Mixed Wheat Bread
Sometimes the simplest recipes have the greatest potential for everyday bread. The strong rye sourdough and the portion of whole wheat give the bread a light tangy taste. The softened and roasted old bread gives the loaf more flavor and noticeably improves its shelf life.
For many, the final shaping steps may spur them to set this bread on the bake-again list. After the rise, the dough is simply folded from four sides and placed seam-side down in a proofing basket to rise.
I don’t know any other bread form that is more forgiving of proofing mistakes than this one! Potential under- or over-proofing is only apparent in the crust cracks. Depending on its proofed state, the dough seam opens either more or less.
Recipe
For a dough weight of 872g
Rye sourdough:
- 120g rye flour type 960
- 90g water
- 10g starter
Dough temperature (DT): 28-30°C Rise/rest time (RT): 12-14 hours
Bread soaker:
- 150g water 30°C
- 50g dried and finely ground old bread
Mixed ingredients until free of lumps and let them sit to absorb water for 30 minutes.
Main dough:
- 220g mature sourdough
- 100g wheat flour type 700
- 50g whole wheat flour
- 150g whole spelt flour
- 130g water 35-40°C (+/-)
- 12g salt
- 5g bread spice
- 5g yeast
Instructions:
- Mix all ingredients slowly for 5 minutes and then quickly for 3 minutes.
- Then let sit for 20-30 minutes in the bowl to rise.
- After the dough has risen, tip the dough onto a lightly floured work surface and, using a little bit of tension, fold it from all sides into the middle (so that it overlaps!).
- Finally, roll it in a slightly elongating fashion and place it seamside-down in a floured proofing basket.
- When it has proofed 3/4, tip it directly from the proofing basket onto a baking stone.
- Begin baking at 250°C with light steam.
- Release steam after 5-7 minutes, lower the temperature to 195°C and bake until well browned.
- Total baking time c. 50 minutes.
