ISO: Recipe for German rustic bread

[emilycat]

Hey, everyone!

I'm hoping some of you master breadbakers and Deutscher might be able to help me out -- I have been yearning, since I returned from Europe last summer, for something akin to the wonderful bread I ate in Germany and Austria. It was so heavenly -- malty-brown, often with grains and/or seeds, and always had seeds and grains on the top. It was so delicious, very rustic and wholesome-tasting.

Anyway, I have a fascination with Germany and everything German, so I would love to be able to make bread like that. If any of you have any suggestions or ideas, bring 'em on! http://www.cookinglight.com/bbs/smile.gif Thanks!

Emily

[funnybone]

Would this be a bread machine recipe, or it does not matter. Most likely it would be a sort of rye bread.

[ebobbitt]

Emily, I do not have a recipe to share with you but the mother of one of the guys I work with is German. I will not be able to ask him until Monday (I work for a school district and we're on spring break) but I'll make a note and leave it on my desk so I won't forget. She might have something like that to pass along. She's a great cook and always makes stolen for us during the holidays.
Elizabeth

[emilycat]

I'd like for it to a by-hand sort of recipe so that I can shape it myself, but if I could just use the dough cycle, that would be okay, too.

[funnybone]

I came across this one for you. Not sure if it is rustic enough, but its a start.

German Bread

2.5 c. whole wheat flour
2.5 c. unbleached, white flour
1 pack of yeast
3 c. tepid water
whatever seeds and nuts you like, and/or dried fruit that you have soaked in
a
little water...

Mix the flour in a bowl. (You can use more whole wheat flour in the ratio,
but
it will be denser bread. Conversely, using more white flour in the ratio
will give you Mt. Kilamanjaro as it rises. Be warned.) Mix the pack of yeast
into a cup of the water, and add it to the flour. Add the other 2 cups of
tepid water. Squish it around with your hands until mixed well.
Place the bowl of wet, sticky dough in a warm place WITH NO DRAFTS and cover
with a greased (PAM) plate or greased Saran Wrap. Let it rise for about 45
min,
or until it reaches the top of the bowl. Now, add the seeds and whatever you
want. It will be sticky. Resist the temptation to add flour. Mix manually,
and dump it into a greased bread pan. Allow to rise to the top of the pan,
and bake at 425 F for 1 hour.

[Veronica]

I highly recommend Cooking Light's flaxseed bread. It was delicious & hearty. I think it might be what you're looking for. The woman who developed the recipe was trying to duplicate some of the fabulous breads she'd had in Switzerland.

* Exported from MasterCook *

Flaxseed Bread
Cooking Light, January/February 2000, p. 168

Servings : 12

1 1/4 cups whole wheat flour
1 cup warm water (100 to 110 degrees)
1 package dry yeast (about 2 1/4 teaspoons)
1/2 cup flaxseed
2 tablespoons flaxseed
3 tablespoons nonfat dry milk
2 tablespoons shreds of wheat-bran cereal (such as All-Bran)
3 tablespoons honey
1 tablespoon molasses
1 teaspoon salt
3 tablespoons bread flour
cooking spray
2 teaspoons cornmeal
1 large egg white -- beaten
1 teaspoon flaxseed

Lightly spoon flours into dry measuring cups, and level with a knife. Combine the bread flour, water, and yeast in a large bowl; stir well with a whisk. Cover and let stand at room temperature 1 hour.

Place 1/2 cup flaxseed in a spice or coffee grinder; process until finely ground to measure 3/4 cup. Add the ground flaxseed, whole-wheat flour, 2 tablespoons whole flaxseed, and next 5 ingredients (2 tablespoons flaxseed through salt) to the yeast mixture, and stir until a soft dough forms (dough will feel tacky). Turn dough out onto a lightly floured surface. Knead until smooth and elastic (about 5 minutes); add enough of remaining 3 tablespoons bread flour, 1 tablespoon at a time, to proven the dough from sticking to hands. Shape dough into a 5-inch round loaf, place onto a baking sheet coated with cooking spray and sprinkled with cornmeal. Brush loaf with egg white; sprinkle with 1 teaspoon flaxseed. Make 3 diagonal cuts 1/4-inch-deep across top of loaf using a sharp knife. Cover and let rise in a warm place (85 degrees) 1 hour or until doubled in size. (Press two fingers into dough. If the indentation remains, the dough has risen enough.)

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

Bake at 375 degrees for 30 minutes or until bread sounds hollow when tapped. Remove from pan; cool on a wire rack. Yield: 1 loaf, 12 servings (serving slice: 1 slice).

