Video:How to Make Vollkornbrot

Transcript:How to Make Vollkornbrot

Hi. I’m Krystyna Rittichier with About.com and today I’ll show you how to make Vollkornbrot. Vollkornbrot is an traditional German rye bread which is flavorful, dense and moist.

Items Needed for the Vollkornbrot Bread Recipe:

For the sourdough sponge, you will need:

• 2 ⅔ cups whole rye flour or pumpernickel flour
• 1 ½ cups chlorine-free water
• 2 tbsp sourdough starter

For the soaker, you will need:

• 2 ¼ cups cracked rye berries
• 1 ¼ cups water

For the final dough, you will need:

• The sponge
• The soaker
• 1 ¾ cups whole rye or pumpernickel flour
• 2 to 3 tbsp water
• 1 tbsp water
• 6 tbsp sunflower seeds
• 1 ¾ tsp instant yeast

Make the Sourdough and Soaker

To make your sourdough sponge, add 2 ⅔ cups flour, 1 ½ cups water and the sourdough starter. If you have not already been feeding your sourdough starter, you must feed it once and wait 12 hours before using it for this recipe. Stir the ingredients well, cover with plastic wrap, and allow the sponge to ferment at room temperature for 16 to 18 hours.

Knead the Vollkornbrot Dough

To make the soaker, add 1 ¼ cups water to the cracked rye berries, cover with plastic wrap, and allow the berries to ferment at room temp for 16 to 18 hours. Knead the sourdough sponge, the soaker, and remaining ingredients for 10 minutes. Allow the dough to rest 10 minutes. Thoroughly butter a bread pan, a Pullman form, or a teacake form, then flour it well. Form the dough into a loaf, and place this in the pan. Allow the dough to rise for 1 hour at 85 degrees. If you need to heat up the temperature in the room, one way to do this is to heat a glass of water in the microwave, then place the rising dough in the microwave with the hot water. Place a metal baking dish on the bottom rack of the oven. If you have a baking stone, place this on the top rack of the oven.

How to Bake Vollkornbrot Bread

Preheat the oven at 500 for 1 hour. Place the bread pan into the oven on the baking stone, then pour 2 cups of water into the metal baking dish. In 3 minutes, spray the sides of the oven 10 times with water. Wait 3 minutes then do this again. In 10 minutes remove the metal dish with water from the oven. Reduce the oven temperature to 480 degrees and bake for an additional 45 minutes.

Remove the bread from the oven, and carefully remove the bread from the pan. Place the bread back in the oven on the baking stone, or directly on the oven rack for an additional 15 minutes to dry out the sides. Take the bread out of the oven, and allow it to cool enough to handle. Allow the bread to age for at least 24 hours wrapped in cloth. When you are ready to serve this bread, cut slices that are ¼ inch or thinner.

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