Easy Sunflower Bread (no-knead)

June 13, 2015

Sunflower seed bread recipe

I am a huge fan of this quick and easy sunflower bread – or to be more precise – of this rye and whole wheat sunflower seed bread. In Austria, we eat this kind of bread a lot.

 

It usually comes loaf-shaped and consists of a mixture of white and whole wheat flour. I also added rye flour to my recipe. Some varieties are dense and packed with seeds, others are a little bit more on the fluffy side, like this one.

 

I didn’t have a particular recipe for sunflower seed bread on hand, so I thought this would be a good opportunity for experimenting. As leavening, I used active dry yeast instead of Hermann or Rudi, my two sourdoughs.

 

I was highly surprised that the bread I mixed together, came out of the oven perfectly on my first attempt. It’s just like the ones you would get in an Austrian bakery. Even David, my one and only honest critic (I forced him to do that…) admitted that this bread is bakery material. Enough of the self-praise. You will see for yourself.

Sunflower bread recipe

 

Previously, I was more into dark rye sourdough breads, but since summer arrived here in Boston, I have been looking for a lighter alternative that would go well for sandwiches and balcony breakfasts. My balcony days are numbered, by the way, since I will have to move soon. So let’s make the best out of the time remaining.

 

Anyway, this recipe will definitely come along with me as we move into our new apartment, and will be gas oven-proofed soon. No worries, bread, it won’t hurt.

Sunflower bread

 

Recipe for Sunflower Seed Bread

Ingredients for sunflower bread

For your homemade sunflower seed bread you will need whole wheat, rye and white bread flour, 1¼ cups toasted, unsalted sunflower seeds, honey and molasses (you can substitute honey for molasses), active dry yeast, lukewarm water and salt.

 

If you only have raw sunflower seeds on hand, you can toast them in a pan without oil for 5 to 10 minutes over medium heat until fragrant and lighty golden in color. You will need 1 cup toasted seeds that go into the dough. The seeds you will sprinkle on top can either be raw or toasted.

Recipe for sunflower seed bread

Dissolve active dry yeast, honey and molasses in lukewarm water, add white bread flour and whole wheat flour. Vigorously stir using a hand whisk (or cooking spoon) until the batter is smooth and resembles pancake batter.

No knead dough for Sunflower seed bread

Stir in salt and 1 cup toasted sunflower seeds. Mix well. Add rye flour in two or three batches, and stir well with a sturdy cooking spoon (that’s good workout).

Sunflower bread dough (no knead)

Grease a 9 x 5 inch loaf pan and pour in the dough. Distribute as well as possible with the cooking spoon, then wet your hands and pat the surface smooth.

Sunflower bread (no knead) recipe

Sprinkle ¼ cup of sunflower seeds on top (toasted or raw are fine), and slightly pat them into the dough.

Sunflower seed bread rising

Let the bread rise covered for ¾ to 1 hour or until the dough has filled the whole loaf pan (or even a little higher). I always place the whole loaf pan in a small plastic bag (like the ones you get for produce at supermarkets) with enough air trapped and close it tightly.

Sunflowerbread rising

The bag shouldn’t touch the dough, so make sure to trap enough air. I prefer this method to using a lid or cling wrap because even if the bread is rising and you overlook time, it won’t get messy.

Sunflower bread after rising

After rising, the surface of the dough is usually not that tightly packed with sunflower seeds as it used to be, and there will be some blanks spots. You can sprinkle some additional seeds and carefully! pat them so they won’t fall off immediately (I did so in the picture above).

 

Now your bread is ready to go into the oven.

Sunflower bread recipe

Bake the bread in the middle rack of the preheated oven until the loaf is dark golden brown. Bake 10 minutes at 450 °F, reduce heat to 400 °F and bake for 30 more minutes.

 

Remove the bread from the oven, let it cool slightly (5 or 10 minutes), then remove it from the pan when still very hot and let cool on a wire rack. Let the bread cool completely before cutting or it will still be a bit gummy inside.

Sunflower seed bread recipe

In my opinion, this bread tastes best on the second or third day after baking. It is also easier and thinner to cut after a few days. I store it in a bread box or you can wrap it tightly in wax paper (don’t use cling wrap).

 

Have fun baking!

 

Easy Sunflower Bread (no-knead)

Yield: One 5 x 9 inch loaf (2 2/3 lbs or 1.2 kg)

Easy Sunflower Bread (no-knead)

This homemade sunflower seed bread is just like the ones you would get in an Austrian bakery. It's light, moist, grainy and makes a perfect sandwich, breakfast or brunch. This is a no-knead recipe made with yeast.

