Black bread – only with sourdough

Ingredients for 1 servings:

• 50 g sourdough starter
• 390 g flour (wholemeal rye flour)
• 400 g coarse rye meal
• 600 g flour (whole wheat flour)
• 240 g sunflower seeds
• 1,000 ml water
• 60 g beet syrup
• 35 g malt (barley malt extract)
• 35 g salt

Instructions

Working time approx. 25 minutes; Rest time approx. 1 day 21 hours; Total time approx. 1 day 21 hours 25 minutes

makes two loaves of 1.2 kg each

Similar to pumpernickel, but lighter and less sweet… If you want to enjoy this bread for Sunday breakfast, you should start on Wednesday… Afternoon: Mix the starter with 100g of rye flour and 150ml of lukewarm water, cover and leave to ferment for 6 hours at around 35°C (on a tiled stove or in the oven with the light on only). Evening: Mix in 130g of rye flour and 85ml of warm water, cover and leave to stand at room temperature for 12 hours. Morning: Stir in 160g of rye flour and 210ml of warm water, cover and leave to bubble for 3 hours at 35°C. Mix the rye meal with 300ml of hot water, cover and leave to swell. Lunch: Dissolve the sugar beet syrup and barley malt extract in 100ml of boiling water. Take 50g of the starter from the sourdough and refrigerate for next time. Mix all ingredients and the remaining 155 ml of water thoroughly. Pour into two greased or sprayed loaf pans and smooth the surface with a wet hand. If you’re not using chrome baking pans, line the pans with baking paper. Simply place the pan on the paper, mark the bottom with a pencil, then tilt it to all sides and mark the sides, cut them out, and fold them. Cover with plastic wrap and let it rise until the dough has risen by about 1/3. A pan two-thirds full should then be almost full. For me, this takes 6 hours. Late afternoon: Preheat oven to 150°C. Spray the surface of the dough with water, sprinkle with sunflower seeds or cereal flakes if desired, and press down lightly. Cover the baking pans with the lids (wrap lidless pans very well in aluminum foil). Bake for one hour, then reduce the oven to 120°C. Let it bake for 12-13 hours. Tomorrow: Turn off the oven and let the loaves cool completely in the oven. Place the loaves in 6-liter freezer bags and let them rest for 1-2 days before slicing. Otherwise, the bread will stick terribly at first. If you don’t mind the long baking time (but it’s definitely worth it!), you can bake them at 175°C for 3-3.5 hours instead.