Sunflower and Flax Seeds Whole Wheat Cast Iron Bread
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Sunflower and Flax Seeds Whole Wheat Cast Iron Bread – no kneading required and only a few ingredients turn into a super crusty delicious bread.
Ever since I’ve started making this easy no knead bread, I’ve never looked back and this is pretty much the only bread I ever make. It couldn’t get any easier. This is the 3rd variation I try, I’ve made one with only white flour, one with whole wheat flour and now I’m trying one with half white half whole wheat and I threw in some sunflower seeds and flax seeds. I have to say this is my favorite, simply because of the sunflower and flax seeds. I cannot tell you enough how easy this bread is.
We love this bread, whenever we want fresh bread, this is the bread we go to. I love the crust and it never fails to amaze me how great the crust is on this bread, it’s like a miracle, like magic. Nothing tastes and smells better, at least to me, than homemade fresh bread, straight out of the oven. If you’re patient enough you can wait until it’s cool to cut into it, or if you’re more the impatient kind like my husband, then you probably will just break into it and have at it.
So when I said this bread is easy to make I didn’t lie. The day before you want to eat the bread, all you need to do is mix all the ingredients in a big bowl, and by mixing I mean to roughly just mix them with a wooden spoon until somewhat incorporated. That’s it, you just cover the bowl and leave it until the next day, you need to let it sit for about 12 to 18 hours. Usually I’ll do mine the night before, takes no more than a couple minutes. This is when you also throw in the seeds or whatever else you want to add to the bread, like herbs, cheeses, or dried fruits like cranberries.
The next day all you need to do is shape the dough into a ball, but make sure you flour your hands really well. It doesn’t have to be perfect.
Before you place it in your dutch oven, you need to heat your dutch oven as you’re warming up your oven, this will prevent your bread from sticking to the bottom. Trust me I know, I forgot once to heat up the dutch oven and I had a hard time taking the bread out.
Cover it up with the lid and bake it for 30 minutes, remove the lid and bake for another 15 minutes and you end up with the most gorgeous little bread you’ve ever seen. Even if you’ve never made bread before this is a no fail recipe. Trust me.
Watch the video for the original No Knead Crusty bread:
If you guys love this recipe, and most importantly make it yourselves, please let us know. Take a picture and tag it #jocooks on Instagram so we can see it. I always love to see what you guys come up with!
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Sunflower and Flax Seeds Whole Wheat Cast Iron Bread
Prep: 5 mins
Cook: 45 mins
Total: 50 mins
Serves: 10
Sunflower and Flax Seeds Whole Wheat Cast Iron Bread - no kneading required and only a few ingredients turn into a super crusty delicious bread.
Ingredients
- 2 cups whole wheat flour
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 2 tsp salt
- 1 tsp active dry yeast
- 2 1/4 cup water
- 1/3 cup sunflower seeds
- 1/3 cup flax seeds
Instructions
- In a big bowl mix flour, salt and yeast together. At this time you can add the sunflower and flax seeds and stir them around a bit. Pour water into the bowl and using a spatula mix it until it's all incorporated. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and let it sit on your counter for 12 to 18 hours.
- Preheat oven to 450 F degrees. Add your ]cast iron pot to the oven and heat it as well until it's at 450 F degrees.
- Remove pot from oven and remove the lid from it.
- Flour your work surface really well and make sure you flour your hands really well. With your floured hands gently remove the dough from the bowl and roughly shape it into a ball. Take the ball of dough and drop it into the pot. Cover the pot with the lid and place it back in the oven.
- Bake for 30 minutes with the lid on, after which remove the lid and bake for another 15 to 20 minutes until golden brown.
- Remove from the oven and let cool.
Recipe Notes
Prep time does not include time to let the dough rise.
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Always check the expiration date on your yeast and make sure it hasn't expired. All your yeast products whether it’s in a jar or a package should be stamped with a “Best if Used by” date. Always make sure you check this date, even when you purchase the yeast, who knows it could have been on the shelf past its expiry date.
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To keep your yeast fresh and longer lasting, unopened yeast packages or jars should be stored in a cool or dry place such as your cupboard. However, you can also store your yeast in the fridge or freezer. If you do store it in the freezer and need to use yeast for your baking, make sure you take out the amount you need and let it sit at room temperature for at least half hour before using.
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Once your yeast package or jar has been opened, you must refrigerate the yeast or freeze it in an airtight container.
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One thing to remember about your yeast, is that it is a living organism and over time it will lose activity, even if you’ve never opened the jar or package. So if you don’t bake often, buy the smaller yeast packages rather than a big jar of yeast.
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Why is my bread chewy: Usually your bread will be chewy when there isn't enough gluten formation or you're using a low-protein flour. Make sure you let your bread dough rest for at least 12 hours to give it enough time for gluten formation.
