BREAD BASKET FOR GÖTZ VON BERLICHINGEN

Hier geht's zur deutschen Version dieses Posts











Dear baking friends who joined in my challenge to create a Bread for the Knight with the Iron Hand:

YOU FILLED MY BASKET WITH 30 WONDERFUL LOAVES!!!

You thought about breads that were worthy of a famous knight from the middle ages, and, also, could please the palates of today's guests of Schlosshotel Götzenburg.

Not only your enthusiasm and creativity is amazing - your comments about medieval knights in general, and Götz von Berlichingen in particular, are highly entertaining.

Götz von Berlichingen putting his iron hand to good use!

Some of you even tried to figure out what practical considerations might influence a pastry chef's decision on what kind of bread to choose - like using leftovers from the restaurant kitchen and easy availability of ingredients.

By and by, I will try to bake all of your breads (I have started already).

Also, I translated all German recipes into English and vice versa. So, if you don't want to be at the mercy of Google-Translate (rather pathetic with bread formulas, but always good for a laugh!), please contact me and I will send you the recipe.

Please, accept our gift!

Dear management of Schlosshotel Götzenburg,
28 enthusiastic bread bakers from 9 countries, from Canada to Dubai, helped me fill a basket with 30 different breads worthy of a Götz von Berlichingen.

Please, accept our gift of recipes - so that your guests will find breads on the breakfast buffet that are a credit to your beautiful hotel (and not bland mass-produced loaves.) 

SCHLOSSHOTEL GÖTZENBURG BREAD BASKET

1. Heritage wheats are not that easy to work with. The same is true for medieval bread grains that were around when Götz was fighting. But Barbara Elisi (Bread & Companatico) even coaxes a filigree crumb out of stubborn whole grain breads.

SICILIAN HERITAGE WHEAT BREAD FOR A GERMAN KNIGHT. I already baked her bread, with Maine heirloom wheat - it tastes fantastic!

Barbara's Sicilian Heritage Wheat Bread for a German Knight

2. With his hearty, moist bread, Brian/Skibum (The Fresh Loaf) wants to supply hotel guests with a healthy dose of grains, seeds and fibers, and, also, make good use of leftover potato cooking water (from the restaurant kitchen):

IRON-HAND-12-GRAIN BREAD

Brian's Iron-Hand-12-Grain-Bread

3. Björn Hollensteiner (Der Brotdoc) presents his GÖTZ VON BERLICHINGEN BREAD (with wheat and spelt) in two delicious versions, as round loaf:

Björn's Götz von Berlichingen Bread - als loaf...

and as break-away flatbread. Considering Götz' one-handed-ness, the latter is, no doubt, a big plus! (Björn has a bilingual blog, in German and English.)

...and as break-away-flatbread

4. With her  hearty POTATO-WHEAT-RYE BREAD FOR GÖTZ VON BERLICHINGEN, Britta (Brot vom Niederrhein) thought of the hotel guests' well-being, but, also, of possible leftover usage in the restaurant kitchen.

With its high potato content - cooked and uncooked - her bread is nice and moist, and keeps fresh for several days. I made it, and it tastes great! (Please, contact me for the English translation of her recipe.)

Britta's Potato-Wheat-Rye Bread for Götz von Berlichingen

5. Just back from China, Che Foodzeit (What's the time? It's FOODZEIT) had two goals in mind. His bread should symbolize the knight's iron hand (flax seed with a high iron content), and, also, "out-smell" his dirty mouth (with lavender flowers):

MIXED FLOUR BREAD FOR GÖTZ (Che's blog is bilingual, German and English.) 

Che Foodzeit's Mixed Flour Bread for Götz

6. Chorus (Die Mehlkäfer) offers a light wheat bread to the medieval knight, appropriate for his noble status. She also adapted her post to medieval language, and cautions:

"Refresh yourself, while you still can, rejoice and play the shawm, the little piece of bread in your hand could be you last. Enjoy it with appetite."

BISHOP'S BREAD FOR GOETHE'S GÖTZ  (Please, contact me for the recipe in English)

Chorus' Bishop's Bread for Goethe's Götz

7. Dabrownman (The Fresh Loaf), baker extraordinaire of grain loaded breads, felt so inspired by Götz' life that he created two loaves in his honor.

