Do you like a little crunch and depth to your sandwich bread? How about a touch of sweetness mixed with the earthiness of seeds? Well then, have I got the bread for you! The Speckled Sandwich Bread made with superfood seeds.
Speckled Loaf with Cracked Bulghur, Poppy, Sesame, Chia and Flax Seeds
Seeds are one of those underutilized bits of goodness with bonus nutrition that can be incorporated into any recipe. Over the last few years, I buy seeds in bulk to incorporate into cookies, quick breads, yeast breads either whole or grinding them into a flour.
I use Bob’s Red Mill products frequently. I trust their quality and appreciate their sustainable practices.
So, for this bread, I pulled out four different kinds of seeds from the pantry (poppy, sesame, chia and flax) to incorporate into this bread. The result is a slightly crunchy, wholesome bread, that will make a lovely sandwich, if there were any left from dinner the night before!
Bake One For Dinner and Give One Away
I bake this bread in a traditional sandwich loaf pan. This recipe makes two loaves. I suggest you use an 8″ x 4″ or 8.5″ x 4.5″ bread loaf pan. You can use the larger 9.5″ x 5.5″ pan but the loaf will not have as much volume. Still absolutely fine for sandwiches, so it is totally personal preference.
Today, I gave one of my two loaves away to a friend and my family ate this bread with our Bigos stew, there were no leftovers.
What is Bigos?
It is a Polish stew, made from multiple kinds of meats (I used beef, shredded pork, ham, and smoked Polish kielbasa), sauerkraut, fresh cabbage, apples, wild mushrooms, juniper berries and laurel leaves for flavor. My mother-in-law serves it every time I visit in Toruń, Poland. Since it gets better with age, my mother-in-law always makes a giant pot and reheats the leftovers for days, every day getting more savory.
A loaf pan with a nice finish makes releasing your bread easy. A high quality pan will resist rusting, too.
One of my absolutely essential tools, a bench scraper. For both cutting dough and for cleaning up the counter top.
I love this tempered glass scale. It is lightweight, small so easy to store, and cleans up so easily.
Legend says that Bigos is made from what men could catch on their hunting trips with the addition of the the fruits of the forest, no surprise if you look at the ingredient list! It is an old world traditional Polish dish, super filling in and of itself, but since it does not have any added, straight up carbohydrates, like potatoes or rice, I always serve it with a side of bread. This earthy, slightly sweet bread was a delicious addition to the hearty stew.
Are you new to bread making? Need a little extra instruction? Check out my 12 Steps to Bread Making instruction. It will get you going! Need some equipment or a favorite bread recipe book? Check out my Recommended Products page.
Sharing is Caring
If you make this Speckled Sandwich Bread, keep one and share one with family, friend or a neighbor! Sharing is caring. Take a picture and post to social media and tag me @christinasbreadbakes on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter or Pinterest. Thanks for visiting!
Speckled Sandwich Bread
Equipment
- Digital Metric Scale
- Electric Mixer with Dough Hook
- 4 Liter food container (or bowl)
- Cover for container (or plastic wrap)
- Bowl scraper
- Bread pans (2 each)
Ingredients
Prep – 1 Hour Before Baking
- 150 grams Cracked Bulgur Wheat I used Bob's Red Mill Red Bulgur Cracked Wheat (3/4 cup)
- 1 T Chia
- 375 ml Boiling Water 1.5 cups
Bread
- 2.5 tsp Instant Yeast
- 60 ml Warm Water 110 F degrees (1/4 cup)
- 57 grams Butter unsalted (1/4 cup)
- 1 Cup Kefir, Plain Can substitute buttermilk (1 cup)
- 2 T Brown Sugar
- 1 T Honey
- 145 grams Whole Wheat Flour
- 400 grams Bread Flour
- 2 tsp Sea Salt
- 1 T Flax Seeds
- 1 T Poppy Seeds
- 1 T Sesame Seeds
Topping
- 1 T Butter, melted
Instructions
Scaling
- Measure all ingredients using a digital scale.
