Sunflower Seed

I love anything with sunflower seeds, and this bread is loaded with them. The seeds are nutritious, taste good, and are “loyal” (that is, they leave a long, nutty finish that fills the mouth so that you enjoy the bread long after you eat it). This is a variation of a formula developed by Craig Ponsford and the Coupe du Monde team in 1995. This new version utilizes a firm wild-yeast starter instead of pâte fermentée. The dough requires the starter, commercial yeast, and a soaker, so it entails a commitment, but the results are so memorable that it is well worth the effort.

There are many ways to make rye bread, but very few versions contain 100 percent rye flour. Rye has so little of its unique type of gluten (6 to 8 percent) that it is hard to develop the structure and lift necessary for a decent crumb without the addition of a fair amount of high-gluten wheat flour. However, there are many people who love dense rye bread, and there are others who eat it because they can tolerate the gluten of this bread but not the gluten in wheat breads. A lot of drama goes on inside a sourdough rye bread. Rye flour is high in natural sugars and dextrins and contains pentosan, a gum protein that causes the dough to become gummy if it is mixed as long as wheat breads. Also, the wild-yeast starter creates an acidic environment that slows down the enzymatic release of sugar during the mixing cycle, but at the same time allows for the sugars to emerge from the grain during the fermentation cycle as the enzyme activity kicks in. If properly mixed and fermented, the result is a sweet, creamy, yet chewy texture quite unlike that of any other bread.

This is easily one of my favorite fall salads. The creaminess of avocado and sour cream is amazing with the spiced zing of the carrots and the toasted, nutty seeds.

Potatoes and black beans synergize nicely in this offbeat salad. The liquid from the artichoke hearts provides plenty of flavor.

Traditional basil pesto gets a run for its money with this bright, flavorful Mexican version of the Italian original. Cilantro pesto is best on cold pasta salads and is great as a topping on grilled chicken or fish.

It really is good to eat your brussels sprouts, and this morilla cream sauce, made with toasted sunflower seeds, will make a believer out of anyone. My father owns a plantation in San Quintín, Baja, where he grows and exports vegetables, including brussels sprouts. When I was young he would bring them home by the overflowing crateful—leaving me and my mother to come up with new, exciting ways to prepare them. This is my favorite recipe for serving the sprouts with a meal. For snacking, I love them coated with a little olive oil, sea salt, and black pepper and roasted until very crisp.

Okay, I’ll admit it: Although I’m known primarily as a bread guy, I’ve been eating far more crackers than bread lately—probably always have, actually, and it’s a safe bet that I always will. Sure, artisan bread is the sexy sister, but a good cracker is the hardworking Cinderella of baked goods, and I think it’s time to bestow the glass slipper. In fact, I have a feeling that there are many other undeclared cracker freaks out there just waiting for crackers to be validated as a significant player in the exploding American culinary renaissance. A quick look at supermarket shelves shows that the real growth for both crackers and bread is occurring in the whole grain category. Even iconic brands such as Ritz are coming forth with whole grain products. I’ve spent nearly twenty years trying to convince folks to bake bread at home, even tilting at windmills by trying to encourage them to make 100 percent whole grain breads at home, but I’ve encountered far less resistance in urging that same audience to try making their own whole grain crackers. Why the receptivity? It’s probably because crackers are far easier and faster to make than bread (and the dough doesn’t even need to be held overnight in the refrigerator). But I also think there are deeper reasons. Crackers are so versatile, and so easily substituted for chips and other guilt-laden snacks. Whole grain crackers are the perfect, guilt-free snack. Not only do they have a satisfying, toasty flavor, they’re also loaded with dietary fiber, which helps lessen cravings for sweets and reduce mindless eating between meals. When properly made, crackers have a long finish. Eat some now and you’ll still be enjoying the lingering, earthy flavors in 30 minutes. Crackers can be naturally leavened with yeast, like Armenian lavash; be chemically leavened with baking powder or baking soda, like many commercial crackers; or be completely unleavened, like matzo or Triscuits. They’re usually crisp and flaky but don’t have to be. They can be buttery (with real or fake butter), or lean and mean, like saltines and other variations of water crackers. Whole grain crackers, regardless of the leavening method, have one major factor going for them: fiber, lots and lots of fiber. This cracker recipe is easy to make at home, even if you’ve never baked a loaf of bread in your life. It’s a variation of one of the most popular recipes from my previous book, Peter Reinhart’s Whole Grain Breads, and is especially fun to make with kids. I’ve adjusted the recipe so that these crackers, which are unlike any crackers you can buy, are even more crisp than the original. I’m ready to start a home-baked cracker revolution to match the bread revolution of the last fifteen years and hope I can enlist you in the cause.

