This sourdough with quinoa recipe uses both whole wheat and all-purpose flours. The quinoa gives the sourdough a delicious toast and sweet flavor which adds complexity to the tangy sourdough taste. Interestingly, the quinoa is not visible inside the loaf but the flavor is there. In addition to increasing the flavor complexity of the dough, quinoa also adds more nutritional benefits to the dough such as protein, antioxidants, fiber, iron and magnesium.
The texture of this sourdough with quinoa is soft yet hearty. It is perfect for sandwiches or toasting.
This recipe is very adaptable to your own baking schedule. The total time from start to finish for this recipe is four to five days, but most of that time is idle time. For example, you can bake your loaves after 24-48 hours of refrigerator without losing any noticeable integrity of the dough structure.
If you try this recipe, please let us know what you think in the comments!
Equipment
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For this recipe, you’ll need a Dutch oven and a kitchen scale. For my full list of baking tools and why I like these products, check out this post.
The dutch oven I used: Emile Henry 4.2 qt – I love this Dutch oven because it is light and not difficult to move in and out of the oven.
My kitchen scale: This scale is great because it can weigh large amounts of dough up to 22 lbs.
Sourdough starter:
If you don’t already have a sourdough starter, I recommend this live one. You can feed it until it becomes active and ready to use.
Baking schedule
Here is an example baking schedule for these loaves. Feel free to adapt this to your own schedule.
| Day | Activity | Time (optional) |
| 1 | Mix leaven | 7:30 pm |
| 2 | Mix dough | 7:30 am |
| 3 | Shape dough | 7: 30 am |
| 4 or 5 | Bake dough | Anytime |
Sourdough with Quinoa
Equipment
- Dutch oven
- kitchen scale
- sourdough starter
Ingredients
Leaven (Levain) Ingredients
- 167 g sourdough starter
- 510 g water
- 480 g whole wheat flour
Dough Ingredients
- 250 g water
- 600 g all-purpose flour
- 20 g salt
- 200 g cooked quinoa This is the already cooked weight. Follow the instructions on the package for how to cook it. You'll need slightly under 1/2 cup dry quinoa.
- rice flour (for dusting) optional
Instructions
Make the leaven (or levain)
- In a large mixing bowl or container like this one, weigh out the 167 g sourdough starter using your kitchen scale.
- Then, add 510 g water and 480 g whole wheat flour. Mix to combine.
- Cover the mixture and let rest at room temperature overnight for about 10-14 hours. It will double or triple in size.
Mix the dough
- After the leaven has grown in volume and is very bubbly, add 250 g water and 600 g all-purpose flour. Mix by hand gently to combine. Some of the flour might still be dry. Cover, and let rest at room temperature for 1 hour.
- After 1 hour, add the salt and mix to incorporate. Then cover and rest again for 30 minutes.
- Then, perform one set of stretch and folds by gently lifting up the sides of the dough and folding toward the middle of the dough. Add the 200 g cooked quinoa to the dough, and continue stretching and folding the dough until the quinoa is incorporated. Cover, and let rest for 30 minutes.
- After 30 minutes of resting, stretch and fold the dough again. Cover, then refrigerate it overnight or for about 12 hours.
- Remove the dough from the refrigerator and rest it at room temperature for about 2.5 hours. During this time, do three sets of stretch and folds about 45 -60 minutes apart.
Shape the dough
- Then, remove the dough from the container onto the counter and divide into two pieces. A slightly damp counter will prevent the dough from sticking.
- Form each piece of dough into a taut ball by gently pulling the dough underneath (see video). Then rest each dough ball seam-side down on the counter for 20 minutes.
- Next, transfer each loaf into bowls or bannetons lined with kitchen towels. It helps to dust the kitchen towels with flour (rice flour works well). The loaves will be seam-side up in the bannetons or bowls. Dust the loaves with flour, and cover with a kitchen towl or plastic wrap.
- Refrigerate the shaped loaves for 24-48 hours.
Bake the loaves
- Preheat your oven and Dutch oven to 500°F. I usually preheat for at least 20 minutes after it reaches 500 °F to make sure it is thoroughly heated.
- Remove a shaped loaf from the refrigerator and slash the dough across the top to allow steam to escape during baking. Transfer to the Dutch oven, cover and bake for 25 minutes.
- After 25 minutes, decrease the oven temperature to 450 °F and uncover the Dutch oven. Bake for another 20-40 minutes or until golden brown.
- Allow the bread to cool for a few hours, then slice and eat!
Isnt cooking the quinoa not un unecessesary step?
They will “cook” eventually 40 minutes with the bread itself.
you could however debate if you should soak the quinoa before adding to the dough.
Sure you can try without cooking the quinoa, but the recipe I wrote accounts for it cooked so your water content will likely be off if you try it uncooked or just soaked.