I have been working on a healthy sourdough  whole grain bread for a while.  I wanted to create a healthy, completely whole grain, whole-wheat bread with seeds that wasn't dense.  Whole wheat flour behaves so much differently that regular white bread flour. Whole wheat flours require higher hydration and gluten development is a lot slower.   So, here is the crumb from this whole grain seeded sourdough recipe!

Tips.

Time.

In order for the sourdough lactobacilli to penetrate the outer shell of the wheat germ, it requires time.  This process breaks down the flour and maximizes the bread's nutrition.  I have found that a longer autolyse process, and an hour of warm fermentation before putting it into the fridge helps make this whole grain bread less dense and moist.  (The chia seeds also help!) If your kitchen is very cold, I recommend you bulk and warm ferment your dough in the oven with just the oven light on.  This provides enough heat to get the sourdough cultures to do its work without you having to buy a proofing oven.  You will be surprised that this whole grain dough will almost double in size and you'll get a better rise!

Autolyse.

Because whole wheat flour requires high hydration, it is important to allow the flour to fully absorb the water with at least a 60 minute autolyse.  

Inclusions. (Seeds)

When adding inclusions to your dough, some inclusions require a long, overnight soaking while others require a shorter soaking.  This whole grain seeded sourdough has chia seed which, in my opinion, gives the moistness to the whole wheat bread as the chia seed retains moisture.  I've experimented with various hydration ratios with chia seeds and found that a 1:3 chia seed to water ratio works well in bread.  As a result, chia seeds require a long soaking.  It is preferable to soak them overnight. The seed mix should be so thick that a teaspoon can stand on end!

I like adding these inclusions before bulk fermentation. The seeds will then have time to disperse throughout the dough during of the course of the various stretch and folds.

Toppings.

I experimented with adding the toppings before the long, cold fermentation in the fridge as well as after the long, cold fermentation.  The toppings definitely stayed on better when it was added before the cold fermentation.  The amount of toppings in the bowl dictates how much topping you have on your bread.  If you are rolling your dough in seeds prior to cold fermentation, you do not have to flour your banneton as heavily as you would without the seeds.