Kürbiskernbrot

Ingredients

Equipment Needed

• •900g loaf tin or small proofing basket
• •Mixing bowl
• •Digital scale
• •Wire cooling rack

Instructions

1. 1

   Soak the seeds

   Pour the boiling water over 150g pumpkin seeds and leave them until cool, at least 45 minutes. This is not decoration. Dry seeds drink from the dough and make the crumb tight; soaked seeds bring their own water and stay tender in the loaf.

   Use unsalted green pumpkin seeds. Salted snack seeds throw off the seasoning, and roasted seeds inside the dough can taste harsh after a full bake.
2. 2

   Mix the dough

   Stir the rye flour, wheat flour, sourdough starter, lukewarm water, salt, yeast, malt syrup, and oil into a sticky dough, then work it for 6 to 8 minutes. Rye will never become springy like a white loaf, so don't chase a windowpane; mix until the wheat gives structure and the dough holds together in one rough mass.

3. 3

   Add the seeds

   Drain the soaked seeds well and work them into the dough until they are spread evenly. Draining matters because the soak water has already done its work; leave it sloshing in the bowl and the loaf will bake up gummy at the base.

4. 4

   Let it rise

   Cover the dough and leave it at room temperature until puffed by about half, 75 to 90 minutes. Don't wait for a dramatic doubling. Rye ferments steadily but weakens if pushed too far, and an over-risen loaf collapses in the oven instead of lifting.

5. 5

   Shape and coat

   Oil a 900g loaf tin or flour a small proofing basket. Shape the dough with wet hands into a tight loaf, press the remaining 30g pumpkin seeds over the top, and set it seam-side down in the tin. Wet hands keep the rye from tearing, and a tight surface gives the loaf enough strength to rise instead of spreading.

6. 6

   Proof the loaf

   Cover and proof for 45 to 60 minutes, until the dough looks swollen and a wet fingertip leaves a slow mark. If the mark springs back at once, it needs time; if it sinks and stays dead, you've waited too long. Das braucht seine Zeit, but it still has a limit.

7. 7

   Bake it dark

   Heat the oven to 230C with a tray on the lower shelf. Put the loaf in, pour a cup of hot water into the tray, and close the door. Bake 10 minutes, then lower to 200C and bake 30 to 35 minutes more, until the crust is deep brown and the loaf sounds hollow underneath. The first heat sets lift and crust; the lower heat finishes the crumb without scorching the seeds.

8. 8

   Cool before slicing

   Turn the loaf out and cool it on a rack for at least 2 hours before cutting. Hot rye bread is still setting inside, and slice it early, you smear the crumb and blame the recipe. Let it finish its work. Schön ist, was schmeckt.

Chef Tips

• •If your sourdough starter is sleepy, feed it the night before. A weak starter gives sourness without lift, and this loaf needs both rye flavour and enough strength for sandwich slices.
• •For a darker northern-style loaf, replace 100g of the wheat flour with more rye and add 20ml extra water. The loaf will be denser, better under smoked fish, and it will keep longer.
• •Do not skip the cooling time. Rye starch sets slowly after baking, and a hot knife through the loaf gives you a damp line through the crumb.
• •Toast older slices and butter them. The seeds wake up again under heat, and yesterday's bread becomes breakfast instead of waste.

Advance Preparation

• •Soak the pumpkin seeds up to 12 hours ahead and refrigerate them after they cool; drain before mixing so the dough doesn't turn slack.
• •Bake the loaf the day before serving if you want clean sandwich slices. Rye-and-seed bread cuts better after a night's rest.
• •Store wrapped in a clean cloth at room temperature for 3 days. Freeze sliced bread after that, so you can toast only what you need.

Frequently Asked Questions

Nutrition Information

1 serving (about 90g)