Bring on the Sunshine with this Sourdough Sunshine Loaf

Let the sunshine in with this centerpiece-worthy Sourdough Sunshine Loaf, shaped like the sun and made with a blend of rye and white flours.

This is the bread of the month for the Bread Baking Babes, and I’m pleased to announce that I’m the host kitchen for August.

I chose this Sunshine Loaf because we all need a little ray of light in our lives, and this bread is a fun way to bring some joy to the dinner table.

I thought about making a flatbread that could be baked on a griddle, instead of having to use an oven during the dog days of August (depending on where you live), but I just couldn’t resist this loaf.

This bread is adapted from the book BREAD: the breads of the world and how to bake them at home by Christine Ingram and Jennie Shapter.  This is one of the first bread books I ever got.  It’s a beautiful book, and I still enjoy flipping through the pages for inspiration.

The description for this bread reads, “Scandinavia, Land of the Midnight Sun, has numerous breads based on rye.  This splendid table centerpiece is made with a blend of rye and white flours, the latter helping to lighten the bread.”

The first time I made this bread, it didn’t turn out quite like the photo in the book, but the flavor was wonderful!  The loaf in the photo below was made using the full recipe, and I had to swirl the rays more to get everything to fit on my baking sheet.

I decided to make it again, with a few adjustments.  I converted it to sourdough and cut the formula in half.

The smaller loaf is much easier to handle because all of the dough pieces can be formed to fit on a standard-size baking sheet.  Not to mention, it’s really cute!  You can serve it on a large plate (the one in the photo below is an 11-inch plate).

I hope you’ll like this loaf as much as I did.  A fun way to enjoy it is to pull off rays of the sun to eat like you would a dinner roll.  It’s chewy on the outside and flavorful on the inside.

Baker’s Notes on Sourdough Sunshine Loaf

The first loaf was fairly sticky due to the inclusion of 4 cups of rye. I reduced the amount of rye for the second loaf.

This is a really big loaf (unless you make 1/2 of the recipe).  I had a hard time figuring out how to fit it on the baking sheet which is why I rolled the rays tighter than the picture. Unless you have a larger baking sheet, I think 2 smaller loaves will be easier to shape.

Shape it on a greased baking sheet. I tried shaping the larger loaf on parchment paper, but the dough stuck to it, and the rectangular shape of the parchment didn’t lend itself to the shape of the loaf.  It wasn’t wide enough for the rays to fit on.  I used a greased baking sheet instead and it worked much better.  For the smaller loaf, the parchment works fine.

Work fast when shaping the loaf. I shaped the pieces straight from the refrigerator and had to work fast so the pieces didn’t overproof before I got the loaf put together.  I probably shaped and reshaped it 3 times before I got it right and onto the baking sheet.

*Shaping the middle spiral. The directions said to shape the middle section first, but I ended up having to reshape it when I transferred it to the baking sheet because it had been proofing the whole time I was shaping the other pieces.  This piece goes on last so I would wait to shape this piece until after shaping the other pieces.

I didn’t like the look of the milk-brushed loaf. I brushed the loaf with milk and sprinkled it with caraway seeds before baking, as the recipe suggested, but it looked pale once I removed it from the oven. So to give it some color, I brushed the warm loaf with melted butter. It looked much better and didn’t affect the flavor.

Bring on the Sunshine with this Sourdough Sunshine Loaf

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• Author: Bread Experience
• Yield: 1 Large Loaf or 1-2 Smaller Loaves 1x

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Description

Let the sunshine in with this centerpiece-worthy Sourdough Sunshine Loaf, shaped like the sun and made with a blend of rye and white flours.

