Chia and Flax Seed Sourdough

Chia and flax seeds have amazing health benefits (fiber, omega-3 fatty acids, and many other nutrients!), so I decided to try to add them to sourdough!

This recipe makes two loaves. I pre-soaked the seeds before adding them to the dough.

The dough can be very sticky to work with. I recommend handling the dough with damp hands and using a dough scraper. I usually do not use flour on my counter or hands while shaping the dough because I find it makes the dough even stickier.

Hope you enjoy!

Ingredients

• Sourdough starter (180 g)
• Bread flour (1300 g)
• Water
• Sea salt (25 g)
• Chia seeds (50 g)
• Ground flax seeds (50 g)

First, make the leaven!

Mix together in a large bowl or plastic container:

• 180 g starter
• 500 g bread flour (I used Central Milling Artisan Bakers Craft Plus)
• 550 g water

Let the leaven sit at room temperature or in the refrigerator until very bubbly. My leaven took about 7 hours at room temperature at 75 degrees °F.

Prep the seeds and mix the dough:

When leaven is bubbly, mix in:

• 800 g flour
• 255 g water

The dough will be shaggy until the flour absorbs the water. Let it sit while moving on to the seed mixture below.

In a separate bowl, mix:

• 50 g chia
• 50 g ground flax 
• 300 g water

Let both sit for 30 min, then add to the dough:

• 25 g sea salt
• Seed mixture

After a couple stretch and folds, put in refrigerator for 12-24 hours. Stretch and fold occasionally. When the dough is billowy and fluffy, it is time to shape it!

Shape the dough

Remove the dough from the bowl or container and place it onto the counter. Divide the dough into two. Then, fold each side of the dough inward like a book and shape into a taut ball. Let bench rest on the counter for 30 minutes. Transfer into a floured bowl or banneton, seam side up. Proof in refrigerator for 12 – 24 hours. Here is an example of how to shape the dough from my Instagram page:

View this post on Instagram

Shaping two sourdough loaves. For these two, I folded the sides into the middle, then made the dough into a round ball. • • • • • • #realbread #sourdough #naturallyleavened #wildyeast #sourdoughbread #artisanbread #levain #fermentation #bread #homebaking #wildyeastbread #flourwatersalt #sourdoughstarter #thefeedfeed #sourdoughclub #igbreadclub #thebakefeed #freshbread #sourdoughbaking #breadmaking #breadbaking #rusticbread #crustybread #nocommercialyeast #breadstagram #dough #leaven #naturalyeast #bakingbread #sourdoughstarter #timelapse

A post shared by siamesesourdough / Anna Susa (@siamesesourdough) on Jun 30, 2020 at 4:11pm PDT

Bake the loaves!

Preheat your oven and dutch oven (if you’re using one) to 500 °F. Take the first loaf out of the refrigerator. When the oven is ready, quickly slash the dough with a sharp knife or lame, place it into the dutch oven and cover with the lid. Bake for 25 minutes at 500 °F, then uncover and bake at 450 °F for about 35 minutes or until golden brown. Take out the loaf and place on a cooling rack. Slice once it is completely cooled and enjoy!

Please let me know in the comments if you enjoy this chia and flax seed sourdough!

If you liked this chia and flax seed sourdough, you might also enjoy my parmesan, paprika and black pepper sourdough recipe.