GERMAN SUNFLOWER SEED SQUARES - HEARTY SOURDOUGH ROLLS WITH RYE & SEEDS

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Whenever I'm visiting my hometown Hamburg, I check out new bakeries. Two years ago I noticed people lining up in front of Bäckerei Jochen Gaues, in Eppendorf quarter, where my Mom lives around the corner.

Taking this as a good omen, I joined the waiting line. The shelves full of loaves and rolls looked promising, all with fairly dark crusts - boldly baked, as Ken Forkish ("Flour, Water, Salt and Yeast') would call it. A paradise for crust lovers!

Like Forkish, Jochen Gaues is a purist baker, his breads are made with flour, water, salt and yeast. No dough enhancers, no preservatives, no artificial flavoring. Only sourdough and passion for his craft. And he shared his recipes in a beautiful baking book, too.

His sunflower seed rolls are hearty, crusty and delicious. (I tweaked the recipe a bit, of course, as I always do). The crumb is rather light and more airy than chewy. You can enjoy them with cold cuts, German meat salad, honey or jam. 

The rolls have a thin, crisp crust and a somewhat airy crumb

SUNFLOWER SEED SQUARES  (adapted from Jochen Gaues' "Brot")
(8 square rolls)

Starter
  10 g/0.3 oz recently refreshed rye mother starter (100%)
  10 g/0.4 oz water, lukewarm
  10 g/0.4 oz rye flour

Soaker
  25 g/0.9 oz cracked rye
  25 g/0.9 oz flaxseed
  50 g/1.8 oz water 

Final dough
  30 g/1.1 oz starter (all)
367 g/12.9 oz water (95°F/35ºC)
    3 g/0.1 oz instant yeast
475 g/15.8 oz bread flour
  50 g/1.8 oz old sourdough bread, ground and toasted
  25 g/0.9 oz medium rye flour
  25 g/0.9 oz sunflower seeds, toasted
  14 g/0.5 oz sugar
  14 g/0.5 oz salt

egg white, mixed with a little bit of water, for brushing
sunflower seeds, for topping

Seed soaker and rye starter

DAY 1
In the morning, mix starter ingredients in small bowl. Leave, covered, at room temperature for 4 - 6 hours, or until it passes the float test (a teaspoonful should float in water).

In second small bowl, stir together soaker ingredients. (This extra step is not absolutely necessary, but hard ingredients like rye chops and flax seeds benefit from longer soaking.)

In the afternoon, mix final dough at low speed until all flour is hydrated, 1 - 2 minutes. Let dough rest 5 minutes, then knead at medium-low speed for 6 minutes. Dough will be soft and sticky, but pull back from sides of bowl. 

Dough will be sticky, but pull back from sides of bowl

Transfer dough to lightly oiled work surface. With oiled hands, pat and pull it into a rough square. Fold dough from top and bottom in thirds, like a business letter, then the same way from both sides.

Pat and pull dough into a square...

...then fold in thirds, top down, and bottom up...

...like a business letter.

Repeat folding from both sides...

... until you have a neat package

Cover dough package with the empty mixing bowl (if necessary, re-oil works bench). Let it rest for 10 minutes.

Repeat stretching and folding the dough 3 more times, at 10 minute intervals. It will gain strength and starting to resist. Place dough in oiled container, cover, and refrigerate overnight (a square container helps with shaping later).

Before...

...and after fermentation: it has doubled in volume

DAY 2
Remove dough from fridge 2 hours before using. It should have doubled in volume.

Preheat oven to 475ºF/240ºC (no steam).

Place dough on a lightly floured work surface, sprinkle with a little flour (it will still be a bit sticky), and gently pull and pat it into a rectangle, then cut into 8 square pieces. Place squares on parchment lined (or perforated) baking sheet.

The rolls are cut, not shaped

Brush rolls with egg white, then sprinkle each with sunflower seeds, gently pressing them down to stick. Cover, and proof for about 25 - 30 minutes, or until a finger-poked dimple remains visible. (Since the dough is cut, not shaped, it is puffy and doesn't need to rise much more - basically only until the oven is hot).

Ready for the oven

Bake rolls for about 20 minutes (rotating them halfway through), or until they are a dark golden brown, and register at least 200ºF/93ºC on an instant read thermometer.

Freshly baked Sunflower Seed Squares

BreadStorm users (also of the free version) can download the formula here.

BROWNIES OR COOKIES? - BROWNIEST COOKIES!

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After sadly slacking off last year, I hope to be a more productive blogger in 2017.

