Schwäbisches Landbrot

Ingredients

Equipment Needed

• •Kitchen scale
• •Large mixing bowl
• •Banneton or towel-lined bowl
• •Dutch oven or baking stone with a metal tray for moisture
• •Bench scraper

Instructions

1. 1

   Build the levain

   Mix the active rye starter with 150g rye flour and 150g lukewarm water until no dry flour remains. Cover it and leave it 10 to 12 hours at cool room temperature, until domed, fragrant, and just starting to sink at the centre. Use it at that point because the acid is developed and the yeasts are still lively; wait until it collapses flat and you've traded lift for sharpness.

2. 2

   Mix the dough

   Put the ripe levain in a large bowl with 370g lukewarm water and loosen it with your hand. Add the wheat flour, spelt flour, remaining rye flour, salt, and caraway if you're using it, then mix until you have a sticky, rough dough with no dry pockets. Don't chase smoothness yet. Rye and spelt both dislike bullying, and a short mix keeps the crumb from turning tight.

   If your spelt is wholegrain, hold back 20g water at first and add it only if the dough feels stiff. Whole spelt drinks slowly, and a little restraint now is easier than rescuing soup later.
3. 3

   Rest and fold

   Cover the bowl and rest the dough for 30 minutes, then wet your hand and fold the dough over itself from all four sides. Rest 30 minutes and fold again. The rest lets flour hydrate so the dough strengthens without hard kneading; the folds build enough structure to hold the wet loaf while leaving the crumb open.

4. 4

   Bulk ferment

   Cover the dough and leave it 3 to 4 hours at room temperature, folding once more after the first hour if it still slumps heavily. It is ready when it has risen by about half, shows bubbles along the bowl, and moves with a soft wobble. Watch that, not the clock. A sourdough bread that looks asleep will bake asleep.

5. 5

   Shape wet

   Wet the work surface and your hands lightly, turn out the dough, and fold it into a round or long loaf with quick, firm movements. Use water, not a snowdrift of flour, because flour dries the skin and stops the rough tearing that marks a good Genetztes. Set the loaf seam-side down in a well-floured banneton or a towel-lined bowl, using rye flour or rice flour so it releases cleanly.

6. 6

   Proof cold

   Cover the shaped loaf and refrigerate it 8 to 12 hours. The cold proof slows the yeast while the acids keep working, so the bread gains flavour and the wet dough firms enough to handle. In the morning it should look puffed but not blown out; press it gently and the dent should fill back slowly.

7. 7

   Heat the oven

   Put a Dutch oven, baking steel, or heavy baking stone in the oven and heat to 250C for at least 45 minutes. Bread needs stored heat underneath it, not just hot air around it; that first hard heat gives oven spring before the crust sets. Runter mit der Temperatur comes later.

8. 8

   Bake covered

   Turn the cold loaf onto baking paper or a floured peel. Leave it unscored if you want the Swabian rough tear, or give one shallow slash if your proof is tight. Bake covered in the hot Dutch oven, or with strong initial moisture on a stone, for 20 minutes at 250C. The trapped moisture keeps the crust flexible long enough for the loaf to rise and split where the dough is weakest.

9. 9

   Finish uncovered

   Remove the lid, lower the oven to 220C, and bake 25 to 30 minutes more, until the crust is deep brown, the torn edges are almost mahogany, and the loaf sounds hollow when tapped underneath. Dark is flavour here, pale is unfinished. If you use a thermometer, the centre should read about 96C.

10. 10

    Cool before cutting

    Cool the loaf on a rack for at least 2 hours before slicing. The crumb is still setting while the loaf cools; cut it early and the knife drags starch into a gummy line. Weggeworfen wird nichts: stale slices become Brotchips, bread soup, or breadcrumbs for Frikadellen. Bread has a second life if you let it.

Chef Tips

• •Use bread flour or Type 1050 wheat if you can get it. Plain soft flour doesn't have enough strength for this much water, and the loaf spreads before it rises.
• •Spelt gives the loaf its Swabian note, but don't knead it like a white wheat dough. Spelt gluten stretches and then gives up; folds and rest do the work more cleanly.
• •Rye sourdough should smell pleasantly sour and grainy, not like nail polish or old fruit. If the starter smells harsh, feed it twice before baking. Nicht aus dem Glas, not from the packet, and not from a dead starter either.
• •For a weeknight loaf, mix the levain after supper, make and shape the dough the next evening, then bake the following morning or after work. The cold proof gives you the schedule.
• •Store the cut loaf on its cut side on a board, covered with a clean cloth. Plastic softens the crust, and the crust is half the bread.

Advance Preparation

• •The levain can be mixed 10 to 12 hours before the final dough; it should be domed and lively when used.
• •The shaped loaf can cold-proof 8 to 12 hours, which makes this bread practical for baking before breakfast or after work.
• •The baked loaf keeps well for 3 days at room temperature because the sourdough slows staling; slice and freeze anything you won't eat by then.

Frequently Asked Questions

Nutrition Information

1 serving (about 100g)