Hearty enough for the strongest knight, and, also, in view of the sanitary habits of yore (and the call for a clean behind), baked with high alcohol black ale:

GÖTZ VON BERLICHINGEN ANCIENT AGE SOURDOUGH BREAD

Dabrownman's Götz von Berlichingen Ancient Age Sourdough Bread

8. To slice his SWABIAN POTATO BREAD FOR GÖTZ OF THE IRON FIST,  you don't need a sword, it's softened by the potato content, and reminiscent of the knight's Swabian origin. After making it twice - it advanced to the ranks of my favorite breads (here's my take on it)

...and his Swabian Potato Bread  for Götz of the Iron Fist

9. Dagmar Kern (Brotecke) gave her mighty loaf a war-like name, and a matching fierce decoration to boot. Marked with a sword - and made with black ale, rye and spelt: just the right thing for a hungry knight and his guests!

SWORD BREAD FOR GÖTZ (Please, contact me for the recipe in English)

Dagmar's Sword Bread for Götz

10. Daniel Ronay (Facebook/Baking 101) believes a hothead like Götz should have a robust bread that matches his passionate nature.

His HOT CHILE-PEPPER LOAF FOR GÖTZ is seasoned with chile peppers. (Daniel doesn't have a blog, please contact me for the recipe).

-

Daniel Ronay's Hot Chile Pepper Loaf for Götz

11. To "add a medieval tone" to his loaf, Daniel Strachan (Joy of Gluten) included a "bubbling, blurping porridge" in his SPELT-PORRIDGE-BREAD FOR GÖTZ VON BERLICHINGEN

The trapped water in the porridge keeps the attractive breads moist for several days.

Daniel Strachan's Spelt-Porridge-Bread for Götz von Berlichingen

12. David Snyder/dmsnyder, one of The Fresh Loaf's best hobby bakers, finds that a medieval German knight would have been very lucky, indeed, to have a bread like this on his breakfast table:

70% RYE BREAD FOR A MEDIEVAL KNIGHT

David's 70% Rye Bread for a Medieval Knight

13. Dietmar Kappl, master baker at the renowned Reichl-Bäckerei in St Marien (lucky Austrians!), shares some his wonderful breads in his Homebaking Blog.

Even if authorities and clerics (which Götz despised, anyway) would have sneered at such a hearty rye loaf - my husband and I certainly didn't, it tastes excellent! (Please, contact me for the recipe in English.)

KNIGHT'S BREAD "GÖTZ VON BERLICHINGEN",

Dietmar's Knight's Bread "Götz von Berlichingen"

14. He didn't find a medieval bread recipe during his research, but Don Sadowsky, author of the wildly popular "Really? Authentic Bread?" unearthed a "tough as Krupp steel" Komissbrot from the trenches of Verdun.

It could have saved quite a few lives - if used as impermeable shield against flying shrapnel!

1914 GERMAN ARMY KRIEGS-BROT

Don's 1914 German Army Kriegs-Brot

15. Eva Henningsen (Kochpoetin) caters to the (long neglected) soft side of Sir Götz. I baked her tender spelt brioches with fine orange-lime aroma - even the fiercest old warrior would have enjoyed a

KNIGHT'S BREAKFAST (Please, contact me for the recipe in English)

Eva's Knight's Breakfast

16.  Freerk Bos (BreadLab) shares his very special relationship with Goethe's Götz - he was the first (and probably only) student who ever checked out this drama from the local library!

Little rolls, with a paprika-chili spiral, dipped in seeds - I can't think of a prettier way Sturm und Drang became bread.

NO GÖTZ NO GLORY - HOT BLOODED  BUNS:

No Götz no Glory - Freerk's Hot Blooded Buns

17. Gary Turner (The Fresh Loaf) did some research on food in medieval times. Whereas common people had to eat coarse rye and barley breads, only finest wheat was good enough for the higher classes.

This is his delicious, mildly acidic FIRST CLEAR FINE BREAD FOR SIR GÖTZ:

Gary's First Clear Fine Bread for Sir Götz

18. Ian Sandman's (Mookie loves bread) four-legged kitchen helpers would have rather baked for the mysterious Black Knight without hands (from the Artus legend), but could be persuaded that at least one hand was needed to handle this rustic loaf!

