A single crocus blossom ought to be enough to convince our heart that springtime, no matter how predictable, is somehow a gift, gratuitous, gratis, a grace.

David Steindl-Rast

The crocuses are planted as close as possible to the door so as to be sure not to miss the blooming of this harbinger of spring. After months of dreariness and cold, these lovely flowers are a balm to my soul and a promise of all the light, life, warmth and green to come. My vegetable garden is coming back to life as well with garlic standing 6 inches tall and the shallots not far behind. The woody herbs are plentiful and the chives are fat and happy in their new space. The arugula and mizuna sprouted after a heavy rainfall we had a few days ago.

In the kitchen, I’ve been drawn to all the foods that represent this season of fertility and new growth- eggs, seeds, grains, and herbs. For me, all those elements are best put to use in smørrebrød, traditional open-faced Danish sandwiches. I love a dense, nubby loaf of bread full of whole grains and seeds. I’d be quite happy to eat this bread sliced thin and toasted for breakfast, lunch, and dinner for days on end. It is incredibly versatile equally delicious with fruit preserves or as a base for a simple egg salad.

The nice thing about over 15 years of experience making bread at home is that I can create loaves with the specific qualities I’m looking for by adjusting grains, milling, fermentation time, starter age, and supporting ingredients. This loaf makes use of a soaker- grains and seeds are soaked overnight to hydrate them before being added to the final dough in the morning. I’ve used both steel-cut oats and rye chops with great results. The oats make for a sweeter loaf, the rye is much earthier. The seeds are also flexible- any combination of flax, sesame, sunflower, pumpkin, and poppy works great and adds that nubbiness that I love. Sometimes I play around with seeds in the spice category as well like caraway, coriander, nigella, and fennel. A splash or buttermilk adds the subtlest tang and makes for a more tender crumb. Beer would be welcome here, too, adding yet another dimension of earthiness.

This simple meal really showcases some of the most fundamental kitchen skills- baking bread, hard-boiling eggs, and making mayonnaise. The reason I prefer to stock ingredients in my pantry rather than finished products is that I can take them in the direction of my choosing. I know not everyone will have a small chest freezer dedicated to storing whole grains and seeds and a mill on the counter but for me it works and is incredibly empowering.

seeded rye or oat bread

Recipe by Keri

Prep time

30

minutes

Cooking time

1

hour 

A dense, earthy, nubby bread that is excellent toasted with butter or preserves or as a base for smørrebrød.
NOTE- you will need a 13×4 inch Pullman loaf pan or two 9×4 inch Pullman loaf pans to make this.

Ingredients

• Soaker

• 80g rye chops or steel-cut oats

• 50g coarsely ground cornmeal

• 50g golden flaxseeds

• 50g sesame seeds

• 30g sunflower seeds

• 30g pumpkin seeds

• 285g water or whey if you have it

• Final Dough

• 400g spelt flour

• 200g light rye flour or bread flour-

• 17g salt

• 3g instant yeast

• 300g water

• 120g buttermilk (or more water)

• 100g ripe leaven

Directions

• The most important ingredient in this recipe is TIME. I recommend starting this bread 2 days before you plan to eat it. The soaker needs 10-12 hours and I would also recommend waiting until the day after you bake to cut into it. This dough has a very high hydration and the crumb is very moist immediately after baking. This is not the kind of bread that you should eat right out of the oven- the lengthy rest allows the dense loaf to continue to develop, cool and dry out enough to slice it thinly. I typically start on Friday night, bake on Saturday, and slice on Sunday. This bread keeps well for at least a week. It also freezes well- slice it thinly and freeze in a food-storage container or plastic zip bag. Pop a slice directly into the toaster and you are on your way!
• Combine all of the soaker ingredients well and cover with a towel, bee’s wrap, or plastic wrap overnight, 10-12 hours.
• Put the spelt and rye or bread flour into a bowl with the salt and instant yeast and whisk to combine. Use a plastic scraper or spatula to empty the soaker into a large bowl. Add water, buttermilk, and leaven and stir well to combine. Add the wet ingredients to the dry and mix well with your hands or in a stand mixer. The dough will be extremely sticky and dense.
• Use cooking spray or oil to lightly coat a bowl and scrape the dough into it. This dough needs 3 turns, every 45 minutes, to build structure and strength. With a wet hand, reach under the dough and pull the top down, both sides across to the other side, and the bottom up. Make sure that all the folds are tucked in. Allow a total of 3 hours to rise.
• Use butter, oil or nonstick spray to coat the bottom, sides and underside of the lid of the Pullman loaf pan. Transfer the dough to the pan and smooth the dough gently with wet hands. Slide on the lid and allow to rise another 2 hours at warm room temperature.
• Preheat the oven to 425°F. Place the pan in the middle of the oven and bake for 50 minutes. After baking for 50 minutes, carefully remove the lid and bake for another 15 minutes. The internal temperature of the bread should be at least 210°F. Remove the pan from the oven and invert the loaf onto a cooling rack. Allow to cool completely before slicing- ideally waiting until the following day.