This multigrain sourdough bread is hearty and delicious and makes a great bread for sandwiches. It’s soft, and moist for days, and without commercial yeast. The whole grains add a great texture and flavor and nutritional benefits.
You can use a five or 7-grain cereal mix for this recipe, or make your own. The choice depends on your preference for the complexity of flavor and texture. Just ensure that your mix includes a base of rolled oats and whole grains for the best health benefits.
A cereal mix is unsweetened and unflavored with just pure grains. It’s usually made of rolled oats, barley, triticale, rye, and other grains. If you make your own multigrain blend, use rolled or old-fashioned oats as the base (not steel-cut oats), then add different grains and seeds as you like.
The bread dough
The dough for this bread has fairly high hydration, but the oats and grains will soak up a lot of it. They will soak in boiled water for about 20 minutes before the rest of the ingredients are added, which hydrate and plump them up. Once the rest of the ingredients are added, it makes a sticky but thick dough. You can knead it by hand or in the stand mixer.
The ingredients
Find the ingredient amounts for this multigrain bread recipe in the printable recipe card at the bottom of this post. Here is a rundown of what you will need.
- An active sourdough starter.
- 5 or 7-grain multigrain cereal mix (not sweetened or flavored)
- Hot water
- All-purpose flour or bread flour – with a protein level of at least 11%.
- Butter – a little for flavor
- Soft brown sugar or maple syrup
- Salt
- Seeds (optional) – Pumpkin seeds, flax seeds, poppy seeds, or sunflower seeds can add extra texture.
Learn to make a homemade sourdough starter.
Equipment
You’ll need the following:
- Two 8.5×4.5 loaf pans lined with parchment paper
- Kitchen scale
- Large bowl
Baker’s schedule
Here’s an example of a baker’s schedule for this bread. Feel free to tweak it to suit your own timing. With a bit of planning, you can have bread when you want it!
The fridge proof can also be extended overnight so the bread can be shaped and risen the following day. It can also be skipped according to your preference. The starter for this recipe is fed at 1:1:1 (starter:flour: water), so it will rise within 4-5 hours. If you want to feed the starter the night before, feed it at a higher ratio like 1:3:3, to slow the rising.
- 8 am – Feed the starter
- 12:30 pm – Soak the seeds
- 1:00 p.m. – Mix and knead the dough.
- 1:15 pm – First rise
- 5:30 pm – Cover and refrigerate
- 8:30 pm– Shape and rise again overnight at room temperature.
Method
Combine the starter, flour, and water in a small bowl. Mix until smooth, then tip into a clean jar, loosely cover, and let it rise in a warm spot until doubled and bubbly.
When the starter has about finished doubling, add the cereal mix to a large bowl and pour over the boiling water. Let them sit and soak until the water has cooled to room temperature.
Once cooled, add in the flour, doubled sourdough starter, sugar, and salt and combine into a thick and sticky dough.
Tip the dough onto a lightly floured work space and knead in the room temperature butter.
Knead the dough for 6-8 minutes until it becomes stretchy and strong. This can also be done in a stand mixer fitted with a dough hook.
Bulk fermentation time
Transfer the dough to a lightly greased large bowl and cover it with a damp towel. Let it bulk ferment in a warm spot until it has bulked out by around 40-50%. The rise time will depend on the temperature. I place mine in a turned-off oven next to a dish of boiled water.
Cover the dough tightly and refrigerate until ready to shape. This can be between 3-24 hours. I like to refrigerate it until late evening, then shape the bread and let it rise overnight.
Shaping
Line two 8.5×4.5 inch loaf pans with parchment paper.
Pull the cold dough from the bowl onto a lightly floured work surface. Shape it into a ball, then cut it into two equal pieces.
Stretch one piece of dough into a rectangle, then roll it up like a Swiss roll.
Place it into a bread pan, then repeat with the second piece.
Let the dough rise until double in size. This could be overnight at room temperature or in a warm spot the following day. If your room temperature is warm overnight, it’s best to wait to shape until the next morning so the loaves don’t over-proof.
Baking
Brush the top of the dough with a bit of milk and sprinkle with some grains.
Bake the loaves at 375°F/190°C for around 45 minutes until deeply golden brown. Remove the bread loaves from the pans and let them cool to room temperature on a wire rack before slicing.
Storing
Leftover bread can be stored at room temperature in an airtight container for up to 4 days. As this recipe makes two loaves, I like to freeze a loaf of bread for the following week.
Looking for more sourdough recipes? Try sourdough baguettes or sourdough burger buns!
Full Recipe
Multigrain Sourdough Bread
Yield:
2 loaves
Prep Time:
20 minutes
Cook Time:
45 minutes
Additional Time:
1 day
Total Time:
1 day1 hour5 minutes
This multigrain sourdough bread is hearty, delicious, and great for sandwiches. It’s soft and stays moist for days,
Ingredients
Sourdough starter
- 50g sourdough starter
- 50 all-purpose flour
- 50g water
Dough
- 120g multi-grain cereal mix*
- 570g boiling water
- 675g strong all-purpose flour or bread flour
- All the sourdough starter (approx 130g)
- 12g salt
- 25g brown sugar or maple syrup
- 45g unsalted butter, room temperature
Instructions
- In the morning, combine the starter, flour, and water in a small bowl. Mix until smooth, then tip into a clean jar, loosely cover, and let it rise in a warm spot until doubled and bubbly, around 4 hours.
- When the starter has about finished doubling, add the cereal mix to a large bowl and pour over the boiling water. Let it sit and soak until the water has cooled to room temperature.
- Once cooled, add the flour, doubled sourdough starter, sugar, and salt and combine into a thick and sticky dough.
- Tip the dough onto a lightly floured work space and knead in the room temperature butter. Knead the dough for 6-8 minutes until it becomes stretchy and strong. This can also be done in a stand mixer fitted with a dough hook.
Bulk fermentation time
- Place the dough in a lightly greased large bowl. Cover with a damp kitchen towel. Let it bulk ferment in a warm spot until it has bulked out by around 40-50%. The rise time will depend on the temperature. I place mine in a turned-off oven next to a dish of boiled water.
- Cover the dough tightly and refrigerate until ready to shape. This can be between 3-24 hours. I like to refrigerate it until late evening, then shape the bread and let it rise overnight. If your overnight room temperature is warm, it’s best to wait to shape until the morning so the bread doesn’t overproof.
Shaping
- Line two 8.5×4.5 inch loaf pans with parchment paper.
- Pull the cold dough from the bowl onto a lightly floured work surface. Shape it into a ball, then cut it into two equal pieces.
- Stretch one piece of dough into a rectangle, then roll it up like a Swiss roll. Place it into a bread pan, then repeat with the second piece.
- Let the dough rise until doubled in size. This could be overnight at room temperature or in a warm spot the following day.
Baking
- Preheat the oven to 375°F/190°C.
- Brush the top of the dough with a bit of milk and sprinkle with some extra grains. Bake the loaves for around 45 minutes until deeply golden brown.
- Remove the bread loaves from the pans and let them cool to room temperature on a wire rack before slicing.
Notes
*Multi-grain cereal mix is an unsweetened, unflavored mix made with pure grains like rolled oats, barley, triticale, and rye. If you make your own multigrain blend, use rolled or old-fashioned oats as the base (not steel-cut oats), then add different grains and seeds as you like.
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Nutrition Information:
Yield: 16
Serving Size: 1
Amount Per Serving:
Calories: 208Total Fat: 3gSaturated Fat: 2gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 1gCholesterol: 6mgSodium: 331mgCarbohydrates: 39gFiber: 2gSugar: 2gProtein: 5g
