Wholemeal bread with sourdough

Ingredients for 1 servings:

• 300 g rye flour (wholemeal)
• 250 g spelt flour (wholemeal)
• 250 g wheat flour (wholemeal)
• 250 g sourdough (rye or spelt sourdough)
• 15 g salt
• 570 g water, kefir or whey
• Bread spice mix
• Oat flakes, sunflower seeds, flax seeds, etc. …

Instructions

Working time approx. 20 minutes; Rest time approx. 6 hours; Cooking/baking time approx. 45 minutes; Total time approx. 7 hours 5 minutes

with wheat, rye and spelt wholemeal flour and sourdough TA 175

Combine all ingredients in a bowl and mix or knead for a good 5 minutes using a mixer or food processor (the dough will be relatively soft, but this is normal). Cover the bowl and let the dough rise (depending on the room temperature, this can take a good 2-6 hours; the strength of the sourdough is also important, so keep an eye on it). Once the dough has doubled in size, it’s ready to be used. (If you prefer a more intense bread flavor, you can let the dough rise overnight in the refrigerator.) Briefly knead or stir the dough and pour it into a pan (mine was too soft to place freely on a baking sheet, but I generally prefer to use baking pans. For professionals, it might be kneadable and can be pushed out freely). Cover the pan and let the dough rise again for a good third. The dough is ready to bake when you lightly press into it with your finger and it gives way and no longer expands. Now preheat the oven to 250°C (top/bottom heat). Place a cup of hot water on the floor of the oven and place the tin on the middle rack. After about 5 minutes, turn the oven down to 200°C and then bake the bread for a good 40 minutes. I normally recommend tapping it on the bottom to test the temperature. If the bread sounds hollow, it’s done. However, since you’re baking in a tin, you need to know your oven well and how hot it bakes, as almost every oven heats differently. For me, 45 minutes was always enough and the bread was done. You can also carefully remove the bread from the tin after about 35 minutes and let it bake uncovered until it’s done. Please pay attention to whether the bread comes away easily or is in danger of collapsing; then leave it in the tin! If your sourdough starter is strong, you can do without yeast altogether. However, if the sourdough is still quite young, you should use yeast instead, as it is not yet strong enough. Here, however, 7g of fresh yeast is sufficient. Adding a little bread spice to the dough will give it a stronger flavor. Whey or kefir imparts a more delicate flavor than water. The bread stays fresh for a long time; mine was still delicious after a week. It has a strong flavor! I always let the dough rise overnight in the fridge; I think the bread tastes even better that way!