“NO NEED TO KNEAD” CRUSTY BREAD WITH SEEDS
Voula Halliday, author of Eat at Home. Canada
“Bread is my sense of place, past and present.
I am a fresh loaf coming out of the communal oven in the agora of my ancestral village in Greece.
I am the yeasty dough pressed and rolled on the counter under my grandmother’s small strong hands.
I am the grains of wheat and spelt grown here in my country of birth.
I am the bread recipes I write.
I am this story of bread.”
INGREDIENTS
Makes 1 loaf, 12 servings
1 1/2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
1 1/2 cups whole-wheat, spelt, or red fife flour
1/2 cup raw unsalted sunflower seeds
1/2 cup raw unsalted pumpkin seeds
Generous 1/4 tsp active dry yeast
1 tsp salt
1 1/2 cups water
1 Tbsp cornmeal or semolina flour, to cover bottom of Dutch oven
RECIPE
Place everything except the cornmeal in a large bowl and stir together until well combined. It will be a sticky dough. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and a tea towel and set aside in a warm, draft-free spot for 18 to 24 hours, until the dough has risen, doubled in size, and looks bubbly in texture. Then:
Lightly dust your work surface with flour. Place dough on the flour. Lightly coat inside of the bowl with oil (no need to wipe it out first).
Fold dough in on itself a few times and then shape it into a nice round and put it back in the bowl. Dust dough with flour and then cover with a clean tea towel. Set aside to rise for another 2 hours or until doubled in size again.
Place a large empty Dutch oven or cast iron pan with a lid in the oven and set oven to 450°F (230°C). Heat the covered pan for about 20 minutes.
Carefully and quickly remove the hot pan from the oven and lift the lid. Sprinkle base of the pan with cornmeal to prevent bread from sticking. Place dough in pan and cover with the hot lid.
Bake for 30 minutes. After 30 minutes, remove lid and continue baking for another 15 to 25 minutes. The loaf will be light brown when it is ready and will sound hollow when tapped on the bottom.
Remove the bread from the pan and let cool on a wire rack for 1 hour before serving.