Central German mixed bread

Ingredients for 8 servings:

• 400 g rye flour type 997, which works best, or type 1150
• 400 ml water
• 350 g rye flour type 1150 , which works best, or type 997
• 300 g wheat flour type 405 or 1050
• 1 packet of dry yeast
• 2 potatoes, boiled, maybe one more, not necessary
• 20 g salt
• 300 ml water or beer

Instructions

Working time approx. 20 minutes; Rest period approx. 4 days; Cooking/baking time approx. 50 minutes; Total time approx. 4 days 1 hour 10 minutes

with homemade sourdough starter

The sourdough starter works best with type 997 rye flour, and the bread itself works best with type 1150. To make the sourdough starter, mix 100g of rye flour with 100ml of lukewarm water and let it stand, covered, for two nights. I always use a simple plastic mixing bowl with a matching lid. After two days, add 100g of rye flour and 100ml of lukewarm water and let it sit in a warm place overnight. The next day, add 200g of rye flour and 200ml of lukewarm water and let it sit in a warm place overnight. The dough should smell and taste sour, and bubbles should have formed. It smells more of lactic acid than vinegar and should have become a bit runny. The next day, pour a large swig of the sourdough starter into an empty screw-top jar and place it in the refrigerator. The sourdough starter will keep for at least three weeks. Combine the remaining sourdough starter—about 700 g—with the rye flour, wheat flour, salt, dried yeast, lukewarm water or beer, and 2-3 boiled potatoes. The dough also tastes good with beer. The potatoes keep the bread fresh longer, but they’re not necessary. I always bake my bread in a 35 cm loaf pan. This has the advantage that I can pour the dough into the pan immediately after kneading. The more liquid the dough, the fluffier the bread will be. Briefly heat the oven, place the loaf pan with the dough in, and let it rise until it has doubled in size. Remove the loaf pan. Preheat the oven to 200 degrees Celsius (400 degrees Fahrenheit). Bake the bread for 10 minutes, then reduce the oven temperature to 175 degrees Celsius (350 degrees Fahrenheit) and bake for another 30-40 minutes. Then tip the bread out of the pan and tap the bottom of the loaf: if it sounds hollow, the bread is baked through. I always put water in the oven. For future breads that will be baked with the leftover sourdough from the fridge, mix the leftover sourdough with 375 g of Type 997 rye flour (this works best) or 1150 g, and 375 ml of lukewarm water and let it warm overnight. The next day, proceed with the 700 g sourdough as above.