Organic stoneground sourdough flax and chia bread has become one of my go-to breads, now that I've figured out how to work with stoneground flour.  Stoneground flours are flours that are milled by a stone mill instead of metal rollers.  Stone ground flour is generally considered more nutritious than other flours because it contains the bran and germ, which are high in fiber, vitamins, minerals, and healthy fats. Organic flours are wheat berries that have been grown without synthetic pesticides or fertilizers.  So if you want the best of the best, this is it! Because of the husk of the wheat berries in stoneground flour, it's a much coarser flour so a different process is needed to ensure that the shards of bran and germ are not affecting the gluten development in the dough which will result in a denser, flatter bread.  Stone ground breads are usually darker, coarser, smells more earthy and considered a lot more nutritious than conventional metal ground flour that are milled between metal rollers.  It is definitely not your refined, Wonder bread!

Now that you understand the difference between the stoneground flour and regular bread flour, adapting the baking process ensures a moist and leavened bread.

Hard white wheat berries can be ground into bread flour.  Hard red wheat berries can be ground into whole wheat flour.  Soft white wheat berries can be ground into the equivalent of all purpose or cake flour.

Tips for making organic stoneground sourdough flax and chia bread

Flour Hydration

Stoneground wheat flours require hydration.  When these flours are hydrated, the germ and bran are softened and become less sharp.  As a result, these "shards" don't destroy the gluten development in the bread which allows the bread to leaven. When I feed my starter to produce a levain, I will hydrate my flours.  This hydration would be a minimum of 7 hours or overnight.

Besides hydrating the flours for an extended period which I would consider a very long autolyse process, more liquid is required for stoneground flours.  It requires at least a 76% hydration rather than a 70% hydration.

Seed hydration

The chia and flax seeds also require hydration.  This can be done at the same time as the flour hydration. The flax and chia mixture should be so stiff that a teaspoon can stand in the mixture without falling over.  The seed hydration also helps contribute towards the overall hydration of the bread dough.

Incorporating the levain

In most of my recipes, I mix the water with the levain to disperse the starter.  Because stoneground breads require a very high hydration, and all the liquid is used in the autolyse process, the levain is incorporated into the autolysed dough by itself.  Don't worry, after all the stretch and folds, it will be well incorporated!

Baking the organic stoneground flax and chia sourdough

Stoneground flours tend to brown quicker than regular flour doughs.  It looks more like a wholesome whole wheat bread.  If you don't want your bread looking so dark, keep an eye on the color after you remove the lid.  You may be able to take the bread out after 20 minutes instead of 25 minutes after the lid is removed. Allow the bread to completely cool before slicing.  I know this will be difficult, but this is a high moisture bread from the chia and cutting into the bread while it is still cooling will result in a gummy textured bread.