Buttermilk – black bread (Frisian)

Ingredients for 20 servings:

• 500 g wheat bran, medium
• 500 g rye meal, medium
• 1 liter buttermilk, warm
• 2 packets of yeast (Seitenbacher bread baking dry yeast)
• 1 tbsp salt
• ½ jar beet syrup, (or 2 tbsp syrup, 1 tbsp honey)
• possibly sunflower seeds, pumpkin seeds, to taste
• 500 g wheat bran, fine

Instructions

Working time approx. 30 minutes; Rest time approx. 13 hours; Total time approx. 13 hours 30 minutes

Mix 500g of rye and 500g of wheat bran with the lukewarm buttermilk and keep warm for 12 hours. Then dissolve the dried yeast in 100ml of water according to the instructions. Add it to the previous dough along with the syrup (or syrup/honey mixture), salt, and 500g of finely ground wheat bran, possibly with the grains, and knead everything well (soft dough), adding a little more lukewarm water if necessary. Pour into a large loaf pan (press down firmly). Let rest for another 20 minutes before baking. Cover with aluminum foil (matte side up) (pierce a small hole in the foil to allow steam to escape during baking), then bake for 2.5 hours at 160-180°C (fan oven). Remove the foil before the end of the baking time (10 minutes) and continue baking. Place an ovenproof dish filled with water under the baking rack. Test for doneness: either insert a meat thermometer (90°C) or use a wooden skewer to check if the bread is no longer sticky. After turning out, tap the bottom with your fingertips; the bread should sound hollow, then it’s done. Immediately after baking, brush the crust with olive oil. This will give it a nice shine and help the crust stay softer!