Sprouted Vollkornbrot With Seeds
As much as I love making and eating light, open crumbed french breads I have always had a soft spot for a nice dense rye. There is something about holding a brick of pure whole grain goodness in your hands that is, in many ways, more satisfying than a delicately scored baguette. For one thing a baguette starts to stale in a matter of hours while vollkornbrot can stay good for weeks. Then there is the level of nourishment. There is really no comparison between the two. Vollkornbrot is packed with all sorts of nutritious grains and seeds while a baguette contains nothing but highly refined white flour. This week I decided to push vollkornbrot's nutrition and flavor even further by adding sprouted rye to the mix. The results were more than I could have hoped for.
I started with a formula I have used in the past that I have gotten great results from. This formula really has it all, soured coarsely ground rye, a coarse rye soaker, soaked stale bread crumbs and toasted and soaked sunflower seeds. I decided to modify the formula in a few ways: 1) I replaced the coarse rye soaker with ground up sprouted rye berries. I was a little nervous about making this switch but it ended up working beautifully. 2) Instead of using purely sunflower seeds I used a combination of sunflower, flax and sesame seeds. 3) I darkly toasted the bread crumbs before soaking them. 4) I used agave nectar instead of honey.
On top of all this I ground all the flour and grain for this bread myself using the methods I describe here. I have never ground my own flour at home as I could never justify the expense of a flour mill but using a coffee grinder worked great! I'll probably be grinding much more flour at home from now on.
I also got to try out my new 9" Pullman pan
The process for this bread requires a lot of prep as there are so many components but the reward is very much worth it. I highly recommend you dedicate a weekend to making this bread if you have any interest in rye at all. This is the best vollkornbrot I have tasted and even though it was a lot of work I will definitely be making it again.
Formula - Sprouted Vollkornbrot with Seeds
Shredded Rye Sourdough
| Baker's % | Ingredient | Grams |
|---|---|---|
| 100.00 | Rough Ground Rye | 247.00 |
| 100.00 | Water | 247.00 |
| 10.00 | Rye Sourdough 100% Hydration | 24.00 |
| 210.00 | Total | 520.00 |
- Combine ingredients and ferment for 18 hours at 70F.
Seed Soaker
| Baker's % | Ingredient | Grams |
|---|---|---|
| 33.33 | Toasted Sunflower Seeds | 37.00 |
| 33.33 | Toasted Sesame Seeds | 37.00 |
| 33.33 | Flax Seeds | 37.00 |
| 75.00 | Water | 83.00 |
| 175.00 | Total | 195.00 |
- Mix seeds together and soak for 1 hour in warm water
Toasted Breadcrumb Soaker
| Baker's % | Ingredient | Grams |
|---|---|---|
| 100.00 | Toasted Bread Crumbs | 78.00 |
| 80.00 | Water | 62.00 |
| 180 | Total | 140.00 |
- Soak breadcrumbs for 1 hour
Sprouted Rye
- For instructions on sprouting grain follow instruction found in this post.
Final Dough
| Baker's % | Ingredient | 9" Pullman Pan(Grams) |
|---|---|---|
| 166.50 | Shredded Rye Sourdough | 520.00 |
| 150.00 | Sprouted Rye | 468.00 |
| 50.00 | Fine Rye Flour | 156.00 |
| 50.00 | Pumpernickel | 156.00 |
| 10.00 | Agave Nectar(or honey) | 31.00 |
| 1.13 | Instant Yeast | 3.00 |
| 5.00 | Salt | 15.00 |
| 25.00 | Toasted Breadcrumbs | 78.00 |
| 37.5 | Water | 117.00 |
| 62.5 | Seed Soaker | 195.00 |
| 557.63 | Total | 1750.00 |
Process
- Toast the breadcrumbs, sunflower seeds and sesame seeds the night before you plan to make the bread.
- Make the shredded rye sourdough 18 hours before you plan on mixing your dough.
- The next morning, soak the seeds and the breadcrumbs 1 hour before mixing your dough.
- Mix the dough by combining all the ingredients except the yeast into a mixing bowl and squeeze the dough through your hand and lightly kneading. Continue this for 20 minutes.(This isn't as crazy as it sounds. I took my bowl to the living room and watched TV while continuing to mix. It was actually quite relaxing.) The dough should be the consistency of a thick paste and the desired temperature is 86F. You may need to add extra water. I ended up incorporating around 50g extra.
- Let the dough rest for 10 minutes.
- Incorporate the instant yeast into the dough along with a little extra water to dissolve and mix again for another 10 minutes.
- After mixing, immediately shape the loaf into a blunt log using wet hands. Roll the shaped dough in pumpernickel flour and put into a pullman pan. Score the loaf using a wet dough scraper. No need for a lame here.
- Allow the dough to proof for 50-60 minutes or until the top starts to crack.
- Bake in a 450F oven for 30 minutes then reduce the temperature to 400 and continue to bake for another 30 minutes. Finally reduce the temperature to 350 and bake for another 30 minutes for a total bake of 90 minutes. Internal temperature should be at least 205F.
- Immediately remove from pan and allow to cool.
- Once fully cooled, rest the bread for 24 hours in a cloth or linen before slicing to allow the crumb to fully set.
- Slice thin and enjoy!
Submitted to Yeast Spotting