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Fig Jam and Lime Cordial

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Grilled Vegetable Salad »

Bread #101: Sourdough Grain Bread

February 18, 2013 by Celia @ Fig Jam and Lime Cordial

I’ve been playing with some variations on the Basic Sourdough Tutorial I wrote last week…

Grain bread isn’t popular at our house, but I was inspired by Michelle’s recent loaves to give it another go. I picked up a bag of mixed grains at Harkola for just $1.30. It contained kibbled wheat, kibbled corn, kibbled rye, malted wheat and linseed.  The night prior to baking, I soaked 100g of the grains in a large quantity of water…

The next morning, I made a double batch of sourdough, reducing the water just a little to take into account the extra liquid from the grains. Here’s the formula I used, and I constructed the loaves following the basic instructions, although I did (optionally) prove them in my bannetons.  The soaked grains were drained really well and then added to the wet ingredients…

  • 300g ripe sourdough starter
  • 480g water
  • 50g olive oil
  • 1kg bakers flour
  • 20g fine sea salt
  • soaked grains

These quantities made one large and two small loaves with a tasty, elastic crumb. The presoaking softened most of the grains to a chewy consistency, although the linseed was still quite hard.

I delivered the two small loaves to neighbours, and have been enjoying the large one sliced and toasted. I still can’t sell it to the family though!

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Posted in Recipes | 54 Comments

54 Responses

  1. on February 18, 2013 at 12:26 am frugalfeeding

    That looks AMAZING. Can’t wait to get my starter!


    • on February 18, 2013 at 7:32 pm Celia @ Fig Jam and Lime Cordial

      Have you picked it up yet? :)


  2. on February 18, 2013 at 12:31 am cecilia

    I like the idea of soaking the grains first, i must try that, my latest experiment is to make a sourdough loaf using kefir as a starter! wish me luck! c


    • on February 18, 2013 at 7:33 pm Celia @ Fig Jam and Lime Cordial

      Oh good luck! I’ve never heard of anyone doing that before! :)


  3. on February 18, 2013 at 1:17 am sponge

    I wish I was one of the neighbours! The bread looks delicious,I could have that with marmalade jam. :-)


    • on February 18, 2013 at 7:33 pm Celia @ Fig Jam and Lime Cordial

      Thanks Sponge! I thought it was very nice – the boys were kind though, they said it was “not bad”. :)


  4. on February 18, 2013 at 2:13 am heidiannie

    That looks marvelous. I like a seedy/grainy bread but not anyone else around here. Today I’m making a sourdough rye with caraway seeds- my favorite, but Frank won’t even consider taking a bite. That’s alright- I just freeze half of the loaves and give away a portion of what I have remaining.
    You are really good with sourdough bread- well with bread of all kinds, Celia- I admire your continued sense of trying new breads and methods.


    • on February 18, 2013 at 7:34 pm Celia @ Fig Jam and Lime Cordial

      I love caraway seeds, but Pete won’t go near them either, Heidi! And thanks for the compliment – coming from you O Bread Queen, that means a lot! :) xx


  5. on February 18, 2013 at 5:13 am thecompletecookbook

    Fantastic look bread Celia – would love a slice of that with lashings of butter – scrumity! I have never soaked my seeds before, must definitely try that next time I bake a loaf.
    Have a super week ahead.
    :-) Mandy xo


    • on February 18, 2013 at 7:35 pm Celia @ Fig Jam and Lime Cordial

      Mandy, an old miller friend of mine insists that’s how it was done in the old days, before bread needed to be baked in hurried commercial quantities. I do prefer it to hard grain bread…


  6. on February 18, 2013 at 5:27 am Lizzy (Good Things)

    Hmmm… looks delicious! Do you home deliver? ; )


    • on February 18, 2013 at 7:35 pm Celia @ Fig Jam and Lime Cordial

      Ah I wish, love.. :)


  7. on February 18, 2013 at 5:35 am hotlyspiced

    With that parrot on the cover of the bag of grains, it looks like something to put in the bird feeder. Is that what your family thinks? When Alfie was two he used to go to Family Day Care and he’d come home saying, ‘I don’t like the sandwoos, they have stones’ – he wasn’t a fan of grain bread then and still isn’t now. Personally, I love grain bread and your loaves fresh from the oven and cooling on the wire rack look wonderful xx


    • on February 18, 2013 at 7:32 pm Celia @ Fig Jam and Lime Cordial

      Parrot? I think it’s a rainbow lorikeet, and it better watch out for Alfie.. :)

      Wish you were closer and I could run a loaf to you, Charlie!


  8. on February 18, 2013 at 5:57 am The Life of Clare

    Looks delicious! I really need to get onto making a starter!


