Mild rye bread

Ingredients for 1 servings:

• 320 g sourdough (from rye flour type 997)
• 640 g flour (rye flour type 997)
• 400 g water
• 20 g salt
• 1 tsp bread spice mix or just caraway and/or coriander seeds

Instructions

Working time approx. 30 minutes; Total time approx. 30 minutes

a particularly mild, yet hearty sourdough bread made from rye flour type 997

The ingredients yield 2 loaves of approximately 500 g each, or 1 round loaf of 1 kg. Knead all ingredients in a food processor until you have a smooth dough. Let the dough rest in the bowl for 20-30 minutes; then knead briefly again. Lightly flour a plastic board with rye flour, place the dough on it, and lightly flour it. Using floured hands, carefully shape it into 1 or 2 loaves. Place the dough pieces in starch-floured proving baskets, cover with a cloth, and let rise in a warm place until they have increased in size considerably; this takes between 3 and 5 hours. Preheat the oven to top/bottom heat on the highest setting possible. When the loaves are reached, carefully turn them out onto a baking sheet lined with baking paper, cut several times crosswise, and immediately place them in the oven on the second rack from the bottom. Spray water into the oven and onto the bread several times with a watering can (“steam”) and immediately close the oven. After 10-15 minutes, reduce the heat to approximately 200°C. After another 15 minutes, reduce the heat to 180°C. Total baking time at an initial temperature of 250°C: 45-50 minutes for two 500g loaves, 60-70 minutes for one 1kg loaf. The bread is done when it sounds hollow when tapped on the bottom. Allow to cool on a wire rack. It tastes best after a proving period of 12-24 hours. When using baking pans, it is not absolutely necessary to let the bread rise. The loaves can also be placed in the baking pan to rise at this time. Important for the success of this recipe are: 1. the use of real, “live” sourdough (not store-bought or bagged sourdough!), 2. a three-stage, warm sourdough starter, and 3. a correspondingly long, warm proving time for the bread. There are plenty of instructions for (really simple) sourdough preparation, the three-stage starter, working the dough, and determining the correct degree of fermentation here in the CK forum “Bread & Rolls.”