rustic bread

Ingredients for 1 servings:

• 100 g wheat flour, 550
• 100 g wheat flour, 1050
• 50 g rye flour, 1150
• 50 g sourdough (wheat sourdough)
• 140 ml water
• 3 g yeast
• 20 g olive oil
• 6 g salt
• 8 g honey
• 3 g baking malt, not absolutely necessary, it works without
• 1 tsp fennel seeds
• n. B. spice mix (bread spice)
• Flour , for the work surface

Instructions

Working time approx. 25 minutes; Rest time approx. 1 hour; Total time approx. 1 hour 25 minutes

rustic Italian bread

Knead the flour, wheat sourdough, water, yeast, and malt into a dough. Then mix in the olive oil, salt, honey, fennel seeds, and, if desired, the bread spice. Add these to the dough and knead with a food processor for about 10 minutes. Shape the dough into a round shape and let it rest for a good 10 minutes. Then shape/roll the dough on a floured work surface until it is long and narrow. Starting at about halfway, cut the dough into 3 strands, flatten them slightly with a rolling pin, and braid them into a plait. Place this plait over the smooth second half, lightly flour everything, and let it rise, covered, for about 50 minutes. Place the bread in the oven preheated to about 230°C. Bake for about 10 minutes until it is nicely browned, then reduce the heat to about 200°C and bake for another 30 minutes. Total baking time: approx. 40 minutes. Tip: Instead of 550 and 1050 wheat flour, you can also use 200g of 812 wheat flour. I discovered this bread in an Italian baking forum and loved the shape. I modified the recipe slightly because in Italy, Manitoba flour is often used for baking, and it’s not readily available here in Germany. I also find that too much Manitoba flour quickly makes the bread rubbery.