Mixing
- Mix bulgur wheat and chia seeds.
- Pour boiling water over the wheat and chia and allow to sit for one hour, stirring periodically.
- Drain bulgur wheat and chia seeds after one hour.
- Melt unsalted butter and mix with kefir, brown sugar and honey. Set aside.
- Mix yeast with warm water (110 F degrees) until dissolved, set aside for 10 minutes or until yeast is bloomed (it will be bubbly and frothy on top).
- Meanwhile, in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a dough hook, add whole wheat flour, bread flour, salt, flax, poppy and sesame seeds, mix together.
- Add in drained bulgur wheat and chia, yeast mixture and butter mixture to flour in mixing bowl.
- Mix on Level 1 for 3 minutes until the mixture forms a ragged dough.
- Mix on Level 2 for an additional 6-8 minutes until dough is smooth, pulls away from the sides of the bowl and forms gluten strands (see photo).
Bulk Fermentation (first rise)
- Scrape dough from the bowl onto a work surface.
- Fold the dough up and over itself 4-6 times and flip over so folds are on the bottom.
- Form dough into a smooth round ball.
- Place dough ball into a greased container and cover with a lid.
Folding (sometimes called punching)
- When dough has doubled in size, gently dump onto a work surface.
- Gently fold the edges of the dough towards the center into a log shape, about 10" long and flip it over so folds are on the bottom.
Dividing
- Divide the dough in half (do not saw to cut, rather use a bench scraper or knife to cut dough by pushing down gently).
Pre-Shaping or Rounding
- Flatten half the dough into a 6" x 8" rectangle.
- Roll the dough starting on the long side into a tight log.
- Pinch the seam together. Flip log over so pinched seam is below.
- Tuck ends of the bread under to form a tight 6-7" log.
Makeup and Panning
- Spray two bread pans.
- Pick up tight log and place it in one bread pan, seam side down. Repeat with second half of the dough.
Proofing (second rise)
- Cover pans with a sprayed piece of plastic. Set aside to rise 45 minutes to 1 hour depending on the warmth of your kitchen.
- Preheat oven to 375 F degrees.
- When doubled in size, remove cling film, cut a line very gently down the center of the dough, and place in a preheated oven.
Baking
- Bake these loaves at 375 F degrees for 40 minutes or until bread sounds hollow when tapped.
Cooling
- Immediately remove from bread pans and place on a cooling rack.
- Brush warm loaves with melted butter to soften the crust and give it a shiny surface.
- Allow these to cool for 30-45 minutes before slicing.
Storing
- This bread will remain fresh for 3 days. Once cool, store in a plastic bag on the counter.
I was looking for a seeded bread that didn’t look too heavy. I saw this and knew it was the one I wanted to try. It turned out great the first time I made it, you have excellent directions. The bread is very good and I enjoyed the making of kefir which I had no experience with. I’ll make this bread often and look for more recipes that require kefir.
Wonderful, Vickie. I am so glad you enjoyed the bread and were able to follow the detailed instructions. I hope you get to try some of the other recipes on the site. Happy baking! Christina
I love all the seeds in this bread. Perfect for sandwiches!
Thanks, Sue, glad you like it for sandwiches!
This bread looks so hearty and filling. The addition of seeds and kefir add a lot of nutrients. Thanks for sharing. 🙂
You’re welcome, Alyssa. I love sharing healthy & hearty breads!
This bread looks so good and you make it look so easy…so I’m going to give it a try!
Great Emily, enjoy!
OMG, the crust on your bread and all the goodies in it! I am drooling! Normally, I use chia and sunflower+pumpkin seeds. Now you made me want to try something different. Besides I miss homemade kefir, I need to start making it again. Thanks for posting this and for the recipe!
Thank you. I think any combo of nuts & seeds always amps up a bread from norm to fab, enjoy! 🙂
As always, a great recipe for good bread. You are a source for home bakery inspiration.
Thank you, Tadeusz! I am glad you are finding inspiration in my recipes, happy baking!