Farmhouse bread with walnuts

Ingredients for 1 servings:

• 200 g rye flour
• 200 g water
• 50 g starter
• 400 g rye flour
• 200 g wheat flour
• 350 ml buttermilk
• 150 g walnuts
• 15 g honey
• 20 g salt
• 10 g yeast
• 1 tbsp bread spice mix
• some water

Instructions

Working time approx. 30 minutes; Rest time approx. 18 hours 5 minutes; Cooking/baking time approx. 40 minutes; Total time approx. 19 hours 15 minutes

Rye crust bread made from sourdough

Make a sourdough starter from the first three ingredients. Mix everything well to remove any lumps, and let it stand in a warm place for 14-16 hours. It will rise faster on the radiator at around 25°C, but at normal room temperature of 20°C, the dough needs the full 16 hours. Then, take 50g of the sourdough starter and store it in a sealed container in the refrigerator as a new starter. Chop the walnuts. It’s okay if some large pieces remain; I always put the nuts in a bag and roll them over with a rolling pin. Knead the walnuts and the remaining ingredients in a food processor for about five minutes until you have a smooth dough. The consistency will be quite sticky, but it should still be easy to work with. If it’s too soft, simply add 2-3 tablespoons more flour (rye or wheat doesn’t matter). Cover the dough and let it rise for another 30 minutes, either on the radiator or in a sunny window. To continue working with the dough, place it on a floured work surface, dip both hands in flour to prevent the dough from sticking to your fingers, and form two loaves. Place them on a kitchen towel, cover lightly, and let rise for another 60-90 minutes. Again, the warmer the storage location, the faster the rising process. Small rolls can also be formed, but keep in mind that the smaller the pieces, the shorter the baking time. Preheat the oven to 250°C (top/bottom heat). Place the loaves on a rack lined with parchment paper. If the resulting grooves on the bottom of the loaves bother you, you can also place them on a piece of baking paper. Place the rack in the center of the oven and, quite low down, place a baking sheet containing about 1 cup of water. I always place it on the second rack from the bottom. Bake the loaves at 250°C (480°F) for 15 minutes (rolls only for 7-10 minutes). Dark spots may appear on the bread, but this is not a problem; they may be due to the oil from the nuts if a lot of it has collected in one place. Then turn the oven down to 200°C and brush the bread/rolls with water to give them a nice crispy crust; this will remove any spots. Caution: When you open the oven, you are hit by very hot, humid air. It is therefore not advisable to stand with your head bent over the oven door. After brushing the bread with water, bake it for another 25 minutes at 200°C (rolls only need about 10 minutes), then turn the oven off. Leave the bread in the oven for about another 5 minutes and then let it cool on a cutting board. The bread tastes best fresh, but can also be stored for longer in a bread bin.