Ingredients

  • 2 1/8 cups (510 ml) lukewarm water
  • 1 tablespoon (18 g) molasses (you can substitute with honey)
  • 1 tablespoon (18 g) honey
  • 2 ¼ teaspoons (7 g) active dry yeast
  • 180 g white bread flour (about 1 ¼ cups)
  • 220 g whole wheat flour (about 1 ¾ cups)*
  • 180 g rye flour (about 1 ½ cups)*
  • 1 cup (140 g) + ¼ cup (35 g) unsalted, toasted sunflower seeds (see note)
  • 3 teaspoons (18 g) fine salt
  • Oil for greasing the pan

    * I am using whole wheat flour from 365 everyday brand available at Whole Foods and Arrowhead Mills organic whole grain rye flour.

Instructions

  1. Dissolve molasses and honey in lukewarm water in a large bowl and sprinkle yeast over the top. Let yeast activate until it forms a creamy layer on top of the water, about 5-10 minutes.
  2. Add bread flour and whole wheat flour and vigorously stir using a cooking spoon until the batter is smooth and resembles pancake batter.
  3. Stir in salt and 1 cup toasted sunflower seeds. Mix well.
  4. Add rye flour in two or three batches, get rid of the hand whisk and stir well with a cooking spoon (that’s good workout). Make sure you mixed in the flour thoroughly and that there is no flour sticking to the bottom of the bowl. The dough is quite sticky and impossible to knead. Refrain from adding more flour or the bread will get firm.
  5. Grease a 9 x 5 inch loaf pan and pour in the dough. Distribute as well as possible with the cooking spoon, then wet your hands and pat the surface smooth.
  6. Sprinkle ¼ cup of sunflower seeds on top (toasted or raw are fine), and slightly pat them into the dough.
  7. Let the bread rise covered for ¾ to 1 hour or until the dough has filled the whole loaf pan (or even a little higher). I always place the whole loaf pan in a small plastic bag (like the ones you get for produce at supermarkets), trap enough air and close tightly. The bag shouldn’t touch the dough, so make sure to trap enough air. I prefer this method to using a lid or cling wrap because even if the bread is rising and you overlook time, it won't get messy.
  8. After rising, the surface of the dough is usually not that tightly packed with sunflower seeds as it used to be, and there will be some blanks spots. You can sprinkle some additional sunflower seeds and carefully! pat them so they won’t fall off immediately.
  9. Bake the bread in the middle rack of the preheated oven until the loaf is dark golden brown. Bake 10 minutes at 450 °F, reduce heat to 400 °F and bake for 30 more minutes.
  10. Remove the bread from the oven, let it cool slightly (5 or 10 minutes), then remove it from the pan when still very hot and let cool on a wire rack. Let the bread cool completely before cutting or it will still be a bit gummy inside.
  11. In my opinion, this bread tastes best on the second or third day after baking. It is also easier and thinner to cut after a few days. I store it in a bread box or if you don't owe one, tightly wrapped in wax paper (don’t use cling wrap).

Notes

If you only have raw sunflower seeds on hand, you can toast them in a pan without oil for about 5 minutes over medium heat until fragrant (don't let them brown). You will need 1 cup toasted seeds that go into the dough. The seeds you will sprinkle on top can either be raw or toasted.

https://www.lilvienna.com/easy-sunflower-bread/

Did you follow this recipe? You could share your result here. All you need to do is take a picture with your smartphone and send it to [email protected]


easy recipe for sunflower seed bread
Amy followed the recipe: "Hi, I wanted to thank you for the wonderful sunflower seed bread recipe. I made it today and we all love it :-). And you were right, the bread is even better the next day." Austrian Sunflower Seed Bread Recipe: lilvienna.comJenifer: Here it is! Absolutely delicious. Just like the bread I had in Austria. I highly recommend making it!" Click to enlarge.
Easy Sunflower Bread (no-knead) was last modified: July 20th, 2018 by Ursula

14 thoughts on “Easy Sunflower Bread (no-knead)

  1. Anna

    I have made this bread several times already. Perfect bread for breakfast! My German husband and mother in law love it! Easy to make and so delicious!

    Reply
    1. Ursula Post author

      Hi Anna, wow, thanks so much for your comment! I have two small sunflower loafs in my oven right now (no kidding!). Since I really like this bread, I am experimenting a little with higher heat to make it denser. Sometimes I like it airy, like the one in the recipe, sometimes dense, which makes it easier to cut. I will post the new recipe soon, hopefully!

      Reply
  2. Ginna

    This is a great and adaptable recipe! I am always looking for a new rye bread recipe and this is easy and quick. Thanks for posting! I’ve just put it in the oven with some chopped fresh figs and toasted pecans incorporated in place of half the sunflower seeds.

    Reply
    1. Ursula Post author

      Hi Ginna, Thanks!! This is by far the bread I bake most often ;-) Figs and pecans sound great!! Hope it turned out tasty!

