Prairie Seed Artisan Bread
Published: February 12, 2023 | April 19, 2024.
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NOTE: This recipe has been updated to include an additional step in which the dough is cold proofed in the refrigerator prior to baking.
This no-knead Prairie Seed Artisan Bread is a straightforward overnight bake made with simple, wholesome ingredients. It’s deliciously satisfying, packed with additional plant-based protein and you will LOVE that crunchy topping!
When I think back to the best breakfasts we had growing up, they almost always included thick, buttered slices of chewy homemade bread, jammy eggs and a side of sweet, freshly made, homegrown preserves.
This prairie seed artisan bread recipe is my take on popular, seeded oat bakery-style loaves. It’s also a tribute to my father and all those fuelling, early morning breakfasts that instilled my deep and abiding love for all things bread.
This seeded oat loaf is based on my Everyday Artisan Bread recipe, an easy-to-bake reader favourite that has been enjoyed by bakers of all levels. Like my other artisan bread recipes, it’s made with simple ingredients and kitchen tools.
After several rounds of testing and tweaking the ingredient proportions and bake time I am so pleased with the result! Using my Honey Oat and Muesli Artisan Bread recipes as reference points, I found the first loaf to be too dense to rise well and the first two loaves to be lacking in flavour. In the end, doubling both the yeast and honey or maple syrup produced the lightly sweetened, satisfying loaf I was looking for.
Lastly, I’ve also lowered the baking temperature slightly and adjusted the bake time to compensate for the add-ins. The result is a loaf that’s deliciously hearty and sweet with a soft, chewy crumb and a perfectly golden, crunchy crust!
Using my no-knead method to keep it as simple and approachable as possible, this recipe will produce a beautiful homemade loaf with only 20 minutes of hands-on prep time.
How to Make Prairie Seed Artisan Bread in 5 steps
Mix the dough.
Cover and let it rise until it has doubled in size.
Shape your dough and dust with flour.
Cover and proof the dough in the fridge for 1 hour or as long as 24 hours.
Turn dough out onto parchment, add toppings, score and bake.
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Baking Schedule
Making this Prairie Seed Artisan bread is a two-day process where the bread is mixed and prepared on day one, cold proofed in the fridge overnight, then baked on day two.
This is what it looks like:
Saturday morning: Mix dough, cover and let rise.
Saturday afternoon or evening: Shape dough, cover and put it in the fridge.
Sunday morning, afternoon or evening: Remove dough from the fridge, turn it out, add toppings, score it and bake!
There are so many ways to enjoy this bread! We love it with lots of melty butter or grilled in a skillet with a little olive oil, toasted for breakfast with a thick layer of our favourite nut butter or paired with avocado and jammy eggs for Sunday brunch. And it has quickly become a favourite to serve alongside hearty soups and stews. Easy, versatile… delicious!
Prairie Seed Artisan Bread
Makes 1 loaf; prep time 18 hours 15 minutes.
You can find additional notes on steps, baking tools and tips for beginners here.
Ingredients:
1½ cups water (360 grams), room temperature (at or near 70°F/21°C)
2 tablespoons (37.5 grams) liquid honey or maple syrup
2 teaspoons (6 grams) active dry yeast
3 cups (390 grams) bread flour, plus more for dusting
1 cup (100 grams) old fashioned rolled oats
¼ cup (10 grams) unsalted pumpkin seeds (pepitas)
1 tablespoon (7 grams) ground flaxseed
1 tablespoon (8.75 grams) sesame seeds
1¾ teaspoons (5 grams) kosher or fine sea salt
Topping:
1 tablespoon (6.25 grams) old fashioned rolled oats
1 tablespoon (7.5 grams) pumpkin seeds (pepitas)
1 tablespoon (8 grams) sunflower seeds
1 tablespoon (8.75 grams) sesame seeds (optional)
Instructions:
In a small bowl or measuring cup, whisk together honey or maple syrup and water. Sprinkle yeast across the top and let sit for 10-15 minutes.
While the yeast is activating, in a large bowl whisk together flour, oats, pumpkin seeds, sunflower seeds, sesame seeds and salt.
Add yeast mixture to the bowl and use a rubber spatula to mix just until combined. If you find the dough to be too dry, add a little more water a teaspoon at a time (usually 1 teaspoon is enough, two at most). The dough should be thick and look a little shaggy and there should still be a little flour around the edges of the bowl.
Cover and let rise somewhere warm (see note below) until it has doubled in size, about 8-10 hours.
Once the dough has doubled in volume, use your hands (or a dough scraper if you have one) to pull the dough out onto a floured surface. With floured hands, gently fold the dough into itself several times until a soft, flour-covered ball is formed. Seam side up, lift and place it into a flour dusted proofing bowl like this one. Dust with flour, cover and refrigerate for a minimum of 1 hour or as long as 24 hours. You can even leave it for as long as 48 hours at this point if you’re not able to bake it right away.
When you're ready to bake your bread, preheat oven to 425ºF (220ºC) with a Dutch oven or covered baking vessel inside the oven.
Uncover then invert the bowl to turn the dough out onto parchment paper seam side down. If needed, gently turn it with your hands and nudge it into the shape of a loaf. Brush dough lightly with a little filtered water and sprinkle remaining oats and seeds across the surface of your loaf, pressing them into the dough as you go so they hold. Score the top with a razor blade or the tip of a sharp knife with a design of your choosing. This will allow steam to escape while it’s baking.
Once the oven is preheated, remove the Dutch oven from the oven and transfer the dough, still on the parchment, into the Dutch oven. Cover and bake for 40 minutes, then remove the cover and bake for 15-20 minutes more. Your bread will be done once the top is browned, and it sounds hollow when you tap the top.
Using parchment edges, lift bread from Dutch oven and transfer it to a wire cooling rack to let cool for up to an hour before slicing.
Notes:
Seeds: If you don’t have or don’t enjoy the seeds I’ve used in this recipe, poppy seeds, hemp seeds and ground flaxseed would all be delicious alternatives.
Rise time and temperature: An ambient rise temperature somewhere between ~70º-75º/20º-23ºC is ideal but even high 60's/18º-19ºC should work if the dough is kept away from drafts. Note that rise times can vary based on temperature, environment and ingredients used. You will know your loaf is ready to bake when it has doubled in size, and this can take a minimum of 2-3 hours or as long as a full day. With a little experimentation, you will find the time frame that works best for you.
Keep it covered for the first 40 minutes of baking: Holding in the moisture at this point is key to developing the crispy crust.
Storage: This bread will store well on the counter for 2-3 days and in the refrigerator for up to a week. Sliced bread will freeze well for up to 3 months.
