Franconian peasant loaf

We were very lucky that in our children's daycare center the cook baked fresh bread weekly - which as a plus tasted extra great, too. After that experience there was no way back to storebought bread, so since 2013 we bake our own bread. At first we only baked the rye bread made of sourdough and turnip syrup, which we had got to know in the day care center. By now we have three more sourdough breads as regulars in our oven. One of them is this Franconian peasant loaf, our favorite bread.

Sourdough is a culture of lactic acid bacteria and yeasts and is made from a mixture of flour and water (this is also how my sourdough starter "Dirk" was made). The yeast is responsible for the formation of carbon dioxide, while the lactic acid bacteria produce lactic acid, which is what gives the sourdough its taste. In the process, the lactic acid bacteria metabolize the sugars that the yeast cannot utilize, while the yeast processes the by-products of lactic acid fermentation.

Another great example for fabulous fermentation.

This sourdough bread works with two-stage proffing. Two-stage proofing means that the dough gets time to mature twice. This makes the bread more digestible than fast industrial breads. The first time the dough matures a little longer, so it is a good idea to make the first leaven overnight.

You also need freshly fed sourdough starter, that is, 4-12 hours before you start this bread, add flour and water to your sourdough starter so that it gains mass and is activated.

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SCHEDULING

• 15 minutes of active time
• 9 hours waiting
• 15 minutes of active time
• 2 hours waiting
• 20 minutes of active time
• 30-45 minutes waiting
• 25-30 minutes baking
• 25-30 minutes baking

INGREDIENTS

Notes on ingredients

If you don't have your own sourdough starter at hand, you can also buy sourdough, which is available in almost every conventional and certainly in every organic supermarket.

You can have the rye ground in most stores where you can buy the grains if you don't have a mill at home (we only bought one after a few years when it slowly became clear that our home bread bakery would not stop 😆 ).

You should weigh the water, because most measuring cups have inaccurate scales, so I have given it in grams and not in milliliters.

Instead of a proofing basket, a bowl and a floured tea towel or cloth napkin can be used if you have to. If you bake more often, you will surely get at least one proofing basket. They are not very expensive and are actually the most suitable.

The pot must keep the heat well and distribute it evenly. Some call such pans also roasters. The shape should match the shape of the proofing basket, in my case both are round. Of course, it could be both elongated oval.

PREPARATION

Mix the sourdough starter, freshly ground rye and 300 gr. water in a large bowl, cover with a warm, damp cloth and leave to stand for 9 hours in a warm place (approx. 20 - 22 °C is fine).

After 9 hours add 150 gr. rye flour, 150 gr. wheat flour, 100 gr. water, the salt and the yeast and knead well for 8-10 minutes. Cover again with the warm, damp cloth and leave to rise for 2 hours. The dough increases in volume, so it is important that the bowl is big enough - when the dough hits the cloth, it sticks and is later missing from the bread.

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When the dough has risen nicely after 2 hours, it is kneaded on a well floured work surface, folding it repeatedly from top, bottom, right and left. It is then formed into a ball. Dust the fermentation basket well with flour and put the ball in with the opening facing down.

 

 

Cover with the warm, damp cloth and place in the oven for 30-45 minutes with the lamp on. The temperature should be perfect for the last phase of the dough's rising.

Once the dough has risen again in the basket, take it out, put the pot with the lid in and preheat the oven to 240°C. When the temperature is reached, open the door, take off the lid and drop the dough from the basket into the hot pot. BE VERY CAREFUL, because the pot, lid and oven are super hot. Sometimes the dough gets crooked in the pot, then you have to jerk a little bit until it is straight. Put the lid back on the pot and close the oven. Bake for 25-30 minutes.

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Remove the lid after a maximum of 30 minutes, turn the oven down to 200 °C and bake for 25-30 minutes more. The 2 x 5 minutes longer baking time makes the crust crustier. This is a matter of taste, you have to try yourselves what you like better.