East Frisian black bread

Ingredients for 20 servings:

• 1,000 g rye meal, finely ground
• 1,000 g wheat
• 30 g salt
• 4 tbsp honey or
• 2 tbsp honey and
• 2 tbsp beet syrup
• 125 g sesame seeds
• 125 g flaxseed
• 125 g sunflower seeds
• Water, lukewarm
• 1 dough (sourdough starter)

Instructions

Working time approx. 1 hour; Rest time approx. 1 day 2 hours; Total time approx. 1 day 3 hours

The evening before: Mix 500g of rye flour with the sourdough starter and add approx. 1 liter of lukewarm water and stir. The next morning: Add 500g of rye flour and 500g of wheat flour with 750ml of lukewarm water and stir. Cover the large bowl with a towel and place it in a warm place or in the oven (without turning the temperature on). Important in the evening: Take 1 batch of sourdough (approx. 5 tbsp), put it in a jar and store it in the fridge for the next batch of bread dough. It will keep for approx. 14 days, can also be frozen. Add 500g of wheat flour, the salt, sesame seeds, linseed, sunflower seeds, and 4 tbsp honey (or as stated above) to the existing dough and stir in enough lukewarm water to form a batter the thickness of a sponge cake. Pour into greased loaf pans (3/4 full) and let rise in the oven at 30°C for 1 hour, then bake at 240°C for 20 minutes, then bake at 190°C for 80 minutes. Turn out of the pan immediately after baking and leave to cool under a tea towel. Note: If you don’t have a purchased sourdough starter: Make your own sourdough starter: Mix 100g rye flour and 250ml water, cover, and let stand at room temperature for 3 days. (This can be reduced from the above-mentioned flour quantity.)