This bread recipe showed up in Saveur’s annual list of 100 finds from the world of food (Saveur, Issue 171, January-February 2015), from Paris master baker Eric Kayser.
The Saveur recipe uses fresh yeast and gets fancy with a pizza stone and changing baking temperature. Instead I baked it at 375°F for about 40 minutes. Perhaps I should be more respectful of M. Kayser’s méthode, but the bread was wonderful cooked my way too. I did switch the loaves from top to bottom shelves every 10 minutes during the cooking time, to keep them evenly baked.
¼ cup flax seeds
2/3 cup cooked red quinoa
2 ½ teaspoons instant-mix yeast
2 ¼ cups all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting
¾ cup whole wheat flour
1 tablespoon kosher salt
1 ½ cups water
1 tablespoon honey
½ cup golden raisins
Heat flax seeds in a saucepan over medium heat until toasted, 2-3 minutes; transfer to a bowl to stop the cooking. Mix with cooked quinoa.
Whisk yeast, both flours, sugar, and salt in a bowl. Add water to the flours. Mix in quinoa and flax seeds and raisins. Knead 4-5 minutes. Shape dough into a tight round and place in bowl large enough to allow for doubling in size.
When doubled in size, punch down. Shape dough into 12”-long oval and pinch ends. If you want to, lightly dust dough with flour, then use a razor or paring knife to slice a decorative leaf pattern into top of dough, cutting about 1/4” deep.
Allow loaf to rise again. Cook in 375°F oven about 40 minutes, until loaf has a satisfyingly hollow thwack.