Sunflower Bread

A compact, wholesome bread machine loaf packed with sunflower seeds, raisins, rolled oats, and whole wheat flour. Honey provides a mild natural sweetness that pairs perfectly with the nutty seeds and chewy fruit scattered throughout.

This is deliberately a small bread, perfect for a household of one or two that doesn’t want to waste half a loaf. The proportions are scaled down from a standard recipe, so the loaf comes out dense, compact, and full of flavor rather than tall and airy.

The oats and whole wheat flour add a hearty chew and nutty flavor that straight bread flour alone can’t deliver. But bread flour still makes up the majority, providing enough gluten strength to give the loaf a proper rise despite the weight of all those seeds and add-ins.

Kitchen Tips

• Add the sunflower seeds and raisins at the mix-in beep, not at the start. Adding them with the initial ingredients lets the kneading cycle crush the seeds and smash the raisins into the dough.
• If your bread machine doesn’t have a beep, add them after the first kneading cycle when the dough has come together.
• Use raw, unsalted sunflower seeds. Salted seeds will make the bread too salty and roasted seeds can burn during baking.
• This bread toasts beautifully. The honey caramelizes and the sunflower seeds get extra crunchy under the broiler.

Variations

• Pumpkin seed: Swap sunflower seeds for pepitas (hulled pumpkin seeds) for a different nutty crunch and a greener appearance.
• Cranberry: Replace the raisins with dried cranberries for a tart, colorful twist.
• Flax and seed: Add a tablespoon of flaxseeds along with the sunflower seeds for extra nutrition and a subtle earthy flavor.