Instructions

  1. In a large mixing bowl, or the bucket of a bread machine, combine the Harvest Grains Blend and boiling water. Let cool to lukewarm.

  2. Add the fed sourdough starter. Weigh your flour; or measure it by gently spooning it into a cup, then sweeping off any excess. Add flour and the remaining dough ingredients, and mix and knead — by hand, mixer, bread machine or food processor — until you've made a soft dough, adding additional water or flour as needed.

  3. Cover the dough in the bowl, and let it rise until it's almost doubled, about 1 to 1 1/2 hours.

  4. Turn the dough out onto a lightly greased work surface, and gently fold it over a few times to deflate it. Shape it into a large round.

  5. Place the round on a lightly greased baking sheet, and cover it with lightly greased plastic wrap. Or place in a round covered baker, about 4.2-quart and 10" diameter, that's been sprayed with non-stick baking spray and sprinkled with sesame seeds or cornmeal, and put on the cover. Let the loaf rise until it's very puffy, about 1 to 1 1/2 hours. Towards the end of the rising time, preheat the oven to 425°F.

  6. Just before baking, brush with water, and sprinkle with seeds. Use a lame or a very sharp knife to make four slashes across the top of the loaf, in a crosshatch pattern.

  7. Bake the bread for 40 minutes. Uncover the loaf if in a covered baker, and continue to bake 10 to 15 minutes, until the loaf is golden brown and an instant-read thermometer inserted into the center registers 190°F. (A loaf baked on a baking sheet will need to bake for 38 to 45 minutes total.)

  8. Remove the bread from the oven, let sit in the baker for 5 minutes, then turn out and cool on a rack.

Tips from our Bakers