Max’s Loaf. The sunflower seeds are dramatic, but most will fall off when you cut the bread.
The recipe for Max’s Loaf was shared with Craig Claiborne of the New York Times when he visited Wendy and Michael London’s Saratoga Springs bakeshop in 1983. It was designed as a “supremely healthy” food for their son Max, who was then 3. The loaf is dense and intense and I’d actually reduce the whole wheat flour by as much as half next time I make it. Makes one 1.5 pound loaf.
Ingredients:
¼ c honey
½ c buttermilk
1 ¼ c hot water
1 T Kosher salt
2 ¼ t active dry yeast (one packet)
4 c whole wheat flour
½ c toasted sunflower seeds
1 egg yolk
1 T whole milk
½ c untoasted sunflower seeds
Butter, to grease the pan
Method: Combine honey, buttermilk, water and salt in bowl of an electric mixer. Stir to melt honey. Add yeast, flour and toasted sunflower seeds. Mix with the dough hook on second speed for 15 minutes (that’s right, 15 minutes) until the dough has good gluten development.
Add a handful of flour to the dough ball in the mixer bowl (after removing the dough hook) and turn dough to coat all sides. Cover with a plate or plastic wrap and let rise 20 minutes. Knead the dough briefly then cover and let rise 40 minutes. Note: because this loaf is so dense, you will not see a lot of yeast activity.
The crumb texture of Max’s loaf is pretty dense. Make an open face sandwich with peanut butter and jelly or maybe just jelly.
Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Shape the dough by hand to fit a loaf pan, pressing it with your fingers to extend to the corners with a flat top surface. Remove the shaped dough and paint the top surface with the egg/milk mixture. On a cutting board, bakers’ stone or other clean receptacle, spread out ½ c untoasted sunflower seeds in a shape that corresponds to the loaf. Carefully press the egg-coated top surface of the dough into the seeds.
Generously coat the loaf pan with melted butter, then carefully insert the dough with seeded side on top. (I found it easiest to invert the pan over the dough, which is already upside down from the seeding operation, then flip everything using the cutting board to hold the seeds in place.) Transfer to 375 degree oven and bake 1 hour, or until internal temperature reaches 200+ degrees. Cool in loaf pan before removing.
