Rundbrot
3mon 10d ago by lemmy.world/u/Dayroom7485 in sourdough
A recipe from two starters, one a rye sourdough, the other one a spelt poolish. Very happy with the result, hope I can improve the cutting next time.
That sounds German, but do Germans like sourdough? Seems like Germans really like thicker dense breads. Sourdough is usually so light and fluffy.
It’s a bread from Brotbackbuch Nr. 1 (Book of Baking Bread, Vol. 1) by Lutz Geissler. The book is German to its core, and I adore it. Lutz emphasizes controlling all parameters of the baking process: weight, time, and temperature. All recipes include the ingredients' temperature, and he gives yeast and salt in hundredths of a gram.
I recall that most of the breads discussed in the book rely on a sourdough starter. Rye-based breads are popular in Germany, and rye really requires a sourdough.
The Rundbrot doesn't have an especially fluffy crumb, and I think it's fair to say that's true for traditional German breads in general. It's a wonderful bread though. Nutritious, with milled and wholegrain flours (wheat, rye, spelt), and a distinct sourdough taste and smell.
I grew up spending a lot of summers in wien visiting my family. I’d have rye toast bread with cherry jam every morning but ever since I moved to the states I’ve never found bread that tastes as good as there. Does this cookbook produce rye bread that’s spot on what I’d get in anker / billa or better bread places?
Austrian flours are milled to different standards compared to German flours, meaning that they have different recipes - so you won’t find any truly Austrian breads in Lutz‘ book.
If you’re fine with that, you’ll find recipes for gorgeous rye breads in the book that probably taste close to what you had in Vienna.
I mean it has to be better than the dark rye loafs in the US. I’ve yet to have one that has hit that nostalgia button
Yeah in the last pic it looks very dense, like other breads I have had in Germany.
In the US, sourdough breads are usually very light and fluffy on the inside. I don’t think I have ever seen or had such a bread in Germany.
For reference in terms of density, this is a pic from the book of the crumb of another sourdough bread (Schwarzbrot) that’s almost entirely made of rye wholegrain:
So yeah, not at all like the fluffy goodness others have posted here 😁
Yeah that’s definitely the German style of bread I remember.
That's not dense at all for a rye! In fact, I'd say that crumb is really lovely.
That looks delicious. I know when I do a rye I aim for bouncy & dense, this looks so evenly risen for such a tight crumb.
Aww thanks, much appreciated 🙏
Wow, beautiful bread with a lovely looking crumb. Unfortunately, I don't own the book but would love a little detail so that I can attempt something similar. Is the spelt poolish made with yeast?
Thanks! This is the recipe. The poolish is 1 part spelt, 1 part water, and .01 part yeast. I added a chart from the book for converting German flour types, maybe that’s helpful.
Forgot to thank you for being so helpful. Planning to make this next weekend!
Sweet, enjoy the process and fingers crossed it turns out well!