NOTES : This small, dense, round loaf is made with flaxseed, a nutty-flavored grain that is reich in heart-healthy omega-3 fats. Slice some thick wedges of this hearty bread to go along with soup or stew.

Store flaxseed in the refrigerator or freezer. It'll stay fresh for up to 6 months.

[Grace]

What you're describing, Em, is Vollkornbrot or Mehrkornbrot. Also my absolute favorite! My husband and I are German (hubby's from Berlin, and we even use German around the house every day!), and we try to go there once a year (more if possible!). But one of my best friends just came back from a long weekend there just a few days ago, and she brought me a big bag of different varieties of broetchen (the hardrolls that are everywhere), and among them were 3 Mehrkornbroetchen! I was in pig heaven. She also brought me 2 big containers of Quark, which I'm having difficulty rationing - I could eat a whole tub at one sitting, no problem.

But, to get to your question, I too, have wanted a good German bread recipe. I know that everything I've tried never comes out "just right", because they have different flour and different water than we have, which makes a big difference. But I would say to order yourself up the King Arthur Flour catalog. They have absolutely everything for baking bread, any and every kind. Things like dough relaxers, diastatic malt powder, and other additives, as well as Harvest Grains Blend (a mixture of whole oat berries and millet, rye flakes and wheat flakes, whole flax, poppy, sesame and sunflower seeds, and includes a recipe), Rye flour, French and Italian style flours, and something called European-Style Artisan Bread Flour. They have German wooden dough rising baskets, lames for slashing the tops of the dough, plus so much more, I could go on typing for hours. They have it ALL. You can also buy whole wheat berries and rye berries and grind them yourself if you want to go that far. Ok, I'll stop now. Get the catalog. Order it from www.kingarthurflour.com (http://www.kingarthurflour.com)

Then go crazy ordering and baking!!

Oh, and the flaxseed bread listed above is great. I made it a few weeks ago and loved it. It's not the German bread you want, but it's still very, very good.

Oh, and one more thing - King Arthur is a small company that prides itself on personal service. If you e-mail them or even call them, they will give you a good recipe for the bread you describe, or tell you exactly where to find it. They're a wonderful company. I just received an order from them yesterday myself!

[This message has been edited by Grace (edited 03-30-2001).]

[emilycat]

Oh, Grace, you're right!

I remember asking for Mehrkornbroetchen now!
(Is there no way to use umlauts on this thing?) I'm so envious, though; the only person I have to speak German with is myself!

I'll definitely order a catalog and e-mail King Arthur for a recipe; great idea!

Thanks to the rest of you, too; Veronica and funnybone, your recipes look great, I'll certainly try them both. And ebobbit, if your coworker can get a recipe to you, I'd love to have it as well.

Thanks to all of you for your help! http://www.cookinglight.com/bbs/smile.gif

Emily


[This message has been edited by emilycat (edited 03-30-2001).]

[Grace]

Bitteschoen - Kein Problem!

oh, and ö = alt + 0246
ü = alt + 0252
ä = alt + 0228
ß = alt + 0223

Just FYI

Viel Spaß!

[emilycat]

Wie schön! Vielen Dank -- jetzt muß ich nur mein Brot finden!

(Ja, ich weiß, mein Deustch ist etwas schlecht.)

Emily

[funnybone]

"Ich habe hunger und durst!" LOL - that's all I remember from one German class in 1978!

[ebobbitt]

Emilycat, I asked my co-worker about the German bread and he in turn, asked his mom. She knew exactly what he was talking about but she informed him that she wasn't making the bread! She makes lots of German dishes but the bread is not one of them. She buys the unbaked loaves at an air force base commissary, takes them home and bakes them. She says the bread is imported from Germany and is distributed by a Canadian company. Sorry I didn't get a recipe http://www.cookinglight.com/bbs/frown.gif
Elizabeth

[emilycat]

Elizabeth,

Not a problem http://www.cookinglight.com/bbs/smile.gif Thanks for asking, though!

Emily

[funnybone]

Originally posted by ebobbitt:
. She says the bread is imported from Germany and is distributed by a Canadian company. http://www.cookinglight.com/bbs/frown.gif
Elizabeth


I'm from Canada originally and we used to live on "Dimpflmeier" bread. I believe this is the one ebobbitt was talking about. They even ship to the US, but I know you were looking to bake your own.
http://www.dimpfbreadex.com/index-pre2k.html