An Oat and Seed-Filled Sourdough Rye Bread

I love a good oat bread. I also love rye bread. Seriously, you know those very thinkly sliced, imported rye breads that you can find in some stores? The ones that taste really sour? I like those, too.

So, I indulged my baking bug (I am now buying sugar and flour in 25 pound bags!). I decided that I had to bake a rye sourdough from Daniel Leader’s 2008 IACP Award-winning book, Local Breads: Sourdough and Whole-Grain Recipes from Europe’s Best Artisan Bakers. If you like to bake bread, and are fascinated by its history, you will absolutely love this book. Leader’s search for the secrets behind artisinal European breads, from France and Germany, to Italy to the Czech Republic, make for fascinating reading. When I’m soaking in the tub, I take this book with me to read. Yes, in the tub.

Above, right, you will see a picture of Boris, my sourdough rye. It took about eight days for him to truly come alive, but my patience paid off. He’s about a month old now, and I refrained from officially naming him until I was sure he would stick around. I hope that Breadchick Mary approves!

For my first bread, I picked Alpine Baguettes, pp. 279-81, and made two batards (or, what passes for batards) out of the dough. The recipe calls for a rye sourdough, but uses unbleached bread flour – no rye flour. It has rolled oats; and sunflower, pumpkin, flax, and sesame seeds. The recipe had only 1 1/2 teaspoons of salt, and I would double that amount the next time I make this bread. Because I will be making it again! (I did not adapt the recipe in any way, so I won’t be posting it.)

This bread is absolutely delicious – moist, flavorful, with a chewy crust. It is wonderful toasted and slathered with butter. It was also my first sourdough bread, ever, and once you go sourdough, it’s hard to go back! If you are interested in learning more about Daniel Leader and his breads, check out his website, Bread Alone.