crusty bread with sourdough

Ingredients for 1 servings:

• 550 g sourdough (from rye flour 1150)
• 400 g wheat flour (type 405 or 550)
• 400 g wheat flour, coarse (or type 405 or 550)
• 300 g water, warm
• 12 g yeast, fresh (can also be omitted)
• 12 g salt
• 1 tsp beet syrup, or 1 heaped tbsp sugar
• 140 g pumpkin seeds, or others as desired

Instructions

Working time approx. 25 minutes; Rest time approx. 30 minutes; Cooking/baking time approx. 1 hour; Total time approx. 1 hour 55 minutes

Mixed bread with excellent crust, ideal for bread maker

Mix the sourdough with half of the warm water and the salt, then add the flour. Combine the remaining water with the yeast and syrup in a small bowl and stir until the yeast is completely dissolved, then set aside. When the yeast’s consistency changes slightly after about 5 minutes (perhaps foaming or becoming creamy), it’s the perfect time to vigorously knead it into the sourdough and flour mixture. If desired, add pumpkin seeds soaked overnight, or seeds of your choice. This is ideal if you have a bread maker. I use the “DOUGH” setting, and you don’t need to worry about resting times, as the machine regulates these precisely. After the program ends, shape the dough into a loaf and let it rise in a warm place in the proving basket until it has visibly doubled in size. If you don’t have a bread maker, proceed as follows. The sourdough must be kneaded vigorously for 5 to 8 minutes, then transfer to a bowl and seal airtight with plastic wrap. Let rest in a warm place for 30 minutes. After the resting time, knead the dough again by hand, shape it into a loaf, and place it in a proving basket or other suitable container in a warm place with the seam facing up. This can take a good hour if you use yeast in the dough and about 2 hours without yeast. The dough should have increased in size considerably. Caution: the dough will be slightly sticky; please do not knead in any additional flour. Preheat the oven to 250°C (top and bottom heat) and place a baking tray filled with water on the lowest rack. Once the temperature is reached, carefully turn the dough out of the proving basket onto a baking tray lined with baking paper and cut the top crosswise several times with a sharp knife. Now slide the baking tray with the dough over the other tray filled with water into the oven and steam it vigorously (spray the inside of the oven with water using a flower spray bottle). After 10-15 minutes, reduce the temperature to 180°C and bake for another 45 minutes. The bread is done when it sounds hollow when tapped. Tip: I dust the proving basket with wheat flour. If you’re using a different container, line it with plastic wrap and brush it with neutral oil (to prevent sticking).