Rye and Wheat Sourdough Bread with Pumpkin

Dilute the starter with boiled water at room temperature and stir until smooth. Pour half of the mixture into a container for kneading dough. Add rye flour to the remaining half and leave for 4 hours at room temperature, then store in the refrigerator until next use.

Add salt and sugar to the container with diluted starter culture and mix well.

Add wheat and rye flour in a 3:1 ratio. Instead of rye flour, you can use whole grain, oat flour, buckwheat, or corn flour. Remember: excess flour, other than wheat flour, will make the bread more moist, it will rise less, and after a day or two it will become less tasty.

Add pumpkin seeds, cumin and vegetable oil, mix well. The dough should be sticky and viscous, sticking to the spoon. If you knead it too dense, the bread will turn out drier.

If using a bread maker: transfer the dough to the device and set it to normal baking mode for 4 hours. After the cycle is complete, leave the bread in the turned-off bread maker for another 2 hours.

If cooking in the oven: knead the dough until smooth, cover with a towel and let it rest for 2 hours at room temperature away from drafts. Use a turned-off oven for proofing.

Mix the dough thoroughly once more. Don't be alarmed if the volume decreases — you are saturating the dough with oxygen. Carbon dioxide will form again and give the bread volume.

Transfer the dough to a baking pan, cover with foil, and leave in the oven for 1–1.5 hours.

Remove the pan with dough. Preheat the oven to 180 degrees. Place the pan on the middle rack or use convection mode and bake for 1 hour. Foil will protect the top from burning. There is no need to brush the bread — it will brown on its own.

Remove the bread from the pan and wrap it in a kitchen towel. For a soft crust, lightly dampen the towel; for a crispy crust, use a dry one. Let the bread cool for 1–2 hours before serving.