Sourdough bread as desired

Ingredients for 1 servings:

• 20 g starter
• 125 g spelt flour type 1050 or any other flour
• 125 ml water
• 30 g spelt flour type 630 or any other finer flour
• 120 ml water
• 45 g spelt or wheat bran
• 35 g oat flakes or spelt flakes, coarse or fine
• 80 g mixed grains, e.g. sunflower seeds, linseed, millet, chia seeds, nuts,
• 14 g salt
• 210 ml water, boiling
• 375 g flour, variety as desired
• 10 g fresh yeast
• 1 tsp honey
• 140 ml water, lukewarm
• 1 tbsp sunflower oil, olive oil or pumpkin seed oil
• e.g. grains, flour or flakes for sprinkling

Instructions

Working time approx. 40 minutes; Rest period approx. 1 day; Cooking/baking time approx. 1 hour; Total time approx. 1 day 1 hour 40 minutes

very variable

Sourdough: The day before, mix the first three ingredients together to make a sourdough starter. Cover with a tea towel and let stand at room temperature for 16-18 hours. During this time, the dough should expand slightly and form small bubbles. Cooking starter: Also the day before, stir 30g of spelt flour into 120ml of cold water and bring to a boil. This produces a cooking starter with a pasty consistency. Cover with foil and let stand until the next day. Grain starter: Mix the bran, flakes, mixed seeds, and salt. The evening before, pour over 210ml of boiling water and let stand. Cover with foil and let stand at room temperature (approx. 10 hours). The next day, dissolve the yeast and honey in 140ml of lukewarm water. (If you’re using a mature sourdough starter, you can omit the yeast or reduce the amount. I don’t mind the yeast, though, so I always bake the bread with yeast—I find it makes it a little lighter.) Combine the sourdough with the yeast water. Now add the flour, the cooking flour, the grain mix, and the oil and knead everything in a food processor on speed 2 for 8-10 minutes. You’ll notice the gluten forming. Tip: If you’re using whole-wheat flour, you may need a little more water—the dough should be “hard to pull together.” Cover the dough and let it rest for 30 minutes. Place the dough on a floured work surface and knead briefly by hand and shape it slightly. Then transfer it to a greased loaf pan or ungreased silicone mold (inner dimensions: 26 cm long, 10 cm wide, 8 cm deep). Let it rise for another 40 minutes. Spray or brush the bread with water, cut it crosswise or lengthwise, and sprinkle it with a grain mix, a little flour, or flakes. Preheat the oven to 220°C with a rack and a baking sheet underneath. Bring the water to a boil for steaming. Place the bread on the rack and bake for 20 minutes at 220°C. During this time, add 2-3 splashes of boiling water to the baking sheet (steaming). After 20 minutes, briefly open the oven door, release the steam, and bake the bread for another 20 minutes at 180°C. Then remove the bread from the pan and finish baking for another 20 minutes at 180°C. I bake this bread almost exclusively in ever-changing variations – the taste is always different and never gets boring. The flour types can be varied just as much as the grain mix. The steaming is optional, but it keeps the bread fresher longer.