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Why is my bread dense: Usually bread will be too dense when there is too much flour. Keep in mind this dough will be pretty sticky, do not add more flour than specified. Other factors that come into play are humidity and age of flour. Little yeast, long rise, sticky dough are keys to a good, light loaf.
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I don't have a Dutch oven, what can I use instead: If you don't have a Dutch Oven, a covered metal pot would work as well, just make sure it can stand up to 450 F heat. A 4 quart Calphalon soup pot with lid would work as well. If your pot doesn't have a lid, you can cover the pot with heavy-duty aluminum foil, just make sure you seal the pot well.
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How do I know when my bread is done baking: Tap the bottom! Take the bread out of the Dutch oven, turn it upside down and give the bottom a firm thump with your thumb, or a knock and if it sounds hollow it's done.
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Nutrition: Please keep in mind that nutritional information is a rough estimate and can vary greatly based on products used.
Nutrition Information:
Serving: 112gCalories: 213kcal (11%)Carbohydrates: 39.21g (13%)Protein: 7.57g (15%)Fat: 3.77g (6%)Saturated Fat: 0.374g (2%)Polyunsaturated Fat: 1.568gMonounsaturated Fat: 1.215gTrans Fat: 0.001gSodium: 468mg (20%)Potassium: 195mg (6%)Fiber: 5.1g (21%)Sugar: 0.31gVitamin A: 50IU (1%)Vitamin C: 0.8mg (1%)Calcium: 50mg (5%)Iron: 2.9mg (16%)
Nutrition Facts
Sunflower and Flax Seeds Whole Wheat Cast Iron Bread
Amount Per Serving (112 g)
Calories 213
Calories from Fat 34
% Daily Value*
Fat 3.77g6%
Saturated Fat 0.374g2%
Trans Fat 0.001g
Polyunsaturated Fat 1.568g
Monounsaturated Fat 1.215g
Sodium 468mg20%
Potassium 195mg6%
Carbohydrates 39.21g13%
Fiber 5.1g21%
Sugar 0.31g0%
Protein 7.57g15%
Vitamin A 50IU1%
Vitamin C 0.8mg1%
Calcium 50mg5%
Iron 2.9mg16%
* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.
What you’ll need:
If you love this bread, try these other no knead cast iron breads:
Kara Egan says
I made it just as written and it is so good I also appreciated the video – it was short and well edited. The steps were easy to follow and the clean up was quick! Would highly recommend.
Next time I want to experiment with herbs. Which ones would you recommend?
Thanks Jo!
Jo Cooks Team says
Rosemary or thyme would be delicious!
Cintra Horn says
Words cannot describe how grateful I am for this recipe. It may be one of the single things that gave me hope during stay at home orders. Once they were available, I tried other fancy seed blends but the bread was not nearly as delicious as this loaf! Thank you for sharing your recipe!
Jo Cooks Team 2 says
This is so nice, thank you so much!!
I am so glad you like the recipe, Cintra 🙂
Erin says
This was so good and so easy – will definitely be trying more variations. I followed the recipe exactly except for omitting the sunflower seeds, because I didn’t have any in the house. I did a 12 hour rise overnight which was perfect.
Lilia says
what happens if I put my dough in refrigerator for 18 hours? I was told that it will make dough rise slow and taste better – any suggestions or experience on doing it?
Jo Cooks Team says
Since this recipe calls for such a small amount of yeast, it’s best to let it rise at room temperature otherwise you’ll end up with a dense loaf. A slow refrigerator rise will work for regular doughs rather than slow rise doughs.
Anodita Rajavat says
Hello… utterly unable to form the dough into any semblance of a ball 🙂
Whatever should I do ?
Jo Cooks Team says
Flour your hands super well! You can keep a bowl of flour close by to dip your hands in.
Beatrijs says
I do not have a dutch oven. Would a pyrex with lid do ?
Jo Cooks Team says
You can give it a try!
L says
i made this flax bread last night, well i only mixed the ingredients together and went to bed. After 18 hours, the dough jiggled in the bowl, i scraped it onto some parchment paper with my floured hands as it was very sticky, as my oven was not warm enough, sat out on the counter for about 30 min. The dough looked like a flat pizza dough, is this the way its supposed to look? I put the dough with the parchment paper in the dutch oven, its now baking for 30 min, fingers crossed this will work out.
Jo Cooks Team says
Yes that sounds right! It’s a very wet dough.
l says
well i made the bread, was very good as i was very skeptical, if i make this next time, could i knead the dough and make it into a ball and then throw it in the pot?
Jo Cooks Team says
This dough is meant to be a no-knead! Kneading after that long rise will push the air bubbles out and make the loaf dense.