Whole-grain bread

Here's how:

• 1

  Day 1 

  Pre-dough: 

  Dissolve the yeast in the water. Mix the wheat flour in a bowl with the dissolved yeast for about a minute. Cover with plastic wrap and let it sit on the kitchen counter for about 12–16 hours.

• 2

  Blanching: 

  Place the dry ingredients in a bowl, bring the water to a boil, and pour it over the ingredients. Let it sit for 12–16 hours on the kitchen counter, covered with plastic wrap.

• 3

  Day 2

  Measure out the dry ingredients and place them in a bowl. Then mix the pre-dough from Day 1 with the cold water and yeast slowly in the mixer for 2 minutes. Next, add the scalded water from Day 1 and the dry ingredients, and mix in the mixer for 3 minutes on low speed and 10 minutes on medium speed. Double the time if you’re kneading the dough by hand. Cover the dough with a cloth and let it rise for 60 minutes until doubled in size.

• 4

  Preheat the oven to 230 °C. Divide the dough into 3 equal portions, shape them into loaves, and place them in greased loaf pans (about 1.5 liters). Cover with a kitchen towel and let the dough rise for 30 minutes. 

• 5

  Brush the bread with water and sprinkle with sesame seeds or sunflower seeds. Place the baking pans on the lower rack of the oven, pour 0.5 dl of water into the bottom of the oven, close the oven door, and lower the temperature to 210 °C (pouring a little water into the bottom of the oven will give the bread crust a nice color). Bake the bread for about 40–45 minutes.