I enjoy seeds in bread. They add all sorts of valuable nutrients, and they just taste so good. This bread is similar to a classic German Mehrkorn bread, loaded with seeds and just a touch of whole wheat flour (though you can certainly use more whole wheat if you like). I love to make sandwiches with it, especially peanut butter and jelly, to toast it, or to simply eat it by the slice. Take my word for it, it tastes really good. Only the sunflower and pumpkin seeds need to be toasted; the sesame and flaxseeds can go in without toasting. Natural sesame seeds, which are light brown because they still have their hulls, are much more appealing in this bread than white sesame seeds, which have had the hulls polished off. If you’re feeling adventurous, you can use other combinations of seeds. Try adding lightly toasted chopped walnuts or pecans. Because the dough will stiffen overnight in the refrigerator as the seeds slowly absorb moisture, it’s important to have a very soft, supple dough—even a tad sticky—before you put it away for the night.

This cookie was a happy accident. I was experimenting with SunButter and discovered that when you bake it combined with maple syrup, it turns the center of the cookie green. (It has to cool to work its alchemy.) My husband loves these cookies because they have no refined sugar, and my kids like them for their Dr. Seuss–like hue. They’re perfect for the Christmas season or as a healthy snack all year round. Use organic unsweetened SunButter if you can fi nd it; if not, regular works fine, too. Be sure to measure the SunButter and the maple syrup with a liquid measuring cup. Remember there is a small chance of soy cross-contamination with SunButter (see page 179 for more information), but if that’s a problem you can make your own sunflower seed butter.

When I have the urge to bake bread on a weekend and want something not quite so time-consuming as French bread, I often make this loaf. It is a healthy bread with a good texture and makes particularly delicious sandwiches. It is also great toasted for breakfast.

I especially enjoy the food blog www.deliciousdays.com. Recently I saw a recipe for a wheat-based muesli bread on that site and used it as inspiration for this nutty, sweet fruit loaf. When I want a healthy treat for dinner, I toast a slice and spread it with goat cheese.

The use of countless aromatics to flavor bread lies at the center of Germany's rich whole grain baking culture. Breads are often prepared with different grains and grinds of flour to achieve distinctively textured loaves. In this 100 percent whole grain loaf, I use spelt for its pleasing mild flavor, but you can use regular whole wheat flour. Yes, this is a thick-crusted loaf, unlike any bread you will find in a U.S. supermarket or pretty much anywhere else, but the inside will be chewy and soft with seeds and spices. Give it a day, and the crust will soften from the humidity in the air. Enjoy this unusual aromatic bread with cheese and cold cuts as a simple supper, or use as a base for a nourishing sandwich. It's also delicious with a bowl of soup. This is an effortless no-knead bread made using an old technique, most recently revived by New York master baker Jim Lahey. I have taught students to make a slow-fermentation bread with minimal yeast for years, albeit in a plain old loaf pan — initially inspired by a recipe by German cookbook author Luise Brüggemann. I credit Lahey with introducing me to the use of a lidded heavy pot and a simple folding technique to get a truly spectacular artisinal bread — no wonder his method has won him cult status. If the lid of your Dutch oven has a plastic knob, be sure to wrap it in aluminum foil so it doesn't melt in the high heat of the oven.

