The Sourdough Club

A social enterprise where a community of bakers gather and share knowledge

Our small club is run from The Sourdough School and is the alternative way to learn if you cannot attend a course in person. Learn from Dr Vanessa Kimbell how to make the healthiest bread in the world and improve digestion, boost your mood, and connect with a supportive community that’s passionate about baking for better health.
Follow on Instagram

  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Twitter
The Sourdough School

Member Login

Navigation
  • Home
    • Contact Us
    • Member login
    • Terms and Conditions
    • Competitions / Prize draw terms and Conditions
  • Join the Club
    • Should I Join The Sourdough Club?
    • Customer Services
    • Newsletter – Magazine
    • Your Questions About Membership
    • Latest Reviews
    • Example Recipe library – Sweet Sourdough
  • About
    • The Sourdough School
    • The Team
    • Supporting alternative food networks
    • GP Referral Membership Explained
    • Connect Directly to the Farmer
  • Lifestyle Medicine
    • Prescription Membership
  • Short Courses
    • White Sourdough Starter Course
    • Courses with Kits
  • Shop
    • Sourdough Baking Equipment
    • Kit, Voucher & Course
    • Sourdough Books
    • Sourdough Ingredients
    • Flours from Farmers Directory
    • Add Farmers to the Directory
    • Gift Vouchers

Seeds for Solidarity Porridge Recipe

Learning Objective

How to make and use a Seeded Porridge

Learning Outcome

To stand up to oppression

Learning Objective

How to make and use a Seeded Porridge

  1. Protest Bread

Update:

A year ago my team and I felt a wave of rage, frustration and helplessness as we watched events unfold over the past two weeks. We know that emotions, when used to fuel action do good.  This recipe along with the recipes of many from ourcommunity were turned into a book Knead Peace, that has won a major award.

Andrew Green gathered recipes including our and introduced him to our publishers. The book is extraordinary and can be seen here. Congratulations to everyone involved with the book. It takes a huge amount of effort and dedication so it is amazing to say that the book has won two Gourmand awards.

There is a full guide of how you can use your bread as a protest here and a call to action.

FUNDRAISE.

There is a list of my top tips for fundraising here, which also includes some facts about the global impact this conflict will have on foods systems.

WE BAKE FOR PEACE

This recipe has been created by a whole team of people, including Team Hart bakery,  Max at Sourdough Revolution and Dan, my business partner.   We have carefully tailored it to ensure it can easily be integrated into breads in a professional bakery while still being suitable for domestic baking.  It also happens to be delicious, with a natural, malted, treacly sweetness.

This porridge recipe is for all bakers, at all skill levels. We have tried to take into account the ability to source different ingredients worldwide, and to show how you can adapt your bread using poignant and politically relevant ingredients. Each ingredient, was thoughtfully chosen to not only nourish our minds and bodies, but to represent this moment in time, encouraging us to reflect as we make our bread and understand what it means to be a baker.

Rye – for fortitude

It’s a significant export of Ukraine and a common ingredient used across the Baltic states. It’s also delicious. Rye is the most flavoursome and comforting of grains, producing breads with an intricate combination of flavours and textures. It is dense, dark and chewy, with a deep, toasty tang. It has complex, deep, rich treacle notes that can’t be found elsewhere. It is full of fibre and produces a deep, dark loaf that is reminiscent of those baked by our ancestors, invoking a simpler way of life. It has a sweet nuttiness that you can even smell in the flour,  which becomes positively aromatic as it bakes. Rye is widely grown in central and eastern Europe, and is a good source of dietary fibre. Studies show that sourdough bread baked with rye flour has been associated with many health benefits, including helping to control blood sugar levels.

Poppy seeds – for the immeasurable sacrifice of the Ukrainian people

I have included poppy seeds, which have a very well understood message from the battlefields of two previous World Wars. Red poppies are a symbol of both remembrance and hope for a peaceful future.The immeasurable sacrifice of the Ukrainian people cannot be underestimated. Poppy seeds are  commonly used across Eastern Europe, and I hope they will be easily available to all bakers.

