Sunflower Bread
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup raw unsalted sunflower seeds
- 5 cup unbleached white bread flour
- 1/4 cup bulgar wheat, coarsely ground, soaked in 1/4 cup water for 10 minutes
- 1/2 cup barley flakes
- 2 cup warm water
- 2 tablespoon sugar
- 2 tablespoon honey
- 3 tablespoon shortening
- 2 teaspoon salt
- 1/8 teaspoon tumeric
- 1/8 teaspoon paprika
- 1 package dry yeast
Instructions
Start by mixing 1/8 cup of water with the bulgar wheat in a cup. As long as it soaks for maybe 5 minutes before you add it to the mix, it won't be crunchy in the final product. Mix 2 cups flour, and all the rest of the dry ingredients including the yeast. Then mix in the shortening, honey, bulgar wheat, and water until a batter is formed. Mix in the rest of the flour, 1 cup at a time. It should form a ball and be only slightly tacky. Knead for 10 minutes. Form a ball, place into a buttered bowl, roll around in the bowl until coated with the butter (actually I spray Pam in), cover, and let rise until doubled in size. Punch down, and depending on the size of the loaf pans, form into 2 large or 3 smaller loaves. Let rise uncovered until doubled in size again. Bake at 300F for 45 minutes until it sounds hollow when tapped. A wonderful variation is to add 1/2 cup of pumpkin seeds in addition to the sunflower seeds. It changes the character of the bread, but it tastes great, too.