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Ingredients

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Formula for Large Loaf:

Starter:

• 15 grams / 1 scant Tbsp. active sourdough (100% hydration)
• 60 grams / 4 tbsp milk, lukewarm
• 55 grams / 4 tbsp water, lukewarm
• 125 grams / 1 cup all-purpose flour

Dough:

• 250 grams / 2 cups unbleached all-purpose or bread flour
• 440 grams / 4 cups rye flour
• 480 – 550 grams / 2 cups + water, divided
• 16–18 grams / 1 Tbsp. salt
• Caraway seeds, or the seeds of your choice, for sprinkling
• Milk or water for glazing

Formula for Smaller Loaf:

Starter:

• 15 grams sourdough
• 30 grams milk
• 30 grams water
• 62.5 grams (1/2 cup) all-purpose flour

Dough:

• 235 grams all purpose flour
• 110 grams whole grain rye flour
• 240 grams water
• 8 grams sea salt
• Caraway seeds for sprinkling
• Milk, water, or egg wash for glazing

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Instructions

Directions are the same for the large or small loaf.

Day 1: Prepare the Starter

Mix the starter ingredients in a medium bowl and stir thoroughly until there are no dry bits of flour. Cover and let rest on the counter at room temperature overnight until it is well-risen, bubbly, and starting to collapse; about 8 to 12 hours.  If your kitchen is hot, it may take less time to fully activate.

Day 2: Final Dough

The next day, when the starter is ready, add about half of the water to the starter and stir to break it up.

Whisk dry ingredients together in a large bowl. Pour the starter over the dry ingredients and stir to incorporate.  Add in the remaining water and mix thoroughly to incorporate.

Add in more water (or flour) gradually, if necessary, to achieve a workable dough. It is sticky dough so it’s best to use wet hands.

Cover and let the dough rest for 20-30 minutes.  Stretch and fold the dough in the bowl using wet hands.

Cover again and let the dough rest at warm room temperature for 4-6 hours.  Perform stretch and folds every 45 minutes to an hour (using wet hands) for the first 2-4 hours. Then let the dough rest undisturbed for the final hour or two.

Continue with shaping the loaf or place it in the refrigerator overnight to cold ferment for 8-12 hours.  The cold ferment may not be necessary, but it worked better with my schedule so I did the cold ferment for both loaves.  

Transfer the dough to a floured surface. Divide the dough into 5 equal pieces.  For the large loaf, I had 1435 grams of dough so each piece was 287 grams.  For the smaller loaf, there was 715 grams of dough so each piece was 143 grams.

Roll one piece into a 20-inch log. Then roll it into a spiral shape.  See notes on shaping the middle spiral.

Divide the remaining pieces of dough in half and roll each piece into an 8-inch rope for the larger loaf, and 6-inch ropes for the smaller loaf.

Place the ropes in a circle on a large baking sheet, spaced evenly apart. They should look like rays of the sun. Curl the ends around, leaving a slight gap in the middle for the center spiral.

Place the center spiral on top.  Cover with lightly oiled plastic wrap, bees wrap, or a kitchen towel, and let rise in a warm place, for 30 minutes.

While the loaf is proofing, preheat the oven to 450 degrees F.

Brush the loaf with milk, or water, and sprinkle with caraway seeds. Bake for 30 minutes, or until lightly browned.

Transfer to a wire rack to cool.

Notes

Adapted from BREAD: the breads of the world and how to bake them at home by Christine Ingram and Jennie Shapter.

Bread Submission Guidelines:

I am the host kitchen this month and would love for you to bake this Sourdough Sunshine Loaf with us!  

• Bake your version of this bread and post about it on your blog (by August 31st).
• If you don’t have a blog, no worries, just post a photo in the Bread Baking Babes Facebook Group
• Mention Bread Baking Babes with a link to the Kitchen of the Month, that’s me – Cathy of Bread Experience.
• Then send an email to breadexperience (at) gmail (dotcom) with BBB August Sunshine Loaf, and I will send you your Buddy badge to display on your blog.
• I’ll also do a roundup with a list of all the Bread Baking Buddies and showcase your breads.

For inspiration, take a look at the breads the Babes made:

• blog from OUR kitchen – Elizabeth
• A Messy Kitchen – Kelly
• Judy’s Gross Eats – Judy
• Bread Experience – Cathy
• Feeding My Enthusiasms – Pat
• Thyme for Cooking – Katie

Remember, new recipes are posted every month on the 16th.  Check the Bread Baking Babes Facebook group to see the participants’ baking results during that time.

Happy Baking!

Cathy