Tim's 100% German Rye Bread
Our friends Matthias and Tim live in a lovingly preserved and updated Fachwerkhaus (half-timber house) in a Hessen village, about 40 km Northwest of Frankfurt. Among many admirable aspects of their life are their commitment to environmentally conscious way of living, dedication to good quality food, and Tim’s delightful, deceptively laissez-faire garden.
The whimsically sprawling garden surrounds the house, the former blacksmith shed, and the pond with gentle slopes dotted with hundreds of species of trees, shrubs, and plants. Tim is a talented gardener with an impeccable taste, and successfully created an unpretentious and deeply satisfying retreat.
When we visited them this past summer, Tim shared with me a recipe of traditional German sourdough bread made of 100% rye, using brotforms, or bread proofing baskets.
The result is a bread with hearty, flavorful, and heartwarming air pockets, sturdy enough to stand up to a thick blob of butter or creamy goat cheese and honey. It can be a perfect weekend project for you. Enjoy!
NOTE: if you don’t have access to sourdough starters, and don’t have a local source to obtain from, you can either purchase from a site like Culture for Health (that’s where I originally got a starter for my husband’s bread), or there are excellent sites that provide step-by-step guide like Feasting at Home.
Tim’s 100% German Rye Bread
Ingredients
1st proofing – sourdough mix and rye flour
- 75 g sourdough starter around 50 g – 100 g of sourdough starter saved from the last batch
- 500 g 100% whole rye flour around 465 g – 100 g
- 500 ml water around 465 ml – 500 ml
2nd proofing – with more flour
- 600 g 100% whole rye flour
- 350 ml water
- 1 tablespoon salt
Instructions
Pre-proofing – making the sourdough
- Take the sourdough starter you saved from the last cycle, about 50 g – 100 g, from the fridge to return to the room temperature,
- Mix the starter with 465 g – 500 g of 100% whole rye flour and the equal amount of water in a large bowl.
- Let the mix sit in a warm room temperature (about 25 – 30 C) for 15 to 24 hours.Take about 50 g of mix for future cycle and keep it in a fridge.
2nd proofing – making the bread dough
- Mix the sourdough with 600 g of 100% whole rye flour, 350 ml of water, and 1 tablespoon of salt and let it sit for another 3 hours. It should rise and increase in size by about 1/3 to 1/2.
- Spread additional rye flour on a board and knead the dough for about 15 minutes.
- Divide the dough into two balls. Dust two brotforms (bread proofing baskets) with rye flour and place the divided doughs.
- Let them sit for 30 – 45 minutes until the doughs show small cracks.
Bake the bread
- Pre-heat the oven to 482 F (250 C). Flip the doughs onto a baking sheet and bake for 45 – 50 minutes in n “all around” heat, i.e., bake from both top & bottom.
- To make sure it’s fully baked, knock the bottom of the bread. It should sound like nocking on wood.
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