Sunflower Poppy Seed Bread

Heat milk in a small saucepan over low heat until milk is warm (about 115 degrees F). This should be warm to the touch like warm bathwater but not hot. Remove from heat and pour into a large bowl and stir in oats, yeast and honey. Let the mixture sit for 5 minutes.

Next, stir in melted butter into the bowl with the oats/yeast/honey. Immediately add in bread flour, whole wheat flour, flaxseed meal and salt mix with a wooden spoon until a dough begins to form.

Add in sunflower seeds, sesame seeds and poppyseeds and gently mix into the dough. At this point I like to get the dough to come together with clean hands. Place dough onto a well-floured surface and knead the dough with your hands for 10 minutes. Another option is to use the dough hook on your electric mixer to knead the dough (I prefer this method because it’s easier).

Once done kneading, form dough into a ball and place in a large bowl coated with about 1 tablespoon oil, turning the dough over to coat with oil. Cover with plastic wrap and a warm towel and allow the dough to rise for about 90 minutes, or until doubled in size. This may take more of less time depending on the weather or temperature in your home.

Next, grease a 8×4 inch loaf pan. After dough has risen, knead it just a few more times on a clean surface coated with whole wheat flour for about 1 min then shape dough into an 8-inch long log and place in prepared pan, tucking the ends underneath.

Cover the loaf with plastic wrap and a warm towel and allow it to rise again for 60-90 minutes or until the loaf has risen an inch above the brim of the pan as demonstrated in the video. This may take more or less time depending on how warm it is in your home. Watch carefully because you don’t want the dough to rise too much.

Once dough has risen the second time, preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Beat egg in small bowl and brush over the top of the dough. (Please note that you won’t need to use all of the egg wash, but only a small amount.) Sprinkle a few more oats, sunflower seeds, sesame seeds and poppyseeds on top of the dough.

Bake for 35-40 minutes or until loaf is slightly golden brown on top and the loaf sounds hollow when tapped. Transfer pan to wire rack to cool for 10 minutes, then remove bread from pan and place on wire rack to finish cooling for at least 2 hours. Do not cut the bread before it is completely cooled or the texture will change.

Bread should be wrapped tightly and store at room temperature. If it’s humid/hot, store bread in the fridge. Cut into slices with a serrated knife.