Swiss root bread

Ingredients for 1 servings:

• 100 g wheat flour, 1050
• 100 g water
• 2 g salt
• 1 g yeast, fresh
• 400 g wheat flour, 1050
• 280 g water
• 12 g salt
• 4 g yeast, fresh
• Oil (walnut), or another flavorful oil
• Wheat bran (whole grain) or wheat bran

Instructions

Working time approx. 45 minutes; Rest period approx. 2 days; Total time approx. 2 days 45 minutes

Unique in its flavor, thanks to the two-day cool dough fermentation! For 2 loaves or 8 rolls.

Root bread is a Swiss specialty. Its unique flavor is achieved through a special dough preparation process. The darker wheat flour and the TA (dough yield, flour-to-liquid ratio) of 200 in the pre-dough promote acid formation. This promotes the breakdown of the proteins in the flour, which in turn leads to an increased gluten content and then gives the main dough, with a TA of 176!, the necessary stability. Furthermore, the long cold fermentation process converts some of the wheat starch into sugar, resulting in an intense flavor. Mix the ingredients for the pre-dough into a homogeneous dough, cover, and let the yeast work for two hours at room temperature. Then, refrigerate the pre-dough for a whole day, ideally in a tightly covered bowl. Add the remaining ingredients (except the oil and bran) and knead thoroughly with a food processor until the dough pulls away from the bowl. This should take about 10 minutes on a slow setting and 15 minutes on a fast setting, and is very important. Now place the dough in a sufficiently large bowl (the dough will increase in volume by about three times), greased with walnut oil, oil the surface of the dough, and cover tightly. Let it rise at room temperature for 2 hours. Then return it to the refrigerator for a whole day. On baking day, preheat the oven well in advance, as the bread goes straight into the oven without a bulk proof. Take the dough out of the refrigerator and turn it out onto a bed of bran or cracked flour. Fold it over once to give the dough a little more elasticity, then divide it crosswise into two equal pieces. Roll the cut edges in bran or cracked flour and pull the dough pieces apart slightly, like a corkscrew. Do this as carefully as possible and take care not to squeeze out any air. It is best to bake it on a preheated stone. Bake for 10 minutes at 250°C with plenty of steam, then finish baking without steam at 200°C for 35 minutes. Allow to cool slightly, but not too long, as it tastes best warm. You can also bake four rolls instead of one loaf. Then cut each one into squares and do not turn them. This reduces the baking time by about 15 minutes. If you want to bake in advance, you can reduce the baking time by 15 minutes. Then allow the loaves to cool, wrap them in an airtight container and place them in the refrigerator or freeze them. If necessary, finish baking in a preheated oven at 200°C for about 30 minutes from chilled or thawed. This root bread is a bit of a hybrid between a ciabatta and a baguette, but still has its own unique flavor. It tastes good with everything you would eat with a ciabatta or baguette, and much more.