IRON-HAND-CHALLENGE-BREAD - A PORRIDGE MICHE:

 

Ian's Iron Hand Challenge Bread with Porridge

19. For health reasons Janet Cook (The Fresh Loaf) cannot eat her beautiful loaves herself, but that doesn't deter her from indulging in her bread baking passion: making her neighbors happy.

Inspired by medieval drinking habits, she added a barley mash to her wheat spelt bread.

BARLEY MASH BREAD FOR THE KNIGHT WITH THE IRON HAND (Janet has no blog - please, contact me for the recipe!)

Janet's Barley Mash Bread for the Knight with the Iron Hand

20. A piece of this bread in his chain mail pouch or saddle bag would have made a good meal for any knight hungry from pillaging. Joanna's (Zebbakes) loaf, made with a kefir levain, is substantial enough for a forceful character like Götz:

KEFIR REMACINATA BREAD FOR A FORCEFUL CHARACTER

Joanna's Kefir Remacinata Bread for a Forceful Character

21. Josh/Golgi70 (The Fresh Loaf) wants to sustain a knight on the road with a very nourishing loaf - full with berries, seeds - and bacon! It also makes good use of some kitchen leftovers:

A KNIGHT'S RYE 

Josh's Knight's Rye

22 + 23. Jürgen Krauss' (The Fresh Loaf) spelt bread comes in two variations, with light or green spelt. You can also choose between a purist version, or a loaf seasoned with nettle and fennel. Served with goat cheese the nettle version earned him his family's Annual Culinary Awards!

GÖTZ BROT - JÜRGEN'S TAKE, WITH LIGHT SPELT

GÖTZ-BROT - JÜRGEN'S TAKE, WITH GREEN SPELT

Jürgens Götz-Brot with light or green spelt (right: with nettle and fennel)

24. I wanted to use my favorite flours, spelt, einkorn, rye and barley my own bread, and give it a medieval touch with a millet porridge. My bread guinea pig husband and I liked it a lot!

WORTHY OF A KNIGHT - KARIN'S GÖTZENBURG-BROT

Karin's Götzenburg-Brot

25. Even in faraway Dubai, Khalid/Mebake (The Fresh Loaf) bakes with freshly milled organic wheat, rye and spelt flours from Germany. His loaf tastes smoky, nutty, slightly acidic and caramel sweet, since it's made with a raisin soaker.

KHALID'S GÖTZENBURG BREAD
(My take on it you find here)

Khalid's Götzenburg Bread - from Dubai!

26. Marcus/Wassisname (The Fresh Loaf) wondered, what kind of loaf he might offer Old Götz nowadays, and opted for a wheat bread with barley, oats and flax seed.

Everybody who tried it enjoyed his GÖTZENBROT. And if anyone doesn’t like it?  Well… thanks to Götz von Berlichingen, Marcus knows just what to say to those wimps!

Marcus' Götzenbrot

27. Marion's (Marion's Kitchenstories) sourdough with whole wheat and rye berries has such a wonderful "bite" that it made the list of her top ten favorite breads. (She posted in Dutch and English)

MARION'S WHEAT & RYE BERRY SOURDOUGH FOR A COURAGEOUS KNIGHT 

Marion's Wheat & Rye Berry Sourdough for a Courageous Knight

28. No wonder that Ninive (Ninive Loves Life) took up the challenge to help fill the bread basket for Old Götz - her maiden name is Götze!

Her WHOLE RYE BREAD FOR GÖTZ, made with coarse rye meal, beer and molasses, develops its good taste during long, slow fermentation. (Ninive's blog is bilingual, German and English).

Ninive's Whole Rye Bread for Götz

29. Sam Kargl (Sam's Kitchen) wondered how traveling noblemen and their followers prepared their food when when they had no oven. Surely they would have brought a kettle!

But if you aren't busy with plundering and pillaging you can also bake this hearty rye-wheat loaf in a regular oven, in a cast iron pot, or even without a "kettle". (Please, contact me for the recipe in English)

KETTLE BREAD FOR GÖTZ:

Sam's Kettle Bread for Götz

30. Susan (Facebook) bakes this 1.8 kilogram heavy weight every week, and thinks a bread that she and her neighbors have enjoyed for years, should certainly please an old knight, too.
(Susan has no own blog -  please, contact me for the recipe).

