Thought I would try adding some whole wheat flour and sunflower seeds to the basic white boule to increase the fiber and nutritive value a bit. I also wanted to play around with the timing. I knew that if I set up the dough for the all white flour bread early in the morning that I could skip the overnight rest in the refrigerator, and actually have a loaf on the table for dinner, but  I wasn’t sure if that would work with the whole wheat. Well, the bottom line is that it not only works; it works well! Check out my 2/17 blog ( Saltwater Influenced: Busy Day. Easy Bread. ) for the basic white bread recipe.

No Knead Boule With Wheat Flour and Sunflower Seeds

Early morning. By 7 AM:

Combine 2 C white flour ( King Arthur AP or Bread), 1 C whole wheat flour, 1/2 C salted and roasted sunflower seeds, 3/4 TBS Kosher salt, 3/4 TBS rapid rise yeast, and 1 3/4 C room temperature water in a large enough bowl to allow for rising. Cover lightly and let rise for a couple of hours in a warm kitchen. I actually use an empty microwave for rising bread dough. It’s a nice cozy place without drafts, and it gets the bowl off of the counter. After this first rise, put the bowl in the refrigerator for 5 to 6 hours.

Mid-Afternoon the same day:

Put a heavy pot with a close fitting cover ( I use a 4 Qt. Le Creuset, but any heavy pot will work.) in a 425 oven for an hour to get really hot. What you’re doing here is simulating a steam oven. At the same time, take the dough from the refrigerator and put it on a board sprinkled with a little flour. Form it into a round loaf and let it come to room temperature and relax while the pot is heating up. Think microwave again.

After about an hour, take the pot out of the oven, open the lid and pop in the dough. The shape won’t be perfect and doesn’t need to be. Just dump it in! BE CAREFUL. The pot is really hot. Put the covered pot back in the oven for a half hour. After a half hour, remove the cover and leave the pot in the oven, uncovered, for 15-17 minutes. The internal temperature should register about 205 degrees with an instant read thermometer when it’s done. Don’t worry if you don’t have one though. The timing is pretty exact on this. Remove the bread and let it cool on a rack for at least an hour, if not more. This is important. Don’t by-pass the resting stage.

A couple of points. Both the basic white and the wheat/sunflower breads will work well without an overnight rise, but the flavor is enhanced the longer you let the dough rest, so those extra hours in the refrigerator are a good thing if you have the time. The other thing I want to mention is that this bread makes great toast!