Kansas Sunflower Bread

Recipe by King Arthur Test Kitchen
48 Reviews 4.9 out of 5 stars

Rich and golden from the eggs, crunchy and nutty from the seeds and grains, this bread makes a great sandwich, and super toast. With wheat and sunflower seeds providing the dominant flavors, we've dubbed it Kansas Sunflower Bread.

Prep
17 mins
Bake
35 mins
Total
2 hrs 52 mins
Yield
one 8 1/2" x 4 1/2" loaf
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Kansas Sunflower Bread

Instructions

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  1. In a large bowl, or in the pan of your bread machine, pour the boiling water over the bulgur. Let the mixture sit until it's lukewarm, about 15 minutes. Weigh your flour; or measure it by gently spooning it into a cup, then sweeping off any excess.

  2. Combine — by hand, mixer, or bread machine — the bulgur with the rest of the ingredients, and knead until the dough is smooth.

  3. Place the dough in a lightly greased bowl, cover the bowl, and allow the dough to rise for 1 to 1 1/2 hours, or until it's not quite doubled in bulk.

  4. Remove the dough from the bowl or from the bread machine, shape it into a loaf, and place it in a lightly greased 8 1/2" x 4 1/2" bread pan. Cover the pan with lightly greased plastic wrap, and set the loaf aside to rise until it's crowned about 1" over the rim of the pan, 45 minutes to 1 hour.

  5. Preheat the oven to 350°.

  6. Bake the bread for 35 minutes or until it tests done, draping it lightly with aluminum foil, shiny side up, after 20 minutes if it appears to be getting too brown. Remove the pan from the oven, and turn the loaf out onto a wire rack to cool completely.

  7. Store the bread for 4 days on the counter, or up to 3 months in the freezer.

Tips from our Bakers

  • This recipe evolved from a customer who sent us a bag of her favorite bread mix with a little bit left inside. Though we no longer have her letter, we know her name was Audrey, and we know she was dying to recreate the mix on her own. She'd asked the company for the recipe, and they'd refused to part with it, so she turned to us with her plea — please, can you figure out, from the list of ingredients and the small sample, how they put together this mix?

    Well, the test kitchen went to work, and came up with this loaf, which has become an all-time favorite. We hope Audrey has enjoyed many homemade loaves of it since last we corresponded with her.

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