My cookie baking activities are usually restricted to the time before Christmas (except for NYTimes Chocolate Chip Cookies), but I DO like brownies.

Deb Perelman of Smitten Kitchen promised a cookie with "everything that we expect from a great brownie, a slight crackly exterior, and a plush, fudgy interior".

That sounded very enticing, and I was eager to tackle "The Browniest Cookies" - our Avid Bakers' February project.

But I didn't look at the recipe carefully enough, and, instead of mixing the sugar with the melted chocolate-butter, I added it to the dry ingredients.

Overmixing the batter was a no-no, and I feared that the undissolved sugar might give the cookies an unpleasant grittiness (it didn't!). 

I reduced the salt to 1/4 teaspoon and added some espresso powder to enhance the chocolate flavor.
 

Browniest Cookies - crackly exterior and fudgy inside

With Chad Robertson's fabulous Salted Chocolate Rye Cookies in mind, I exchanged a bit of the white flour for rye.

The batter seemed to have the right consistency, so, instead of chilling it first, I  refrigerated the shaped cookies on the baking sheet.

In spite of these missteps, my cookies baked up perfectly, no unsightly flattening, crackly from the outside and fudgy from inside.

And, to my delight, VERY chocolate-y!

My husband ripped one hot from the baking sheet - of course, it fell apart - claiming they should be eaten warm.

A bit later, we had them, more civilized, slightly warm, for dessert. The dollop of vanilla ice cream that hubby added certainly didn't hurt.


THE BROWNIEST COOKIES  (adapted from Smitten Kitchen)
(ca. 28 pieces)

115 g all-purpose flour
15 g whole rye flour
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
45 g unsweetened cocoa powder, any kind
115 g butter
115 g g unsweetened chocolate, chopped (I used Ghirardelli's)
190 g dark or light brown sugar
25 g sugar
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 tsp instant espresso powder
115 g semisweet chocolate, chips or chunks

In a small bowl, whisk together flours, cocoa (sifted if necessary), baking soda and salt.

Melt butter and unsweetened chocolate in a double-boiler over simmering water.

Mixing dry ingredients into chocolate mixture

Off the heat, whisk sugars into chocolate mixture, followed by eggs, one at a time, then vanilla and espresso powder. Add flour mixture, stirring until just combined. Fold in chocolate chips (or chunks).

Folding chocolate chips into the batter

Refrigerate batter for ca. 30 minutes. (If longer, it needs to warm up slightly to make it easier to scoop).

Heat oven to 350°F/175°C. Line 2 baking sheets with silpat or parchment paper.

A small scoop makes portioning the batter easy

Using a 1 1/2 - 2 tablespoon scoop, place mounds of batter on prepared baking sheets (they spread a little.)

Bake cookies for 11-12 minutes (they will look glossy and underbaked in the cracks, and feel still soft to the touch.)

Let cookies set on their baking sheets for 10 minutes, before transferring them to a wire rack to cool (an offset spatula works best.)

Warm Brownie Cookies - what can be better on a cold winter day

They taste best when they are slightly warm. Nuke them for a few seconds to re-warm (beware: if they get too hot, they will fall apart!)

Store the cookies, covered, in a tin or platter at room temperature.

View from our window - and the next blizzard is coming!

SWABIAN RYE FLOWER - SCHWÄBISCHES ROGGENBLÜMLE (WORLD BREAD DAY 2016)

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Just in time for Zorra's 2016 World Bread Day event, I received my copy of Stanley Ginsberg's The Rye Baker in the mail.

I met Stanley several years ago at the The Fresh Loaf forum, when he looked for test bakers for his first book, "Inside the Jewish Bakery". Though, at that stage, some recipes still were a bit rough around the edges (my husband complained about feeling like a guinea pig!), the book was well worth it, and his Onion Rolls are still a great favorite with my customers.

Last year, I was happy to help with the translation of some German recipes Stanley considered for his newest book, devoted entirely to rye breads.

Leafing through the The Rye Baker, a cluster of spiral shaped savory rolls caught my eye. Not only because the "Swabian Rye Flower" looked so attractive - it was made with a laminated rye dough!

I had never even heard that such a thing existed.

The filling was easy: Trader Joe's Prosciutto (lightly smoked), and French Comté cheese were already in my fridge, and for the herb topping I snipped off fresh thyme in the garden.

The cottage cheese for the filling had to be rinsed and drained to make it, mixed with cream cheese, dry enough to emulate quark (what they would have used in Germany).

