Multi-Grain Sourdough Boule

* 1 cup boiling water
* 1 cup Harvest Grains Blend
* 2 cups sourdough starter, fed and ready to use
* 1 3/4 cups King Arthur white whole wheat flour
* 1 3/4 cups Artisan Bread Flour or King Arthur Unbleached All-Purpose Flour
* 2 1/2 teaspoons salt
* 1 1/2 teaspoons instant yeast
* 2 tablespoons vegetable oil

Topping

* 1 tablespoon sesame seeds, Artisan Bread Topping, or your favorite blend of seeds

Directions

1) In a large mixing bowl, or the bucket of a bread machine, combine the Harvest Grains Blend and boiling water. Let cool to lukewarm

2) Add the fed sourdough starter and the remaining dough ingredients, and mix and knead – by hand, mixer, bread machine or food processor – until you’ve made a soft dough, adding additional water or flour as needed.

3) Cover the dough in the bowl, and let it rise until it’s almost doubled, about 1 to 1 1/2 hours.

4) Turn the dough out onto a lightly greased work surface, and gently fold it over a few times to deflate it. Shape it into a large round.

5) Cover the round with lightly greased plastic wrap. Or place in a round covered baker that’s been sprayed with non-stick baking spray and sprinkled with sesame seeds or cornmeal, and put on the cover. Let the loaf rise until it’s very puffy, about 1 to 1 1/2 hours. Towards the end of the rising time, preheat the oven to 425°F.

6) Just before baking, brush with water, and sprinkle with seeds. Use a lame or a very sharp knife to make four slashes across the top of the loaf, in a crosshatch pattern.

7) Bake the bread for 40 minutes. Uncover the loaf if in a covered baker, and continue to bake 10 to 15 minutes, until the loaf is golden brown and an instant-read thermometer inserted into the center registers 190°F. (A loaf baked on a baking sheet will need to bake for 38 to 45 minutes total.)

8) Remove the bread from the oven, let sit in the baker for 5 minutes, then turn out and cool on a rack.

Yield: 1 large loaf.