Roggenmischbrot

Roggenmischbrot is daily bread, strongest in the north and east where rye belonged to the field before wheat did. It isn't feast bread. It sits on the table on a Wednesday with butter and cheese, and on Sunday under cold roast slices when Weggeworfen wird nichts, nothing gets thrown away. A good loaf makes yesterday's supper useful again.

Im Norden anders, im Süden anders. In Mecklenburg, Brandenburg, Saxony, and the old Prussian bread basket, the loaf runs darker and more sour, with rye doing the speaking. Farther south and west, wheat softens the bread, the crumb opens, and caraway or coriander may come in. I don't put a costume on it. This is not a beer tent. This is a rye-dominant Mischbrot, more than half rye, enough wheat to keep it sliceable.

The sourdough is the thing that decides whether it works. Rye has little gluten, so the loaf doesn't stand because you kneaded it bravely. It stands because acidity keeps the rye starches from breaking down into paste while the bake sets the crumb. Use a living rye sour, not sourdough powder from the packet. The packet gives you sour taste. It doesn't give you bread.

Watch the dough with your hands. It will be sticky, and that's correct. Shape it short, proof it until the surface just cracks, bake it dark, then leave it alone until tomorrow. Das braucht seine Zeit. A rye loaf sliced hot is not eagerness, it's vandalism.