Can I skip soaking the seeds?

You can, but the loaf will be drier and the seeds harder. The soaker is what keeps a seeded bread moist - the dry seeds otherwise pull water out of the crumb as it bakes. If you're short on time, soak for at least 2 to 3 hours in hot water.

Why bake it in a tin instead of free-form?

The seed-heavy, rye-forward dough is too soft to hold a free-standing shape - it would spread. A tin gives it walls to rise against and the neat sandwich shape this loaf is made for.

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Guides

Seeded sourdough bread (Koernerbrot)

A hearty seed-packed tin loaf: sunflower, flax and sesame soaked overnight, folded into a rye-wheat sourdough. Moist, nutty and it keeps for a week.

Recipe

Bread

Seeds

Julia YukovichCo-Founder + CEO

·June 13, 2026·

2 min read

Step by step

Soak the seeds + build the sour

The evening before, stir the seeds, oats, water and salt together and cover. Separately mix the rye sour and leave both at room temperature overnight (12 to 16 hours).

Mix the main dough

Combine the ripe sour, the swollen soaker, both flours, the warm water and salt into a uniform, sticky dough. Knead 5 to 8 minutes - the wheat gives just enough structure.

Bulk ferment

Cover and rest 1.5 to 2 hours at room temperature; it will puff and feel airier.

Into the tin

Scrape into a greased loaf tin with a wet spoon, smooth the top, and press a layer of seeds onto the surface.

Final proof

Proof 1 to 2 hours, until risen by about half and fine cracks appear on top.

Bake hot, then lower

Bake at 240 C with steam for 15 minutes, then drop to 200 C and bake 40 to 50 minutes more until hollow-sounding. Cool fully, ideally overnight, before slicing.

Why a soaker makes the loaf

Dry seeds thrown straight into a dough steal water from the crumb and bake up hard. The fix is a Quellstück: soak the seeds overnight so they swell, soften and bring their own moisture to the bread. The result is a deeply moist, nutty loaf that slices clean and stays fresh for days. Rye in the base keeps it tender; a little wheat gives enough structure to bake in a tin.

What you need

Makes one tin loaf (about 1.1 kg). Start the soaker and the rye sour the evening before. Weigh everything.

Seed soaker (Quellstück): 60 g sunflower seeds, 40 g flax seeds, 30 g sesame, 30 g rolled oats, 160 g water, 5 g salt - soak overnight

Rye sour: 30 g rye Anstellgut, 150 g rye flour (Type 1150), 150 g lukewarm water

Main dough: all the sour, all the soaker, 250 g wheat flour (Type 1050), 150 g rye flour (1150), 150 g warm water, 13 g salt

Kit: a kitchen scale, a greased loaf tin, extra seeds for the top

Notes and swaps

Any seed mix works - pumpkin, poppy, chia or a handful of cracked rye all fit; keep the total seed weight near 160 g and the soak water in step. Toasting the sunflower and sesame first deepens the flavour. More rye makes it denser and longer-keeping; see which flour to reach for, or build the plain base first with our Mischbrot. Let the baked loaf cool fully before slicing - logging the bake in Sourdough Tracker helps you dial in the soaker ratio next time.

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Written by

Julia Yukovich

Co-Founder + CEO

Julia is one of the Co-Founders. She handles design, development, product direction, and most of the support replies that arrive in the morning.

julia.yukovich at aicuflow dot comLinkedIn