Mangbrot – a typical mixed rye bread from the Bergisches Land and the Rhineland

Ingredients for 1 servings:

• 500 g sourdough (rye), made from 250 g rye flour type 1150, 250 g water and the sourdough starter
• 15 g salt
• 150 g water
• 5 g yeast, fresh
• 250 g rye flour, type 1150
• 250 g wheat flour, type 1050
• 100 g water
• 1 tbsp malt extract (barley), as desired
• some butter for the mold
• some water for the surface

Instructions

Working time approx. 15 minutes; Rest time approx. 1 hour 30 minutes; Cooking/baking time approx. 1 hour; Total time approx. 2 hours 45 minutes

Make the sourdough the night before, then separately add the salt, the first portion of water, and the yeast. On the day of baking, knead the sourdough, the yeast mixture, and all other ingredients together. Add barley malt extract if desired. The original version doesn’t require any. Let the dough rest for 30 minutes and in the meantime butter a bread tin (30 x 10 cm). Knead the dough again and place it in the tin. It’s not easy to work with this soft dough, but it’s worth trying. Let the dough rise for about one to two hours. When the dough has reached the edge of the tin, preheat the oven to 250°C (top and bottom heat). Once the temperature has been reached, moisten the dough thoroughly with a watering can and roll it over with a rolling pin to create the typical hole pattern. Place on the rack in the center of the oven. Then bake for 15 minutes at 250°C, another 15 minutes at 210°C, and finally for 30 minutes at 180°C. Moisten the surface thoroughly with each new temperature setting. Only remove from the pan after the baking time has elapsed. The bread is done when it sounds hollow when tapped. The Mangbrot has a beautifully shiny brown crust on top, but is otherwise light in color. Traditionally, it is baked in a tin or, as shown here, in a tin.