Chia Seed Sourdough Bread

A loaf of freshly baked sourdough bread o a cooling rack.

Why the fast version? Because we're not presoaking chia seeds or doing any other kind of preparation for this bread apart from feeding our starter beforehand. The result is a delicious sourdough loaf that is just a tad more interesting and rich in fiber with the addition of chia seeds!

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Prep Time 1

Cook Time 32

Additional Time 12

Total Time 13 32

Servings 12 slices

Calories 111

Equipment

1 Mixing bowl
1 Measuring cups and spoons or a kitchen scale
1 Dough scraper optional
1 banneton basket or a bowl that is similarly shaped
1 razor blade or sharp knife
1 parchment paper or bread mat
1 dutch oven
1 Cooling rack optional

Ingredients

200 grams water
80 grams milk whole is best
100 grams sourdough starter
300 grams all-purpose flour
20 grams chia seeds
6 grams salt

Instructions

Mix water, milk, salt, and chia seeds in a mixing bowl. Add your starter and mix so that the starter can disperse in the water.
Add the flour and mix the dough. The dough should be very sticky and impossible to handle at this point (after the chia seeds soak up some liquid, you'll be able to handle it easily!).
Wait at least 30 minutes for the flour and the chia seeds to soak up the liquid (autolyse).
Now the bulk ferment starts. In the first two hours of the bulk ferment, do 3 - 6 sets of stretch and folds or coil folds every 20 - 40 minutes. I try to go for 6 sets if I have the time, but the difference between 3 and 6 is minimal, so 3 sets are ok too.
The time for bulk ferment will depend a lot on the temperature of your kitchen, but since we used quite a lot of starter in the dough, the bulk ferment will probably last around 6 - 9 hours at room temperature (read more about the timing sourdough proofing).
After the first rise (bulk fermentation), shape your dough into a loaf. The easiest thing to do that is to start with a lightly floured work surface. Stretch the dough a bit on that surface, then pinch together the opposite ends (up and down), and repeat in the other direction (left and right).
Put the loaf into a tea towel-lined banneton basket (and lightly flour that tea towel for good measure!) with the seam side up. Cover with something airtight and let it rise for the second time - about 2 hours at room temperature or overnight in the fridge.
Turn your dough on a piece of parchment paper or a bread mat, score it, move it into a preheated dutch oven, and bake in a preheated oven at 460°F (238°C) for 30 minutes. Remove the lid and continue baking for an extra 10 minutes at 440°F (227°C) to achieve a lovely golden brown color.
Remove the bread from the oven and cool on a cooling rack. This prevents the underside of the dough from becoming soggy.

Video

Notes

whenever you have a hard time with your dough sticking to your fingers, wet your hands. Read more about how to handle sticky dough!
doing coil folds instead of the stretch and fold method can be a bit easier as long as the dough is very sticky. I usually do about 2 sets of coil folds and then proceed with stretch and folds.
The dough needs to be very sticky at first, so don't be tempted to add more flour, as that will lead to dense bread! I promise the dough comes together when the liquid gets soaked up by chia seeds and the flour.
To achieve the scoring to stand out more, try to do the second rise in the fridge. Scoring into a cold dough is less messy and the design tends to be clearer and more pronounced.
Last but not least: your starter needs to be active. I know sourdough discard can lift your bread just as well, but the timings for that will be different. For this recipe, use your starter as close to its peak as possible.
Instead of letting your dough double during a bulk rise, aim for a 75% increase in rise instead. Letting the dough double can quickly lead to over fermentation and there's no coming back from that. After a 75% increase in size, the dough is nicely fermented and still has some power to rise during the second rise.

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