Favorite bread

Ingredients for 4 servings:

• 300 g wheat flour type 405
• 400 g wholemeal spelt flour
• 50 g dry sourdough (rye)
• 3 tsp salt
• 1 tsp sugar
• 14 g dry yeast
• 50 g sunflower seeds, peeled
• 50 g oat flakes, wholegrain
• 500 ml water, lukewarm
• Fat for the mold

Instructions

Working time approx. 20 minutes; Rest time approx. 1 hour 30 minutes; Cooking/baking time approx. 1 hour; Total time approx. 2 hours 50 minutes

Wholemeal wheat-spelt bread with sunflower seeds, oat flakes and dry sourdough

Measure the flours and sift them. (With whole-grain spelt flour, check for any metal or plastic particles in the husks at the end of the sifting process. This can happen from time to time, because if you don’t buy flour from a large mill, there aren’t 20 robots busy checking the quality; instead, a human often checks it in a factory.) Then measure all the remaining dry ingredients and place them in a bowl with the flour. Mix everything thoroughly with a mixer on the lowest setting. Then slowly add about 400 ml of water. Continue mixing on low speed until the dough pulls away from the sides of the bowl. If the dough has already combined all the dry ingredients, add only a little more water. Add the water a little at a time until the dough comes away from the mixer as a compact ball without sticking. Now let the dough knead for another five minutes and then place it in a greased loaf pan or bread pan to rise (prove). The bread should rise for one to one and a half hours. It should increase in volume significantly. I usually put my bread in the oven at 40 degrees Celsius (top and bottom heat) and cover it with a towel. If the bread has increased significantly in volume at the end of the proving time, or the towel is bulging upwards, remove the towel and place it on the second-to-lowest rack in the oven to bake. An ovenproof plate with water goes on the floor of the oven for the baking time. It is a good idea to put a lid on the bread pan or loaf pan to prevent the bread from getting too crispy. I always use the lid of my Roman pot for this. The oven is then set to 230 degrees Celsius (450 degrees Fahrenheit) without preheating. After 50 minutes of baking, remove the lid and bake uncovered for another ten minutes. Take the bread out and tap the loaf to test if it is hollow. If it sounds hollow, the bread is done. Otherwise, bake for a short while longer. No more than five to ten minutes, covered with aluminum foil.