Mixed Grain Sourdough Soda Bread #BreadBakers

This mixed grain sourdough soda bread is delicious when freshly baked but is also great toasted. Serve it with your favorite jam, cheese or salad. 

Last fall, when the weather was starting to turn just a little bit cooler, I got a text from a dear friend inviting me over for a casual lunch outside on her patio. The menu was chicken salad, cheese and fruit. She already had a dessert planned as well so I decided to bake some healthy bread to accompany our lovely lunch.

When our Bread Baker host chose "no knead bread" for this month's theme, I realized that I had never shared the recipe. It is adapted from one on the King Arthur Baking site and calls for their “King Arthur Harvest Grains Blend, or other seeds and grains of your choice.” 

I used a mix of quick cook grains from Central Market, a Texas grocery store, that includes farro, barley, brown rice, wheat and oat groats so I chose to soak them briefly first before baking. If you are using a mix like the one sold by King Arthur Flour, meant to be baked in bread, by all means, skip this step. 

Mixed Grain Sourdough Soda Bread

This loaf is the perfect accompaniment to chicken or tuna salad but equally, we loved it with a swipe of butter and jam. Best of all, it’s full of flavor from the sourdough starter but is quick to make and bake. 

Ingredients

1 1/2 cups or 180g whole wheat flour

2/3 cups or 83g flour

1/4 cup or 45g mixed grains

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

2/3 cup or 150g sourdough starter, ripe (fed) or discard

1/2 cup or 120ml milk, plus extra as needed

2 tablespoons butter, melted

2 tablespoons honey

Optional, but recommended, for after baking: melted butter for brushing on top

Method

Pour boiling water over your mixed grains in a small bowl. Soak for about 3 minutes then drain and pour them onto a clean kitchen towel to dry them out.  Separate out a teaspoon or two and reserve for topping. 

Preheat the oven to 400°F or 200°C. Lightly grease a 9 in or 23cm round springform pan or line it with baking parchment. 

In a medium-sized mixing bowl, whisk together the flours, the larger pile of grains, baking soda, and salt.

In a separate bowl, whisk together the sourdough starter, milk, butter and honey. 

Pour this mixture into the dry ingredients and stir to combine. I use a Danish dough whisk for this step which makes mixing it much easier. 

The dough will be a bit crumbly. If it's too dry to hold together when you squeeze it, you can add a tablespoon or two more of milk. 

Press the dough into a nice round ball shape. Flatten the ball slightly, and press the reserved grains into the top. Put it in your prepared pan.

Use a sharp knife or lame to cut a cross in the top about 1/2 in or 1 cm deep. 

Bake the loaf for 30 to 40 minutes, until it’s golden brown and a cake tester or toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. 

Remove the loaf from the oven, and brush the top with melted butter, if using.

Pop it onto a cutting board. 

Cool completely before slicing. 

Enjoy! 

As I mentioned above, our Bread Bakers theme this month is No Knead Breads. Many thanks to Sneha of Sneha’s Recipe for hosting. Check out what we've been baking below: 

• Chocolate Chestnut Bread From A Messy Kitchen
• Easy No Knead German Crusty Rolls From Karen’s Kitchen Stories
• Mixed Grain Sourdough Soda Bread From Food Lust People Love
• No Knead Knead Marbled Brioche From Passion Kneaded
• Pide Ekmek (Turkish Flatbread) From A Day in the Life on the Farm
• Vegan No Knead Tomato Basil Bread Form Magical Ingredients
• Rustic Homemade No Knead Bread From Sneha’s Recipe

#BreadBakers is a group of bread loving bakers who get together once a month to bake bread with a common ingredient or theme. Follow our Pinterest board right here. Links are also updated each month on this home page. We take turns hosting each month and choosing the theme/ingredient.

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