Wheat Free If there was ever a reason to call a veggie burger hippie food, then this burger fits the bill. Inspired by watching The Drug Years on VH1 and, of course, dear and sweet Simon & Garfunkel, these burgers are sure to please your peace-lovin' pals. Normally, I advocate the use of fresh herbs, but for this one, dried ones work best. I also tend to overspice things, so please, unless you really like the flavors of these herbs, feel free to cut the amounts down.

These pumpkin muffins are light and fluffy.

Learn how our executive food editor rediscovered the joys of fresh pesto and made it her own.

This recipe was a winner in the 2001 Plains Peanut Festival Recipe Contest in Plains, Georgia and appears here courtesy of the The Peanut Institute. It was also reprinted in Nancy Clark's Sports Nutrition Guidebook. Clark writes: This prizewinning recipe offers a yummy alternative to commercial energy bars. These homemade bars are perfect for when you are hiking or biking, as well as for a satisfying afternoon snack. They are relatively high in fat, but it's healthful fat from peanuts and sunflower seeds. For variety, make this recipe with cashews and cashew butter and add a variety of dried fruits (cranberries, cherries, and dates).

Editor's note: The recipe and introductory text below are from A Baker's Odyssey by Greg Patent. I am indebted to Irish food expert and cookbook author Noreen Kinney, for sharing her family's Irish soda bread recipe. This bread is meant to be eaten plain with meals, or with cheese or with butter and jam, or used to sop up gravy. According to Noreen: Strictly speaking, there is no white Irish soda bread with raisins. Traditional Irish soda bread is brown, with a coarse texture and no fruit. It can also contain seeds and flax and bran, depending on the baker's desires. That is the reason I was shocked to see the white item passed off as Irish soda bread when I arrived in the States. However, in Ireland there is a famous old bread that was very popular with the poorer people in times past, and considered quite a treat for a special occasion or on Sundays. It is still popular today. Depending on which part of the country one is in, it is known as spotted dick or spotted dog. Basically it is derived from Irish soda bread, but it uses white flour in place of the traditional flours and other ingredients that go into the true Irish soda bread. To enrich the recipe, people added raisins when they became available, and they might add a full egg beaten into the milk, plus some white sugar. So it is the old Irish spotted dick that folks here call Irish Soda Bread. Everyone who makes Irish soda bread adds her or his own personal touches to the bread. To the mixture of whole wheat flour and white flour, Noreen, on any given day, might add wheat bran, oat bran, wheat germ, oats, sunflower seeds, flaxseeds, or poppy seeds. She varies proportions and grains depending on how she wants the bread to turn out. Think of the following proportions as guidelines, and feel free to vary the grain additions according to your tastes, adding from 4 to 5 ounces total by weight for each loaf. The bread's crust is coarse and firm, while the inside is rather dense but moist. A cross indented (not cut) on top of the bread allows the bread to be easily separated into quarters. Oddly, the sunflower seeds change color during baking, flecking the bread with an emerald green. The unexpected appearance of flecks of green in the bread the first time I made it surprised me. I could tell the color came from the sunflower seeds, but why did this happen? Food chemist Shirley Corriher, author of the classic Cookwise, had the answer. "Sunflower seeds are chock-full of good-for-you things," Shirley said, and by that she meant they're loaded with antioxidants. Among these are flavonoids, which turn yellow when they come into contact with an alkali (baking soda in the recipe). Other antioxidants, anthocyanins, react by turning blue. Put blue and yellow together, and you get green. Nifty.

Tastier than coleslaw and healthier, too. Double or triple the recipe to feed a crowd. Can be made ahead? Yes. The day before. Cover and refrigerate.
Can be frozen? No.
Can be doubled and tripled? Yes
Good for leftovers? Yes. Covered and refrigerated, it will keep 4 to 5 days.

To maximize the flavor of this salad, toss the beets with the dressing while they're still warm, so they'll absorb more of it. Sunflower seeds turn rancid fairly quickly, so it's important to purchase them from a place with high turnover, such as a natural foods store. Active time: 20 min Start to finish: 1 1/4 hr