Josey Baker’s Seed Feast Loaf

A reader who lives on the other Coast, too far away from the Mill to come and taste the bread for herself, wondered in a comment if Josey Baker would kindly share a formula. So I asked and it turned out that he would. Not only that but he sounded delighted to do so: “This was the very first bread I made with anything other than flour, water, and salt. I grabbed some seeds from the store and tossed them in my dough, doing everything else the same, and voila—Seed Feast was born! This is still one of my favorite breads that I make, and I’ve heard the same from a lot of happy customers. I’ve never seen this seed combo in any other bread, and for this I feel very proud. It is a true Josey Baker Bread original.”

Thanks for sharing, Josey!

Makes two loaves.

* Water should be hot for soaker, cool for levain and lukewarm for final dough.

Method:

(described in Josey’s own words)

1. Levain (sourdough pre-ferment):

Use starter that is sour smelling in a good way, most likely between 12 and 24 hours old. Make your pre-ferment 8 to 12 hours before you want to start mixing your dough—likely in the evening before you go to bed or in the morning. You want it to be the consistency of thick pancake batter. Put this stuff in a big bowl and cover the bowl tightly so that the water can’t evaporate.

2. Soaker:

Spread your sunflower and pumpkin seeds out on a sheet pan and bake them in 350F oven for 10-15 minutes, just till they start to smoke. Put them in a small bowl. Add hot water. Because seeds soak up a lot of water, you’ve gotta let them soak for a while before adding them to your dough.

3. Final dough:

KNEADING

• Uncover the pre-ferment bowl, and take a big whiff. It should be putting off a pretty strong smell, nice and yummy, maybe a touch sour. If it doesn’t, no biggie; it’ll still make awesome bread;
• Add the final dough ingredients (remembering to use warm water) including all of the levain and all of the soaker, mix everything together so that it’s evenly combined, just for 30 seconds to a minute;
• Cover with a plate or plastic wrap, and let it sit for 30 minutes to an hour, whatever is convenient.

STRETCH & FOLD

• Dip your hand in a bowl of water, then reach down into the side of the dough bowl, grab a little bit of it, and pull it up and push it down on top of the dough. Rotate the bowl a little bit and do it again to another portion of the dough. Give the dough about 10 stretches and folds;
• Cover the dough, and let it sit for 1/2 hour;
• After 1/2 hour, stretch and fold the dough another 10 times;
• Cover the dough, and leave it alone for another 1/2 hour or so;
• Do this another 2 times, at 15- to 30-minute intervals.

BULK RISE

Choose your own adventure for the bulk rise:

• If you want to shape your loaf in 3 to 4 hours, let the dough sit out somewhere in your kitchen;
• If you want to shape your loaf anywhere from 12 to 48 hours later, stick it in the fridge (or just outside if it’s cool out—about 45°F/7°F).

SHAPING

After the dough has completed its bulk rise:

• Flour your counter and dump out the dough;
• Pre-shape your loaf into a round, then let it rest for 10 to 15 minutes;
• Shape it into a loaf and leave it on your counter, seam side down, while you line the proofing basket with a floured cloth;
• Plop it into the prepared basket, seam side up.

FINAL RISE

Again choose your own path for the final rise:

• If you want to bake bread in 3 to 4 hours, let the loaf sit out somewhere in your kitchen;
• If you want to bake bread anywhere from 6 to 24 hours later, stick the loaf in the fridge (or just outside if it’s cool out—about 45°F/7°C).

PRE-HEATING

Once your loaf has risen, put your baking stone and pot or Dutch oven on the middle rack of your oven and preheat at 475°F/240°C/gas 9 for 45 minutes. If you put the dough in the fridge, take it out while the oven is preheating so that it can warm up to room temperature before you bake it.

BAKING

• Sprinkle the loaf with cornmeal (or cover with parchment paper), and invert it onto a plate or pizza peel; (Or carefully plop your loaf into your preheated Dutch oven;)
• Slash the top with a razor, get it into the oven, and cover it with a pot or bowl (or the Dutch oven lid);
• Bake for 20 minutes, uncover, and bake for another 25 minutes;
• Check the bread and see how it’s looking. If it’s not dark brown, give it another 7 minutes.