COUNTRY FRENCH BREAD FOR GÖTZ

Susan's Country French Bread for Götz

COUNTRIES:
Germany:        Britta, Che Foodzeit, Chorus, Eva, Brotdoc, Ninive, Dagmar
Great Britain: Jürgen, Joanna
Netherlands:   Freerk, Marion
Austria:           Dietmar, Sam
Sweden:           Barbara
Switzerland:    Daniel Strachan
Canada:          Brian
USA:                Ian, Josh, Karin, Janet, Marcus, Gary, Don, Daniel Ronay, David, Dabrownman,
                        Susan
UAE/Dubai:    Khalid

Good bye!

WORTHY OF A KNIGHT - GÖTZENBURG BREAD

Hier geht's zur deutschen Version dieses Posts

Before I present you with the amazing bread collection you submitted for my Knight with the Iron Hand challenge, I owe you my own creation!

These goals I had in mind when I thought about the formula. I wanted to create a bread with grains and seeds used in German breads, preferably growing in the Baden-Württemberg region.

Though worthy of Schloss Jagsthausen's long tradition and its noble, iron-fisted ancestor, my bread should meet modern baking standards, not authentic medieval bread tradition (weevil-count >100/kg!)

Flours in my bread (from left): rye, wheat, einkorn, spelt and (top) barley

I also aimed for a bread that was not too fussy, and could be prepared either by the pastry chef of Schlosshotel Götzenburg's fabulous restaurant or outsourced to a local bakery. Therefore no holey loaf à la Tartine, and no overly complicated procedure.

Introducing a porridge to power up the hydration without making a whole grain dough too wet - this idea I happily took from Chad Robertson's "Tartine No. 3". It would work its magic in my less holey bread, too.

BreadStorm did the math for me, and this is the result:

Götzenburg Bread - a multigrain sourdough with millet porridge

This hearty loaf with a nice crust and moist crumb (or another one of the fabulous challenge breads) is exactly what we would love to find on Schlosshotel Götzenburg's breakfast buffet, when we visit next time!

Millet for a porridge to add moisture and a little crunch

GÖTZENBURG BREAD

Rye Starter
21 g rye mother starter 100%
40 g water
34 g whole rye flour
30 g whole spelt flour

Millet Porridge
18 g millet
37 g water

Final Dough
all porridge
all starter
243 g water
2 g instant yeast
205 g bread flour
60 g whole spelt flour
40 g barley flour
60 g einkorn flour
8 g sea salt
7 g honey


DAY 1
Morning:
Mix starter. Cover, and leave at room temperature.

Place millet and water in small sauce pan. Bring to a boil, then cover and simmer for about 15 minutes, until millet is soft (add a little more water, if necessary). Set aside to cool.

Evening:
Mix all dough ingredients at lowest speed (or by hand) for 1-2 minutes, until all flour is hydrated. Let dough rest for 5 minutes. Knead at medium-low speed (or by hand) for 6 minutes (dough should still be somewhat sticky).

Stretch and pat dough first into a square...

...then fold like a business letter...

...in three parts.

Repeat the folding from right...

...and left to make a package.

Transfer dough to an oiled work surface. With oiled hands, stretch and pat into a square. Fold from top and bottom to the middle in 3 parts, like a business letter, then from both sides. Gather package into a ball and place, seam side down, into an oiled bowl.

Cover, and let rest for 10 minutes. Repeat stretching and folding 3 more times at 10-minute intervals. After the last fold, place (well covered) overnight in the fridge.


DAY 2
Remove dough from refrigerator 2 hours before using.

Preheat oven to 450ºF/232ºC, including baking stone and steaming device.

Transfer dough to lightly floured work surface, and shape into a boule or bâtard. Place, seam-side up, in well-floured rising basket.

Proof for 45 - 60 minutes, or until bread has grown 1 1/2 times its original size (finger poke test). Turn out on parchment lined baking sheet (or on peel to bake directly on baking stone). Score as desired (don't be too timid, cut decisively!).

Bake bread for 20 minutes, with steam. Rotate bread 180 degrees for even browning, remove steam pan, and continue baking for another 20 minutes, or until loaf is nicely browned and registers at least 200ºF/93ºC on an instant read thermometer.

Let bread cool on wire rack.

