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Multigrain French Sourdough Bread

If you are looking for a recipe that will elevate your sourdough bread, this Multigrain French Sourdough Bread might just be for you!
Prep Time 30 minutes
Cook Time 30 minutes
Resting and fermentation time 2 days
Total Time 2 days 1 hour
Course Bread
Cuisine American, British, French

Equipment

  • 1 Large, heavy bowl
  • Stand mixer with dough hook optional
  • 1 danish dough hook optional
  • digital scales
  • 1 heavy bottomed pan
  • 1 banneton lined
  • 1 baking sheet
  • Baking parchment
  • 1 baker's lame
  • 1 shallow saucepan

Ingredients
  

  • 500 g wholewheat French flour T110
  • 350 g warm water
  • 120 g active starter
  • 10 g salt
  • 1 tbsp chia seeds
  • 1 tbsp sesame seeds
  • 1 tbsp flax seeds
  • 1 tbsp sunflower seeds

Instructions
 

The Night Before: Feed Your Starter

  • Feed your starter 1:2:2 (for example 30g starter, 60g flour, 60g warm water). Leave to rise in a warm spot until you are ready to bake the next morning.

Mix the Ingredients Together

  • Mix all of the ingredients together, except for the seeds. Put the starter, water, flour and salt all in a bowl and either use your hands or a danish dough hook to mix them until they form a shaggy dough.
  • Alternatively, you can put the ingredients in a stand mixer with the dough hook attachment and mix on low speed for around 8 minutes.
  • After mixing the bread ingredients together, let the bowl sit, covered, on the work surface for around 30 mins.

Roast the seeds

  • Take a heavy bottomed pan, add all of the seeds (chia, flax, sunflower and sesame) and leave to roast on a medium heat until you start to smell the seeds.
  • Stir occasionally and be careful not to burn the seeds. Once they start to brown, they will burn very quickly.
  • Take them off the heat and leave them to cool until you are ready to add them to your bread.

Stretch and Fold

  • Do one set of stretch and fold. This helps to further develop the gluten and is easier to do than coil folds at this stage when the dough is still very sticky.
  • Leave to rest for 30 mins.

Laminating and Adding the Seeds

  • Remove your dough from the bowl and place it on a clean, slightly damp, surface. Then stretch out your dough on the surface into a large, rectangular shape, being careful not to make holes.
  • Sprinkle your cooled, roasted seeds evenly over the rectangle of dough and then, with the help of a bench scraper, fold over the top third of the dough to the middle. Repeat the process with the bottom third. You should now have a long, thin rectangle. Now, fold the left third of the rectangle to the middle, followed by the right third. You should have a coil of dough in the middle of the worksurface which you can now place in a clean bowl, ready for the coil folds.
  • Leave to rest for 30 mins.

Coil Folds

  • After your dough has rested, do the first set of coil folds. Do this by lifting the dough in the middle and stretching it up. Repeat this until all of the dough has come away from the side of the bowl.
  • Turn the bowl 180° and repeat. Next, turn the bowl 90° and repeat, and lastly, 180° and repeat. Your dough should be in a nice coil in the middle of the bowl.
  • These coil folds should be repeat twice more at 30 minute intervals.

Bulk Fermentation

  • Now, leave the bowl, covered, in a warm spot for 4-6 hours or until it has risen by 2/3. This is not an exact science, it may take more or less time depending on the temperature and humidity, and you will need to learn how your dough looks and feels when it is properly fermented.

Shaping

  • According to which shape of banneton basket you have chosen, shape your bread either into a boule or an oval (batard) using your preferred method.
  • 'Stitch' the seams if desired.

Cold Fermentation

  • Place the banneton in the fridge and leave to cold ferment for at least 8 hours, overnight, or until you are ready to bake.

Bake

  • Turn your oven on to 240°/250°C Fan. Place an empty, shallow saucepan in the bottom of the oven to heat up. Boil a kettle full of water.
  • When the oven is up to temperature, remove the dough from the fridge and turn out onto a lined baking sheet.
  • Score as desired, at least one deep score, slightly off centre, to help the bread release steam and keep its shape. You can also do decorative scoring if you wish.
  • Turn the oven down to 230°C and put the bread in the oven. Pour boiling water into the shallow pan to create steam.
  • Bake for 20 mins.
  • Remove the pan of water and bake for a further 10 mins.
  • Remove the bread from the oven and leave to cool for at least 45 mins before slicing.
Keyword Bread, French flour, Multigrain, Sourdough, Wholewheat