The Fresh Loaf

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Sprouted seed sourdough

Owen's picture
Owen

Sprouted seed sourdough

I'm trying to recreate a activated seed loaf made by a bakery that's going out of business. The loaf is claimed to be yeast-free, but I think given its openess and texture is probably sourdough, and no other rising agents are on the label.

I started by adding equal quantities of sesame, sunflower, flax, pumpkin seeds and buckwheat to water, leaving it to soak for about 6hrs, then draining it, rinsing it, then adding a little water and putting it through a blender, then adding an active  starter made from scratch from buckwheat, sunflower, and pumpkin seeds, plus a little salt. I poured it into a tin and left it for about 6hrs, but it didn't seem to rise (the starter was definitely active, if a little strange smelling). I then baked it at 200C (400F) for about 60 minutes.

Questions: its very crumbly: any suggestions about making it a bit firmer?

Any existing recipes using most of the ingredients above?

 

pmccool's picture
pmccool

If the mixture is nothing but seeds, it’s no surprise that the resulting loaf is crumbly.  The flax gel won’t be enough to bind everything together and the buckwheat proportion is probably too low to provide a paste that can bind the mass together, either.

Having never worked with a starter like that, about all I can think to ask is how old and how stable it might be. 

Paul

idaveindy's picture
idaveindy

Are there any other ingredients (I assume you have the ingredient list from the label) that you did not mention, such as psyllium?  There needs to be more "binder" than just flax seeds. Though ground flax seeds, if there are enough, might serve as a binder.

--

Here is a recipe for seeds and oatmeal that uses psyllium husks as a binder:

https://liezljayne.com/overnight-oat-nut-seed-bread-gluten-free/

Owen's picture
Owen

Thanks for that; yes, psyllium was the last ingredient but I didn't have it for the first loaf. I shall get it and increase the flaxseed proportion for loaf 2.

idaveindy's picture
idaveindy

In case you need a source....

I purchased some coarsely ground psyllium at an Indian grocery store.  Psyllium is called isabgol.

Other places to try might be Walmart and Whole Foods.

Metamucil might not be a good idea if it has flavorings and sweeteners.

HTH.

Owen's picture
Owen

I'm in New Zealand; plenty of shops here with psylliumlabelled as such.

Thanks for the info.

yozzause's picture
yozzause

Perhaps tha's why the bakery was going out of business! A bit like Letica's creations in the "Vicar of Dibly"