Bauernbrot: Farmer's Bread
Bauernbrot or "Farmer's Bread" is a dense and flavorful bread from Germany, Austria, and Switzerland made with rye and wheat flours. This version features a yeast poolish and a rye sourdough, as well as brotgewürz (bread spice mix), which is made of caraway, anise, fennel, and coriander seeds. Enjoy this intense but balanced bread with butter, cold cuts, cheese and perhaps a beer.
- Prep time
- 1 hr
- Cook time
- 38 min
- Yield
- 4 servings
- Difficulty
- HARD
Ingredients
- *See the notes for flour substitution info and yeast/sourdough changes.
- Brotgewürz / Bread Spice (this will make extra, do not use it all in the dough)
- 15 g caraway seeds (7 tsp)
- 7.5 g anise seeds (3 1/2 tsp)
- 7.5 g fennel seeds (4 tsp)
- 2.5 g coriander seeds (1 1/2 tsp)
- Rye Sourdough
- 200 g rye whole grain flour (scant 1 2/3 cups)
- 175 g water (3/4 cup)
- 15 g sourdough starter (1 Tbsp)
- Whole Wheat Poolish
- 175 g emmer whole grain flour (heaping 1 1/3 cups)
- 175 g water (3/4 cup)
- 0.5 g instant yeast (1/8 tsp)
- Final Dough (approx. 1060 grams)
- All of the Rye Sourdough
- All of the Emmer Poolish
- 200 g all purpose high extraction flour (scant 1 2/3 cups)
- 60-90 g water (1/4 cup - scant 1/2 cup)
- 15 g malt syrup or honey (1 Tbsp)
- 14 g unsalted butter (1 Tbsp)
- 11 g salt (2 tsp)
- 6 g bread spice (2 tsp)
Instructions
- 1
This bread requires some effort the night before. The next day, the time from mixing to cooling rack can range from 3 1/2 to 6 hours, ambient temp dependent. In the high-70s Fahrenheit, my dough almost doubled in 2 hours and it proofed in 40 minutes.
- 2
Brotgewürz
- 3
Grind the seeds in a spice grinder until they are a fine powder, then transfer to an airtight container. This bread only requires 2 teaspoons of brotgewürz and the rest can be saved for future use.
- 4
Rye Sourdough and Emmer Poolish (Evening)
- 5
In two different bowls, mix the rye sourdough and the emmer poolish. Cover each and let rise overnight. The rye sourdough will be stiffer than the emmer poolish.
- 6
Final Dough (Next Morning)
- 7
The sourdough and poolish should have expanded in size and be aerated by morning.
- 8
Place all of the final dough ingredients in a large bowl and mix until thoroughly combined. Note that the water is given as a range to account for different flour choices. The target dough consistency is sticky but not loose.
- 9
Cover and let the dough rise until it almost double in size. See the photo gallery. This could take 2-4 hours depending on the ambient temperature and the liveliness of the rye sourdough.
- 10
Scrape the fermented dough out onto a floured work surface and shape it to your preference (boule, batard, oblong loaf). Place the dough seam-side down in a floured proofing basket for a rustic crust opening during the bake. (If you prefer a smooth surface to score, put the dough in the basket seam-side up.)
- 11
Let the dough proof at room temperature for 30-90 minutes or until it has expanded a bit. See the photo gallery for before and after pics of the final proof.
- 12
Preheat your oven and baking vessel to 475°F for 20-30 minutes.
- 13
Flip the dough out of the proofing basket and onto the preheated baking vessel or a piece of parchment paper or silicone sling, score if seam-side down, and load into the oven.
- 14
Bake for 25 minutes at 475°F, then remove the lid and bake another 15-20 minutes at 350°F. The target internal temperature is at least 208°F.
- 15
Let the bread cool completely before slicing.