German Sourdough No Knead Bread Recipe – Oma's Sauerteigbrot (2024)

FAQs

What is the secret to good sourdough bread? ›

Many, but not all, German breads contain rye flour. This German Rye Bread would be considered a Krustenbrot. Don't you just love those brots! Krustenbrot means just what it sounds like, a crusty bread.

Fünfkornbrot (five grain bread) is the healthiest bread in your bread basket. It is made of five kinds of grains, namely wheat, rye, barley, oats and maize.

You might never have the need or desire to add yeast to your sourdough bakes, but the practice is worth knowing about just the same. All of which means that adding commercial yeast to a sourdough fermentation is not an unnatural, alien practice.

The best flour blend for creating a new sourdough starter is 50% whole-meal flour (whole wheat or whole rye) and 50% bread flour or all-purpose flour. I recommend a 50/50 mix of whole wheat flour and bread flour.

Compared to whole wheat flour, rye flour is said to be the most nutrient- and amylase-dense option for a sourdough starter. Overall, it has a lower gluten protein content than wheat flour, which means it produces slack, sticky, and dense doughs.

German bread is unlike any other bread known to Europe. It is dark, chewy and dense, composed mainly of whole grains, such as rye, spelt, and millet. Wheat is taking a back-seat compared to other countries, where it is the dominant grain, resulting in lighter, whiter and starchier (and less healthy) bread types.

Pumpernickel: A rich dark bread made with 100% rye, originating in the northern areas of Germany and one of our most famous breads. Pumpernickel is baked over a long period of time at low temperatures, and often served as hors d'oeuvres with cucumbers or fish.

Bread (Brot) is a significant part of German cuisine. In Germany about 600 main types of breads and 1,200 different types of pastries and rolls are produced in about 17,000 dedicated bakeries and another 10,000 in-shop bakeries.

Sourdough bread contains higher levels of vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants than other breads. It also contains lower levels of phytate and therefore allows your body to absorb the nutrients it contains more easily than those in regular bread.

What is the famous dish of German bakery? ›

Marmorkuchen, or marble cake, originated in Germany in the nineteenth century and is popular to this day.

The inside of the bread should be bubbly and chewy and the bread should have a slightly tangy taste. Real sourdough bread does not contain additives like oil, milk, corn, and dough conditioners. It is made with whole grains and is generally more expensive than regular bread.

By performing cuts, you are creating weak sections on the crust that will make the dough understand where it needs to rise from. If you don't score your bread, your loaf will have no IDEA where it should rise from and it will just burst and open at its weakest point. Which won't make your loaf look pretty.

Digestibility. Traditional sourdough bread made with wild yeast and bacteria has several benefits over bread made with commercial baker's yeast. Because of the organic acids produced by the Lactobacillus bacteria, sourdough has a lower pH than standard bread.

There are two main acids produced in a sourdough culture: lactic acid and acetic acid. Acetic acid, or vinegar, is the acid that gives sourdough much of its tang. Giving acetic acid-producing organisms optimal conditions to thrive and multiply will produce a more tangy finished product.

So don't leave your dough in a warm oven, on a radiator or in sunlight. It will likely be too warm and will dry out your dough too. Instead, find a cosy spot, with no drafts, for your dough to rise. And, if your sourdough starter is struggling to get going, consider finding it a warmer spot too.

Baking soda or bicarbonate of soda can be used in sourdough bread to create a less sour loaf. Added after bulk fermentation, but before shaping, it can help to create a lighter, more fluffy loaf of sourdough.

In my experience, the shortest final proof (at room temperature) that I prefer to do is one hour. The longest final proof (at room temperature) is about 3 hours. When going past 2-3 hours in a final proof, the crumb tends to get very gassy and opens up large gas bubbles with a longer countertop proof.