Sunflowers – for standing up to oppression

Sunflower seeds are one of the biggest exports of Ukraine, and the sunflower happens to be the country’s national flower. But the idea of using sunflower seeds was inspired by the recent video of the incredibly brave Ukrainian woman, who stood up with righteous indignation to a Russian officer, asking him to go home. The officer stood there with a weapon in his hand, and she offered him sunflower seeds to put in his pocket so that the flowers would grow after he was killed in battle.

In that moment, she was telling him that his life was a wasted life, and he would end up in the soil in Ukraine. There was something very poignant in her act, reminding us that the loss is on both sides – it is a loss to the world and a loss for the Russians. Russia’s propaganda machine is now being unveiled, as many of the soldiers did not and do not understand the true nature of their manoeuvres.

Coriander seeds – because war is loss on all sides

We’ve also used toasted coriander seeds, which lend a most exquisite perfume and flavour to the porridge. There is a well-known story of a Boradinsky bread using coriander as a representation of shock. By using this ingredient in the bread, we are reminding ourselves that violence is not the answer. War is loss on all sides. As we bake, we need to call for the cessation of violence – it is the only way forward. We need to talk.

Barley – because we are one earth

The final ingredient is sprouted barley. If you can get your hands on barley, it is a beautiful grain. Just a small handful of sprouted barley is used in the recipe. Barley is representative of the 1798 struggle in Ireland, where young rebel soldiers often carried barley in their pockets to eat during their marches. Wherever these young men had fallen, patches of sprouted barley grew on their unmarked graves the following year.  There’s something incredibly poignant about that – it’s another reminder of the true cost of death and loss, and yet a symbol of regeneration and hope for the future.  The barley is a reminder of the loss of life and return to soil – we are one soil, one planet, one people. Baking has no borders – it is without borders, without boundaries, without race, without age, without religion, without sex and without creed. We are bakers, we are brothers and sisters. We must pull ourselves together and remember all that is good in the world.

Seeds for solidarity – and for hope

As seeds grow, they remind us there is hope. At this point in time, it doesn’t feel like there is much hope. We are seeing some very disturbing plays being made by both sides. Looking at the way Putin is viewing the world, every move we make, he interprets through his lens. He is a man who needs to see reason through our eyes and the way we see the world now. I would encourage young bakers to speak out now, because it is your world that is being changed and threatened. And old politicians need to see the way that the world looks through young people’s eyes. For them to surround themselves with other old people with an outdated way of thinking is one of the most dangerous things. We must reconnect to each other and share our points of view. We also must come together unilaterally to call for peace and the cessation of violence, and to ask that Putin leave Ukraine immediately.

Method

Ingredients to make about 230–250g porridge

  • 30g wholegrain rye flour
  • 20g poppy seeds
  • 20g sunflower seeds
  • 10g lightly toasted coriander seeds
  • 20g sprouted barley ( this takes 2 days )
  • about 240g water

Method:

It’s really important to make this porridge well in advance of baking. Make it at least a couple of hours beforehand, giving it plenty of time to cool and take up the water.

First, combine the flour, seeds and sprouted barley in a saucepan. Add 120g of the water and put the pan over a low heat. Stir, making sure the mixture doesn’t catch on the bottom of the pan. As the porridge thickens, add the remaining water and keep stirring. Continue simmering and stirring until the porridge has reached the right consistency (see my tip below). It’s important that you don’t add too much water, but equally important that it isn’t under-hydrated. It’s difficult to give you a precise measurement for how much water you will need to get this balance right, because every grain and seed in the porridge mix will hydrate slightly differently. What you have to do is ensure the porridge is thoroughly cooked, which can take a good 8–10 minutes of standing over the pan and stirring.

TIP:

Remember that in order for the porridge to add to the gelatinisation of a sourdough bread, the ingredients have to be fully hydrated. My tip is that it is always good to end up with the mixture looking slightly more liquid than you think it should be, because it will continue to take up water and thicken when you take the pan off the heat and leave the porridge to cool.