      Reply
  3. Marleen

    Hi there, I’m about to make this but have no rye flour at home. Can I substitute that with either bread flour or whole wheat flour??
    It looks so good in the pictures 😲😍

    Reply
    1. Ursula Post author

      Hi Marleen, Sorry for my late reply. I hope it’s not too late. So far I’ve always made it with rye flour. But I don’t see any reason why substituting with either bread flour or whole wheat shouldn’t work. I would probably try half bread flour & half whole wheat or rather tend towards whole wheat. Hope you give this recipe a try. It’s one of my favorite breads and I make it pretty often. Love it for breakfast ;-)

      Reply
  4. Mostyn Park

    Hi
    Great bread, thank you for the recipe. It was simple and delicious.

    I baked it – assuming the temperatures given were for a conventional oven – at reduced fan oven temperature (which is less). Did I do the right thing? Please advise on oven temperature.

    I tapped the bottom of the loaf on removing it from the tin and it did not sound hollow, I wasn’t sure if this would right itself so I put the loaf on its side (as you would) for another five minutes in the hot oven. That did the trick,

    I toasted the sunflower seeds and think the loaf would turn out even better without the seeds scattered over the loaf being toasted – we’ll see (that’s the fun of baking, right?)

    A big thank you from London, England…

    Mostyn

    Reply
    1. Ursula Post author

      Hi Mostyn,
      I’m glad you like the bread. Thanks for trying my recipe ;-) Yes, the given temperatures are for a conventional oven. If you are using fan, I would reduce it slightly (by 20°C / 70°F). I’ve made it so far in two different ovens in the US, one gas, one electric. Both had the heat element at the bottom (so no heat from the top) and it worked fine. I will try the recipe hopefully soon in my oven here in Austria (with fan).
      If you tap seedy, moist breads like this, they will hardly ever sound hollow. Don’t rely on it here. It’s true for other breads though. But you can pretty much guess when it’s done due to its color. It should be nice brown in color and the seeds on top should seem crunchy. I usually use storebought roasted and unsalted sunflower seeds and they’ve always worked fine. They where easier to get in my neighbourhood ;-) Let me know if you have any further questions. And: Happy holidays!

      Reply
  5. Mary

    Hi there, I was so happy to have found your site and your recipes. I tried the bread recipe. Not sure if this is supposed to happen but it came out rather dense and almost cake looking. Not ‘fluffy’ at all. And I had to let it rise for 2 1/2 hours. Did I not mix it enough? Could it be my yeast? Is it Canada? I’m a big fan of no knead breads and would love to know what you think. The taste however is wonderful.

    Reply
    1. Ursula Post author

      Hi Mary,
      It’s definitely Canada. Just kidding ;-) No, usually this bread should be not dense at all. It’s not super fluffy like a loaf of white bread but it has a fine, open crumb for sure. Things that I can think of, that may have influenced the bread:
      – Yeast: What kind of yeast are you using? I usually use either active dry or instant yeast for this bread. 2 1/4 teaspoons (=7g) should work fine. Is your yeast old? Maybe you can try a different brand the next time you’ll try the recipe.
      – Your oven runs low (or mine runs hot): Leave the bread a little longer in the oven. The crust should be nice brown (without burning the sunflower seeds on top). Or crank up the heat.
      – Let the bread cool properly: You may have done this. Try slicing the bread only on the next day. I think its taste and texture is best on the 2nd or 3rd day or so after baking. You can slice it very thin without destroying the loaf ;-)
      – Another reason could be the kind of flour you are using, in particular the whole wheat and rye flour. Maybe you are using a darker kind which tends to a denser loaf. Either, try another brand or cut back the amount of rye and whole wheat flour and use a litte more white bread flour instead. I would suggest: 260 g white bread flour, 180g whole wheat flour, 140 g rye flour.

      It is so great that you are willing to give it another try. I know how frustrating it can be if a recipe doesn’t work, but I promise you, I’ve made this recipe at least 30 times (also using different ovens) and it’s my always working go-to recipe. I’ve even taught it in my cooking classes. So you’d make me very happy if you try it again and let me know how it turns out. Good luck! Ursula

      Reply
    1. Ursula Post author

      Hi Craig,

      So sorry to hear that. Did you let the bread cool properly and only cut it when alredy cooled down completely? Cutting it the next day would even be better. If so, I’d recommend the following, if you are willing to give the bread another try: Bake it 10 or 15 minutes longer. In case the crust or the seeds on top are getting rather dark while doing so, cover the bread with tin foil. Since this is my favorite bread, I’m really sorry that the bread wasn’t properly cooked through – this never happend to me. I baked this bread in multiple different ovens plus this was the exact recipe that I used for my baking classes…
      I know how annoying it is when a recipe doesn’t work, that’s why I put a lot of time for testcooking in my recipes. I really hope you’ll give it another try. Ursula

      Reply

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