Whole Wheat Sunflower Seed Bread

Sponge:

• 1 cup whole grain oats

• 2 1/2 tsp. instant yeast

• 2 tbsp. honey

• 1 cup buttermilk

• 1 1/4 cup warm water

• 1 cup whole wheat flour

Combine all of the ingredients in a large bowl. Mix well and set aside for 1 hour to soften the oats and proof the yeast.

Bread:

• 2 tbsp safflower or sunflower oil

• 2 1/2 tsp sea salt

• 1/4 cup sunflower seeds

• 2 cups all purpose flour

• 2 cups whole wheat flour

Stir down the sponge and stir in the oil, sunflower seeds and salt. Begin beating in flour, 1/2 cup at a time, incorporating each portion before adding more. Continue adding till it’s too tough to stir, pour out onto the counter and continue to add in flour and mix with your hands. Knead in the rest of the flour until the dough is soft and supple yet a little tacky. It’ll take about 8 minutes of kneading total. Add the dough to a well greased bowl, cover with plastic wrap and set aside until doubled in size, about 1 1/2 hours.

Remove the dough from the bowl and divide in half. Shape each piece into loaf a 9 inch tall by 6 inch wide rectangle. Roll up tightly and shape into a loaf. Place in sprayed or oiled 4 1/2 x 8 1/2 inch bread/loaf pans and let rise until doubled again, about 45 minutes. Preheat the oven to 375F. Bake the loaves until golden brown, about 40-45 minutes. Remove from oven, set aside on a cooling rack for 10 minutes and then remove from pans to allow to cool. Makes 2 loaves.