Ingredients

o   1 cup oats (preferably “quick” or “1-minute” oats)

o   1 cup boiling water

o   ¼ cup maple syrup

o   1 cup warm water

o   3 cups whole wheat flour

o   2 tsp kosher salt

o   2 ¼ tsp active dry yeast

o   ¼ cup flaxseed meal

o   ½ cup quinoa (preferably tri-color or red)

o   3 tbsp chia seeds

Directions

1.     In a small bowl, combine the oats, boiling water, and maple syrup. Allow the oats to soften (a minute or two for quick oats and up to 10 minutes for other kinds). Stir in the warm water.

2.    In a large bowl, combine the flour, salt, yeast, flaxseed meal, quinoa, and chia seeds.

3.     Add the oat mixture to the flour bowl and stir to combine until there is no dry flour left. Push the dough into the middle (into somewhat of a ball), scraping down the sides of the bowl. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap or a damp towel, place in a warm area, and allow the dough to rise and double in size — 1 to 2 hours.

4.     Once the dough has risen, preheat the oven to 475º with a dutch oven (including the lid) in the oven.

5.    Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface and carefully shape into a ball (be sure you don’t overwork the dough) then place on a large piece of parchment paper. Cover the dough with the bowl or a damp towel and allow to rise again while the oven preheats.

6.    Once the oven is ready, remove the dutch oven, take off the lid, and carefully place the parchment paper with the dough into the dutch oven. Using a sharp knife, cut a slit across the top of the dough, then cover with the lid.

7.    Bake in the oven for 20 minutes then remove the dutch oven lid and bake for an additional 20 minutes.

8.    Carefully remove the parchment paper with the bread from the dutch oven and allow to cool for at least 10 minutes before cutting open (most bread recipes recommend letting the bread cool for 1-2 hours, but we can never wait that long and bread is always best right out of the oven).