Sourdough German Souls Bread Schwäbische Seelen Recipes

SOURDOUGH GERMAN SOULS BREAD (SCHWäBISCHE SEELEN)

Steps:

• For the spelt and all purpose levains, mix the ingredients, let ferment, and use the levain young (ripe but not peaked or deflating). For the rye levain, mix the ingredients and ferment the levain for 8-10 hours at 84°F. The extra 10g levain can be used however you choose.
• In a large bowl, thoroughly mix together the flours, water (minus any being reserved for bassinage), levain, and salt.
• Cover and let sit for about 20 minutes, then stretch and fold until smooth. Do this again at the 40-minute mark.
• About 1 hour after the initial mixing, add the reserved water (this technique is called bassinage). Dimple the dough and stretch and fold it around the dough gently for about 5 minutes until the water is completely incorporated.
• Continue intermittent stretching and folding for 3 more hours. If you're making the variation with cheese, fold it in about 1 hour into this period (2 hours after the initial mixing).
• Let the dough rise for a final hour (until about five hours since the initial dough mixing).
• De-gas the dough and refrigerate it overnight.
• When you want to bake, preheat your oven to 450°F for 20-30 minutes with a baking stone, baking steel, or upside-down baking sheet inside.
• Dump out your dough onto wet parchment paper that you've measured to fit your baking surface.
• Wet your hands and the top of the dough. Then using the side of your hand, divide the dough in four long pieces or "souls." Do not try to lift them from the wet parchment paper.
• Sprinkle with caraway seeds and coarse salt, and then spray water all over the top of the souls.
• Bake for 20-25 minutes at 450°F.
• Let cool for a bit and enjoy.

SOURDOUGH CRACKERS WITH RYE FLOUR AND BLACK SESAME SEEDS

Steps:

• Preheat your oven to 450°F.
• Combine the ingredients in a bowl, minus the toppings, and mix together. Knead the dough for a few minutes until it's smooth. If you want the seeds to be well-trapped in the dough, add them during this initial mixing rather than later.
• Roll out the dough to be less than 1/4-inch thick. Do this on a sheet of parchment paper or a silicone mat that fits a half-sheet pan. To get a uniform rectangle, trim the edges and place the pieces inside the dough and re-roll.
• Brush or spritz with additional oil. Sprinkle on the seeds and additional salt, and roll again a few times to press in the toppings.
• Using a pizza cutter or bench knife, cut grooves into the dough, creating a grid with the cracker size of your choice. I made a 9x6 grid for 54 crackers.
• Dock the dough with a fork to prevent big bubbles during baking.
• Bake for 12-15 minutes, turning the tray once about 8 minutes in. Remove when the dough at the outer edges begins to brown.
• Let cool for a few minutes and then separate the crackers on the cut lines.

AUTHENTIC GERMAN BREAD (BAUERNBROT)

Steps:

• First, make the sourdough starter. Crumble the yeast into a large bowl. Whisk in 1 quart of warm water and 2 tablespoons of sugar until dissolved. The water should be just slightly warmer than body temperature. Gradually whisk in 4 cups of flour, continuing to mix until all lumps are gone. Cover with a dish towel, and let sit for 24 hours at room temperature.
• After 24 hours, stir well, cover, and let stand another 24 hours. It will be a thin, light-colored sourdough which is then ready to use.
• In a large bowl, stir together the rye flour, remaining 4 cups of all-purpose flour, salt and sugar. Mix in the sourdough starter using a wooden spoon, then stir in 2 cups of warm water. I transfer the dough to a heavy-duty stand mixer to mix the first couple of minutes, then it can't handle the heavy dough and I start using my hands by turning the dough out onto a floured surface. A clean countertop works best. Knead the dough, adding a few tablespoons of water at a time if it is too stiff. Fold the dough over, pull it apart, whatever you can do to get it kneaded up good. Total kneading time should be 15 to 20 minutes to get a smooth dough. Place the dough in a large bowl, cover, and let rise until doubled, 1 to 2 hours.
• When the dough has risen, scrape it out of the bowl and back onto a floured surface. Knead for about 5 minutes. This is important to activate the gluten. Shape into 1 or 2 long loaves. Place on baking sheets, and let rise for about 1 hour, or until your finger leaves an impression when you poke the bread gently.
• Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F (220 degrees C). Bake the bread for about 45 minutes for 2 loaves, 1 1/2 hours if you made one big loaf. Don't worry if the crust is dark. The bread will be delicious and so will the crust. Cool completely before cutting. I always freeze half.

SOURDOUGH

Steps:

• First make your starter. In a large jar (a 1litre kilner jar is good) or plastic container, mix 100g of the flour with 125ml slightly warm water. Whisk the batter until smooth and lump free, whisking will help incorporate some airborne yeast particles to get your starter going. Leave the jar or container lid ajar for an hour or so in a warm place (around 25C is ideal), then seal and set aside for 24 hrs.
• For the next 6 days you will need to 'feed' the starter each day. To do this, tip away half the original starter and add an extra 100g of flour and 125ml slightly warm water, whisking well each time, try to do this at roughly the same time everyday. After 3-4 days you should start to see bubbles appearing on the surface, and it will smell yeasty and a little acidic. This is a good indication that the starter is working. The time it takes for fermentation to begin can vary between 1 to 5 days depending on temperature and environment, persevere for up to 6 days, if you still don't see any signs of life, or the starter smells unpleasant, throw it away and start again. On the 8th day the starter should be quite bubbly and smell much sweeter. It is now ready to bake with.
• Now you can make your first loaf. Tip the flour, 225ml warm water, salt, honey and sourdough starter into a large bowl, or a table top mixer fitted with a dough hook. Stir with a wooden spoon, or on a slow setting in a machine, until combined, adding a little extra flour if it's too sticky or a little extra warm water if it's too dry. Tip onto a work surface and knead for about 10 mins until soft and elastic, if using a mixer, turn the speed up a little and mix for 5 mins. The dough is ready when it bounces back when gently pressed with a finger.
• Place the dough in a large, well oiled bowl and cover with an oiled sheet of cling film. Leave in a warm place to rise for 3 hrs. You may not see much movement after this time, but don't be disheartened, sourdough takes much longer to rise than a conventional yeasted bread.
• Line a medium-sized bowl with a clean tea towel and flour it well, if you have a proving basket you can use this. Tip the dough back onto your work surface and knead briefly to knock out any air bubbles. Shape the dough into a smooth ball and dust it with flour. Place the dough, seam side up, in the bowl or proving basket, cover with a sheet of oiled cling film and leave for 6-8 hrs, until roughly doubled in size.
• Place a large baking tray in the oven, set to 230C/210C fan/gas 8, to heat up. Fill a small roasting tin with a little water and place this in the bottom of the oven to create some steam. Remove the large tray from the oven, sprinkle with flour then carefully tip the risen dough onto the tray.You can slash the top a few times with a sharp knife if you like. Bake for 35-40 mins until golden brown and hollow sounding when tapped. Leave to cool on a wire rack for 20 mins before serving.