Toast the amaranth seeds in a small pan until they become aromatic and light brown. Add the water and bring to a low simmer. The amaranth should soften in about 15 minutes and the water should evaporate by then. If it dries before the seeds are ready, add more water as needed. Remove from the heat to cool when done.
In a large bowl, combine 150g of the refreshed sourdough starter (the rest should be set aside for your next bake), the amaranth seed porridge and the main dough ingredients to form a dough.
Knead for at least 10 minutes until you have formed an elastic and smooth dough.
Add the seed and nut soaker from day 1 and kneed for a further few minutes. The dough will be slightly sticky, so work with your dough scraper to help things along.
Place back into the bowl, cover and leave to rest for about an hour or two at room temperature until you can see the dough has risen slightly.
Deflate the dough and give it another quick knead on your work surface.
Shape into a loaf, cover with flour in a flour bath and place into a lightly floured proving basket.
Cover with a polythene bag to protect the moisture and prove at room temperature. In my wintery Edinburgh kitchen, this process takes a good 6 or 7 hours. However, if your kitchen is warmer, the process may be much shorter.
Preheat the oven to 220°C and preheat your baking dome or Dutch oven at the same time.
Turn out the loaf onto the baking dome or Dutch oven (or otherwise a baking stone or baking tray lined with baking paper).
Score the top with a pattern of your choice. Use a scoring knife for best results.
Bake at 220°C for 10 minutes and at 200°C for a further 40 minutes.
Take off the lid of your baking dome or Dutch oven for the last 10 minutes if using to firm up the crust.
Cool on a wire rack.
Enjoy an amazing loaf of amaranth sourdough bread :)