or higher. Remove the bread from the oven and allow to cool for 5 minutes before turning out onto a cooling rack. *Optional: Rub butter on the crust when it comes out of the oven to soften the crust, give it extra flavor and enhance the appearance.