Poulsbo Bread

Poulsbo bread comes from Sluys Bakery in Poulsbo, Washington, the little Norwegian-themed town on the Kitsap Peninsula. The original loaf is a regional cult favorite, dense, faintly sweet, with a crumb so hearty it stands up to thick-cut deli sandwiches and toasts beautifully under butter and jam.

This bread machine version captures the original’s character with three key ingredients: seven-grain cereal mix, molasses, and powdered buttermilk. The grain cereal gives the loaf its rustic chew. The molasses brings dark, slightly bitter sweetness and that signature deep-amber crumb color. The buttermilk powder adds tang and tenderizes the gluten.

Layer ingredients in the order your bread machine specifies, usually wet first, then flour, with yeast on top kept separate from the salt. Most machines need this sequence to delay yeast activation until kneading begins.

If using sunflower seeds, wait for the mix-in beep about halfway through kneading. Adding them at the start crushes them into the dough and you lose the textural crunch they’re meant to provide.

The applesauce-for-margarine swap from the ingredient list works well and lowers the fat. The bread will be slightly less rich but the moisture stays.

Pro Tips

• Use a 7-grain hot cereal mix from the bulk bin or natural foods aisle, not 7-grain bread flour. They’re different products and the cereal needs that extra hydration time in the dough.
• This loaf benefits from a longer cycle. Use the whole-wheat setting if your machine has one, the extra rise time develops better flavor.
• Toast the sunflower seeds in a dry skillet for 3 minutes before adding for nuttier, deeper flavor.
• Slice cold for the cleanest cuts. Warm slices tear and crumble.

Variations

• Add 2 tablespoons of flax seeds along with the sunflower seeds for extra omega-3s.
• Stir in ½ cup raisins or dried cranberries with the seeds for a fruit-and-grain breakfast loaf.
• Replace 2 tablespoons molasses with honey for a milder, less bitter sweetness.