This is, hands down, my new favorite bread. It’s another one of those (almost) no knead, bake-in-a-dutch-oven kind and it turned out perfect. It uses a King Arthur Harvest Grains blend (can he found here; a one bag of these grains is enough for 8 or 9 loaves). It adds a delicious nuttiness. Simply wonderful. And it looks darn right pretty.
Ingredients
3 1/4 cups bread flour
1 cup whole wheat flour
1 cup King Arthur Harvest Grains Blend
2 teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon instant or rapid rise yeast
1 3/4 cups cool water
For the seeded topping:
2 tablespoons pumpkin seeds
2 tablespoons sunflower seeds
1 tablespoon flax seeds
1 tablespoon sesame seeds
1 tablespoon poppy seeds
Directions
Using a dough whisk or a mixer at slow speed, mix all the ingredients until the flour has been incorporated and a sticky dough forms. Continue to knead the dough gently for 2 to 3 minutes longer until it is somewhat smooth. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap, and let the dough rest at room temperature overnight, or for at least 8 hours; it’ll become bubbly and rise quite a bit. urn the dough out onto a floured surface, and form it into a round loaf to fit a 9″ to 10″ round lidded baking crock.
Preheat oven to 425F with an empty 6 quart Dutch oven (oval or round) or baking crock. In the meantime, shape the bread on parchment paper on the counter and let rise while the oven and Dutch oven are heating, 30 minutes or so. Once the Dutch oven is hot, place in the bread with the parchment paper in it (carefully! The pot is very hot!), make two slashes on the top to vent steam and sprinkle on the seeds.
Bake the bread for 40 to 45 minutes, then remove the lid and continue to bake for another 15 to 20 minutes, until it becomes deep brown in color, and an instant-read thermometer inserted into the center registers about 205F. Remove the bread from the oven, turn it out onto a rack, and cool before slicing.