Medieval Castle Jagsthausen - nowadays Schlosshotel Götzenburg

Submitted at Yeast Spotting

CHALLENGE FOR FELLOW BAKERS - A BREAD FOR THE KNIGHT WITH THE IRON HAND

Hier geht's zur deutschen Version dieses Posts

Fellow bakers, many of you rose to my last year's challenge, re-creating a Vollkornbrot for Schlosshotel Cecilienhof in Potsdam ("When Taste Meets Tradition"). 

I fully trust you to come up with another loaf with a historical connection - a bread worthy of Götz von Berlichingen, the Knight With the Iron Hand. 

This is what it is all about:

My husband and I are romantic souls. We like to visit fortresses and castles, and whenever we travel in an area where those are plentiful, we check for hotels with turrets and moats, commanding views and a rich history.

On our recent trip to Germany we stayed two nights at Schlosshotel Götzenburg in Jagsthausen. The medieval Castle Jagsthausen is the birth place of Götz von Berlichingen.

Götz von Berlichingen (1480 - 1562)

This notorious knight spent his life as mercenary, engaged in the never ending feuds between Emperor, nobility, church, wealthy cities and farmers, losing his arm, being incarcerated, outlawed and re-installed in the process (amazingly, he nevertheless lived to a ripe old age!)

He would have been probably long forgotten, if not immortalized by Goethe in his drama "Götz von Berlichingen with the Iron Hand", who turned the belligerent knight into a pillar of integrity against a deceitful and decadent society - in other words: a German Robin Hood.

Goethe turned Götz into a German hero

When besieged by the Imperial Army and asked by its captain to surrender, Goethe had Götz say the famous (and, in the last part, often quoted) words of defiance: 

"Me, surrender! At mercy! Whom do you speak with? Am I a robber! Tell your captain that for His Imperial Majesty, I have, as always, due respect. But he, tell him that, he can lick me in the arse!"

 

My husband quotes Götz von Berlichingen

Schlosshotel Götzenburg doesn't only offer an lovingly restored medieval environment, beautiful views, and fine dining - its courtyard also serves as stage for the annual theater festival Burgfestspiele Jagsthausen.

One of its highlights, is, of course, the drama about the outspoken knight with the iron hand.

Scene from this year's theater production "Götz von Berlichingen"

The (comparatively moderate) price for our hotel room included breakfast (thankfully, something you still can expect in most German hotels!)

The ambiance - dark paneled dining hall, solemn ancestors looking down from the walls, body armor and tapestry - couldn't have been more appropriate. The dinner the night before had been fabulous, so we had high expectations for the breakfast.

Everything was fine - except for one thing that really matters for this bread loving baker: the rustic looking loaf on the table was sadly lacking - in crustiness as well as in taste!

Breads at the breakfast buffet - a mass produced disappointment

When I asked about it, I learned that it was not baked in a local bakery, but supplied by a whole grocer: hence its blandness and rubbery crust. Not at all worthy of the legacy of a fierce old knight! (He might have fed it to his dogs.)

Grumbling at the breakfast table, I pondered what to do. Whine about it to the manager? Or smite this nice hotel with a nasty comment at TripAdvisor? I had a better idea.

I WOULD GIFT THEM WITH A BREAD!

So, please join me, dear friends, in creating a special loaf, worthy of the noble Götz and his beautiful castle (which is, by the way, still owned by the Berlichingen family!)

Even though this loaf is meant for a medieval castle hotel - please, refrain from submitting an "Authentic Bread" à la Don Sadowsky. The tough old fighter might have had his share of those, while embattled, but he surely would not have served them to guests of his castle.

I won't give you a deadline, most of you are hard working people with little spare time, and if you want to participate, you will bake your bread as soon as you can, anyway.

With Sugarprincess Yushka's help I even managed to create a banner to download for you.


<a href="http://hanseata.blogspot.com/2014/06/challenge-for-fellow-bakers-bread-for.html"><img src="http://img829.imageshack.us/img829/1081/89lg.jpg" border="0" width="277" height="168" alt="Powered by BannerFans.com" /></a>

Every contribution will be posted and linked to your blog (if you have one). You can submit your link as a comment or email me at: drkarinanderson@gmail.com

I will present our results to Schlosshotel Götzenburg, and, hopefully, when any of us visits there next time (it is well worth it!) you'll find a bread that (like Cecilienhof Vollkornbrot) marries taste with tradition.

Schlosshotel Götzenburg

Update 11/13/14: Tataaa! The Bread Basket for Götz von Berlichingen is filled!