If you do not have barley to sprout, then rye is perfect. Please listen to the audio file for information on how to sprout grains.

https://thesourdoughclub.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/Sprouted-seeds-advice.m4a

How to best use the porridge in your bread

After the dough has been mixed and the gluten has developed, weigh your dough, then add 10% of that weight in porridge to the bowl. Mix, prove, shape and bake as usual.

You can use this method in any existing standard sourdough recipes. In the video above, it has been used in our 20% Wholemeal Classic Sourdough Boule, which can be found online or on pages 114–116 of The Sourdough School book.

WE SUPPORT EACH OTHER’S MENTAL HEALTH

A wonderful tutorial on using the bread making process to help support mental health & remember to use your porridge bread as activism.

Love

Vanessa

knead peace bookThis recipe and many others by bakers from all over the world can be found in the book Knead Peace: Bake for Ukraine by Andrew Green.

£2.50 from the sale of each books goes towards the Ukraine Humanitarian Appeal of the Disasters Emergency Committee.

Inspired by the resilient spirit of Anna Makievska and The Bakehouse, Kyiv, who have continued to bake day and night throughout the conflict, Knead Peace is a unique collection of beautiful bakes in support of Ukraine.

Donated by esteemed bakeries from across the globe, they include sweet and savoury breads, indulgent cakes and cookies, and delicious pies and tarts.

Learning Outcome

To stand up to oppression

Existing Member Login

All reasonable care is taken when writing about health aspects of bread, but the information it contains is not intended to take the place of treatment by a qualified medical practitioner. You must seek professional advice if you are in any doubt about any medical condition. Any application of the ideas and information contained on this website is at the reader's sole discretion and risk.

Sourdough Seeded Loaf Ingredients Kit

Sourdough Seeded Loaf Ingredients Kit

White Sourdough Starter Kit & Course

White Sourdough Starter Kit & Course

Chocolate Sourdough Starter Kit

Chocolate Sourdough Starter Kit

Comments

  1. David BordowDavid Bordow says

    7 March 2022 at 4:21 pm

    Hi! Excited to make this.
    My porridge is quite thick and heavy. Made it last night. Is it ok to add this as is? Should I add it after first stretch and fold? Thanks!

    Reply
    • Sophie RemerSophie Remer says

      9 March 2022 at 3:04 pm

      Hi David. Yes, you can add the porridge during the last stretch and fold. If the porridge seemed too thick, you could try thinning it with a bit of water again.

      Reply
  2. Tara CraigTara Craig says

    5 March 2022 at 6:02 pm

    Thank you Vanessa.
    I am sure this will also taste amazing as well as a great initiative.
    So the porridge amount, is that 10% of 1kg flour?
    Thanks. Tara

    Reply
    • Sophie RemerSophie Remer says

      9 March 2022 at 2:58 pm

      Hi Tara. It depends which dough recipe you are following. But it’s 10% of whichever formula you use!

      Reply
  3. Diana says

    4 March 2022 at 8:10 pm

    Amazing, very impressive, next books I will buy will be your.
    Thank you for original recipe.
    Hope I’ll find time to make it.

    Reply
  4. david harolddavid harold says

    4 March 2022 at 8:02 pm

    Beautifully put and gorgeous loaves! Thank you for this.

    Reply
  5. Kim Ginn says

    4 March 2022 at 1:36 pm

    I look forward to making this peace brea. The portion porridge you have listed ,will go into a 500 gram sourdough loaf? The recipe for classic white sourdough or classic 50:50 boule will make 2 large boules. So does the Ingredients to make about 230g–250g of porridge, go into a full recipe to yield two loaves or is the porridge for one 500 gram loaf?

    Reply
    • Sophie RemerSophie Remer says

      9 March 2022 at 3:06 pm

      Hi Kim. So you should be using 10% of the dough weight in porridge whichever formula you use. This recipe makes more porridge than you’d need for just one loaf.

      Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

  • Instagram
  • Twitter

Get the Sourdough Club Magazine

Terms and Conditions | Privacy Policy
Copyright © 2025 Vanessa Kimbell
Call +44 (0)1604 881274 | Email [email protected]
Registered in England & Wales: 11513581
Website by Callia Web