    • on February 18, 2013 at 7:35 pm Celia @ Fig Jam and Lime Cordial

      Clare, hope you have fun with the starter! :)


  9. on February 18, 2013 at 7:14 am MissT

    Yummy! I love grain bread :) (frankly, I prefer it to wholemeal…) I imagine your house just smells amazing with all that bread baking! x


    • on February 18, 2013 at 7:36 pm Celia @ Fig Jam and Lime Cordial

      Oh, no-one will go within a bull’s roar of wholemeal here.. :) xx


      • on February 18, 2013 at 9:37 pm MissT

        Sign of good taste…? ;)


  10. on February 18, 2013 at 7:49 am Claire @ Claire K Creations

    Celia you read my mind. I was actually going to email you and see if you knew much about seeded breads. This is perfect! We’ve already thought of a name for Priscilla’s clone too (Will named it… it’s a boy). I love grainy bread.


    • on February 18, 2013 at 7:37 pm Celia @ Fig Jam and Lime Cordial

      Claire darling, Priscilla with an “s”, she’s a diva, you know.. :) Love the name you’ve chosen!!


  11. on February 18, 2013 at 8:29 am The Food Sage

    I can attest to this bread’s deliciousness – Celia bought me some grain mix and gave me the recipe and i made a loaf yesterday. Very happy about the way it turned out.


    • on February 18, 2013 at 7:38 pm Celia @ Fig Jam and Lime Cordial

      Rachel, that is just wonderful – I’m so glad it worked out so well for you!


  12. on February 18, 2013 at 8:46 am lambsearsandhoney

    Grain bread is still on my “To Try” list. Thanks for the tip about soaking the grains, I suspect that would make quite a difference to the texture (and my teeth).


    • on February 18, 2013 at 7:38 pm Celia @ Fig Jam and Lime Cordial

      Amanda, interesting you should say that. When my miller friend John was talking about soaking grains, he mentioned that in the old days when all bakers presoaked their grains, no-one ever complained of cracked teeth from biting into their sandwich!


  13. on February 18, 2013 at 9:15 am Liz

    Beautiful loaf, Celia. I can smell it toasting. I make a similar loaf with about half wholemeal flour. ‘They’ can’t see the grains!


    • on February 18, 2013 at 7:40 pm Celia @ Fig Jam and Lime Cordial

      Liz, they’ll run even further from wholemeal than grain bread! It’s a clever idea though.. :)


  14. on February 18, 2013 at 9:28 am Eha

    Am laughing ’cause hotlyspiced just got in ahead of me asking about the parrot on the seed packet: it does look as if it was meant for our feathered friends :D ! Meanwhile I love everything grainy , so whilst I wait for my starter [surely arriving soon!] shall happily put this next to your last tutorial: don’t worry, shall start at ‘the very beginning, it ‘s a very good place to start’ according to song!!


    • on February 18, 2013 at 7:40 pm Celia @ Fig Jam and Lime Cordial

      It really does look like birdseed, doesn’t it? :)


  15. on February 18, 2013 at 10:45 am alison@thisbloominglife

    Charlatans they are! Bet the neighbours were happy though. We’ve just had a middle eastern shop open nearby, went in last week to look for grains but they didn’t have any. Bet if I ask though they’ll probably be happy to trial. Off to town I’ll go…


    • on February 18, 2013 at 7:41 pm Celia @ Fig Jam and Lime Cordial

      Ali, the local health food store is always a good bet…


  16. on February 18, 2013 at 10:58 am theintolerantchef

    I love bread with a bit of a chew to it, delicious sweetie!


    • on February 18, 2013 at 7:41 pm Celia @ Fig Jam and Lime Cordial

      Becca, I like it too, but just try convincing the boys…sigh.. :)


  17. on February 18, 2013 at 1:10 pm Jane @ Shady Baker

    Great Celia, looks lovely. I might have to try this as part of my grain experiment. It is not overly popular in our house either although I love it.


    • on February 18, 2013 at 7:42 pm Celia @ Fig Jam and Lime Cordial

      Jane, I’ve made a really nice loaf in the past from actually cooking the grains too – now that was more palatable to the masses! Dan Lepard has some really nice recipes in his book!


  18. on February 18, 2013 at 2:16 pm ChgoJohn

    I’ve not tried using grains in my bread, Celia — not that I’ve baked all that much bread. Still, when I get back into baking bread again, I really must give grain a try — and now I know where to come to learn about the process. ;)


    • on February 18, 2013 at 7:43 pm Celia @ Fig Jam and Lime Cordial

      John, you’re very kind, thank you! Grain bread isn’t even available in our local Italian bread shop – no wonder my boys won’t eat it! :D


  19. on February 18, 2013 at 5:02 pm Sally

    I’ve always wondered if soaking would make a difference. I’ve also used Dan Lepard’s recipes where he uses alcohol (one loaf with red wine, one with ale) – this seems to soften the grains.


