Pane Rustico

• Mix all the flour, dry yeast, salt, sourdough and honey in a bowl. If you want spices, add them at the same time (I didn't use any). Then gradually knead in water and oil alternately with the dough hook of the hand mixer or with the help of a machine. When everything has joined together well, knead the dough for another 10 minutes. Then let it rest in the bowl for 10 minutes.
• Then lightly flour the work surface, pour the dough on it and knead it a little more with the balls of your hands. If it still sticks a little, sprinkle a little more flour on the work surface. Although it should be quite soft and elastic, it should no longer stick anywhere.
• When it has the required consistency, shape it into a two-inch roll. Lightly mark the middle of this and cut one of the two "halves" into 3 strands. Braid them into a braid. Brush the smooth half lightly with water and fold the "plait half" over it. Sprinkle the surface a little with flour, place the bread on a floured baking tray, cover with a cloth and, with the lights only switched on, place in the oven for 50 minutes and let rise there.
• After the resting time, take the covered tray out of the oven, preheat it to 230 ° O / bottom heat and place a heat-resistant tin with water on its bottom. When the oven has reached its temperature, slide the tray into the oven from below on the 2 rails and bake for 10 minutes. Then (be careful, very hot!) Remove the bowl with the water, turn the oven down to 200 ° and bake the bread for another 20-25 minutes until crispy and brown.
• The "knock test" against the underside of the bread tells you whether it is baked through. It has to sound hollow and dull.
• The bread goes well with many Mediterranean dishes for dipping the sauce, but - if it is not too spicy - it also tastes good for breakfast with a sweet topping.

Tip for making rye sourdough:

• Put 10 g wholemeal rye flour in a sealable bowl and stir with 10 g lukewarm water. Let it rest well closed for 24 hours at 20 - 24 ° (room temperature). After this time has elapsed, stir again 10 g of rye flour and 10 g of lukewarm water into this already slightly fermenting mass. Close the bowl again and also let it rest for 24 hours. The mass now begins to ferment more strongly. This allows the lid to lift a little again and again. By tilting it slightly, the gases can escape and the bowl is closed again. After the repeated 24 hours have elapsed, add the remaining 10 g of rye flour and 10 g of lukewarm water to the peeling mass, stir it vigorously and let it rest for the last 24 hours. After its expiration, the sourdough should smell sour and fermented, as if one assumed it was spoiled. Then it is exactly right and ready for further processing. The sourdough can be kept tightly closed in the refrigerator for a few weeks. Once you have used it for bread and used it to prepare the pre-dough, it is advisable to remove approx. 50 g of the pre-dough again before preparing the main dough and store it in the refrigerator. So you always have a sourdough ready and repeat the procedure for each bread baking course. The so-called booster for the stored sourdough is formed by the small amount of dry yeast, but possibly also honey.