Wolfgang's Bread

Rye and spelt sourdough bread (60% rye, 40% spelt)

For 3 People

1. IN THE EVENING (BETWEEN 8 AND 10 p.m.)

Mix 200 ml yeast water with 200 g freshly and finely ground rye so that there is no flour left. Flatten the mixture with a moistened hand and leave to rise overnight in the kitchen, covered.

2. THE NEXT MORNING AFTER BREAKFAST

The batch from the previous evening should now have a nice curvature. This means that the little helpers, the lactic acid bacteria and the yeasts have been busy overnight. If this bulge is not yet visible, simply wait a little longer. Depending on the kitchen temperature, this can take another 1 to 4 hours. It is always important to observe the secret life of the microorganisms. If the previous evening's batch went well (nice curvature), continue as follows:

Finely grind 900 g rye and 730 g spelt
Weigh out 42 g sea salt
Dissolve the salt in 1,300 ml of lukewarm water and add to the freshly ground mixture
Also add the base mixture and mix until no more flour is visible

Rye and spelt can differ from year to year, so they may need more or less water. So if the dough appears very dry when mixing, you can add a little more water. Now smooth out the dough with a damp hand and cover and leave to rise again. The dough now needs between 3 and sometimes 6 hours until it is ‘ripe’. This can also be recognised by the large bulge at the top. The volume should have doubled.

3. FINISHING

Grease 3 loaf tins well. Place each tin in the oven at 50 °C with a knob of butter and spread the melted butter with a piece of greaseproof paper. Weigh out 1,130 g of dough into each baking tin. Smooth out with a damp hand. Then use a moistened pastry card to push the pastry down the inside of the baking tin. Make sure that the dough looks good in the tin. Now finely grind a little rye. Sprinkle the flour onto the surface of the dough pieces using a fine sieve (e.g. coffee sieve) so that a dust-thin layer of flour covers the dough.

Cover the 3 baking tins with a kitchen towel and leave to rise for a further 1 to 3 hours. (Or cover the baking tins, put them in the fridge and bake them the next day. In this case, however, score them immediately after taking them out of the fridge and put them in the oven). It always depends on the heat and humidity of the kitchen how long the helpers in the dough need until it is ready. When the dough starts to rise again and - importantly - starts to form lots of little bubbles on the surface, it's time to preheat the oven. (If more and more bubbles form, this means that the ‘metabolic excretions’ of the tiny creatures in the dough can no longer be held. It can't rise any more. It would soon show a slight downward bulge).

4. BAKE

Preheat the oven to 250 °C. When the heat is right, provide steam. Use a small spray bottle to moisten the flowers and spray several times in the hot oven. Others place a small bowl of water in the oven. Now score the dough a few times with a baker's knife (available from www.grainlovers.shop) or a very sharp kitchen knife. And into the oven.

First for 10 minutes at 250 °C

Then another 45 minutes at 215 °C

Then remove the loaves from the tin and tap them on the bottom. If it sounds like tapping on wood, then the bread is done baking. If it still doesn't sound like that, put the loaves back in the hot oven for another 4 minutes. Without the baking tin.

Leave the baked bread to cool on an oven rack and enjoy the next day.