    • on February 18, 2013 at 7:45 pm Celia @ Fig Jam and Lime Cordial

      Sally, I really like the alcohol soaked grains (there’s one where the grains are soaked in Alsace riesling, which I thought was very fancy!). Dan’s bread recipes are fantastic! :)


  20. on February 18, 2013 at 8:42 pm Jo

    I shouldn’t read your posts after dinner, now I’m hungry again. That looks delicious. I tried a round loaf on the weekend and had the same problem as Fiona who commented on the first tutorial. Maybe it’s a Qld thing! I’ll have a look at Heidi’s tutorial and try again.


    • on February 19, 2013 at 6:57 am Celia @ Fig Jam and Lime Cordial

      Jo, maybe try lowering the hydration of your dough?


  21. on February 19, 2013 at 11:14 am Norma Chang

    May be if you soak your grains for 24 hours you could sell it to your family. I love chewy grains in my bread and am sure I would love yours.


    • on February 19, 2013 at 8:14 pm Celia @ Fig Jam and Lime Cordial

      Norma, I actually get a better result when I cook the grains first, which was suggested by Dan Lepard. Although then it’s less like grain bread, and more like grain-flavoured bread.. :D Wish I could share some with you! x


  22. on February 19, 2013 at 11:20 am Lorraine @ Not Quite Nigella

    I’ve really got to get some of that lovely starter! :D I love grain bread personally :)


    • on February 19, 2013 at 8:15 pm Celia @ Fig Jam and Lime Cordial

      Just say when, darls.. :)


  23. on February 19, 2013 at 11:43 am Rose

    The soaking is intriguing Celia, At first I assumed you were doing it for health reasons a la Nourishing Traditions but, further up in comments, I see that you were advised by a miller to do this. When I include seven grain in my regular bread I get a less risen loaf so I’ll definitely try this.


    • on February 19, 2013 at 8:16 pm Celia @ Fig Jam and Lime Cordial

      Rose, I’m not sure how it affects the rise, but it’s definitely easier on the teeth! :)


  24. on February 19, 2013 at 12:10 pm Anne Whitehead

    Celia, Thank you daughter of Priscilla has arrived – haven’t got a name sorted but something about Queen of the Desert comes to mind!
    The grain bread looks yummy. Hopefully if I get her going tomorrow morning she will be ready for baking on Satuday!
    Thanks heaps from across the ditch


    • on February 19, 2013 at 8:19 pm Celia @ Fig Jam and Lime Cordial

      Annie! Hooray, you got it! Priscilla’s full title is, “Priscilla, Queen of the Refrigerator”, so you’re right on the money about the name. Please do let me know what you end up calling him/her. And please send me photos! :)

      If you get her going tomorrow and pop her in the fridge, remember to pull a little out at lunch time on Friday to start feeding her up before you make your dough on Saturday morning. The basic tutorial has instructions! :)

      https://figjamandlimecordial.com/2013/02/11/bread-101-a-basic-sourdough-tutorial/


  25. on February 21, 2013 at 10:58 am The sourdough diaries: Stella (not stellar) bread making |

    […] through the night. Before bed i also soaked some of the grain mix in water. Celia had shared her recipe for a grain loaf and early the next morning i began following the steps in her basic sourdough tutorial: mixing the […]


  26. on February 22, 2013 at 11:37 am Karen

    What a delicious sounding dish, especially with some of the vegetables fresh from your garden. The pesto had to have added terrific taste. I’m happy that I could introduce you to pumpkin seed oil as I love its nutty flavor. Thank you so much for the link…I really appreciate it.


    • on February 22, 2013 at 11:48 am Celia @ Fig Jam and Lime Cordial

      Karen, it really has been a great find – delicious, and such an unusual colour! Thanks again for the headsup! :)


  27. on February 22, 2013 at 11:58 pm SarainKY

    Celia…since you all make yogurt I would simply harvest some whey and soak the grains in just enough whey to cover, or a water n whey blend, or yogurt even works. This will start to digest the grains, even the linseed. Plus the whey or yogurt infused grains add even more fermentable power.


  28. on March 15, 2013 at 2:54 pm Anne Whitehead

    Am underway on the grain loaf. Shebru is working the charm and I have soaked grain in chenin blanc, because you do! Also added carraway seeds so it will interesting to see the results.



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