Filling ingredients

10 grams of instant yeast seemed a lot, I reduced the amount to 9 grams (and would try 8 next time), and it rose just fine.

Laminating the dough was a bit more challenging. The recipe requires vegetable shortening for the fat layer.

I had made croissants before, and if butter and dough are sufficiently chilled, the fat stays put during the rolling and folding process.

Soft shortening is more difficult to contain. I should have straightened the edges of the rolled dough with a knife before folding it. This step from croissant making could have prevented a raggedy seam where fat can be squeezed out.

Too late: on this day neither my hands, nor the rolling pin or work bench needed any more lubrication - Crisco took care of it! Fortunately, most of the shortening behaved, staying within the dough, and the fat leakage during baking was not more than to be expected.

Stanley chose shortening because of the water content of butter - shortening doesn't have any - that could make the sticky rye dough even stickier. His advice: if you want to laminate with butter, you should mix it with some flour (1 tbsp flour/200 g butter).

We loved the hearty rolls! The laminated rye layers came apart and had a satisfying crunch, and the filling was delicious. The pretty flower shape, though, prevented the crisping in those places where the rolls touched. Being a sucker for crispiness, I would sacrifice form for function next time, and bake the spirals separate from each other.

But I will definitely make the Swabian Rye Rolls again!

One of these tasty rolls are a meal!

SCHWÄBISCHES ROGGENBLÜMLE - SWABIAN RYE FLOWER (adapted from Stanley Ginsberg: The Rye Baker)

(7 Rolls)

Starter
102 g/3.6 oz white rye flour
93 g/3.25 oz water  (105ºF/41ºC)
5 g/0.2 oz rye mother starter

Final Dough
200 g/7.05 oz starter (all)
153 g/5.4 oz medium rye flour
245 g/8.65 oz all-purpose flour
218 g/7.7 oz cold water
10 g/0.7 oz salt
10 g/0.7oz instant yeast (I used only 9 g)
3 g/0.12 oz bread spices

Lamination
200 g/7.05 oz vegetable shortening, at room temperature (68-72ºF/20-22º)

Filling
125 g/4.4 oz dry cured ham (like country ham or prosciutto) (I used Trader Joe's Prosciutto)
125 g/4.4 oz onion, chopped
2 tsp vegetable oil, for sautéing
125 g/4.4 oz hard cheese (like Gruyere, Parmesan etc.) (I used Comté)
85 g/3.0 oz cottage cheese, rinsed and drained
42 g/1.5 oz cream cheese, softened
black pepper, to taste
salt, to taste (I didn't add any - ham and cheese had enough salt)
chopped parsley, dill, or chives, for topping (optional) (I used fresh thyme)

The rye starter is made with white rye

DAY 1 
3:00 - 6:00 pm:
For the starter, mix ingredients in small bowl until all flour is hydrated. Cover, and leave at room temperature overnight (ca. 15-18 hours - it's ready when small bubbles appear on the surface, and it has a spongy structure underneath.)

Sautéing ham and onion

For the filling, in medium skillet over medium heat, sauté ham and onion in oil, until onions are translucent. Let cool to room temperature.

In medium bowl, mix all three cheeses, until well blended. Stir in ham, onion, and season with pepper to taste. (I did not add extra salt). Cover, and refrigerate until needed.

Tasty ham and cheese filling

DAY 2
6:00 - 9:00 am:
For the final dough, mix ingredients at low speed (KA 2, dough hook)), until dough pulls back from sides of bowl, 5-6 minutes. Wrap dough in plastic and refrigerate for 1 hour.

For laminating, transfer dough to lightly floured work surface, keeping extra flour and a pastry brush at hand.  

Always lightly re-flour work surface as needed, to prevent sticking, and brush off any excess flour from dough before folding!

It's easier to roll out the dough under a piece of plastic wrap

1. Turn:
Roll out dough into a rectangle (45 x 20 x 1.25 cm/18 x 8 x 1/2 inches). Spread 1/2 of the shortening in an even layer over left 2/3 of dough (leave a 2 mm free rim along the sides, since the soft shortening spreads a bit when rolled). 

Starting from the right side, fold rectangle into thirds like a business letter. Using a bench knife, straighten and square edges, so that layers are neatly stacked. (You can put cut-off pieces on top of dough, so that they are rolled in at the next turn)

Spread shortening over 2/3 of dough - I should have left a small free rim

2. Turn:
Turn dough 90 degrees, re-flour work bench as needed, and repeat rolling, greasing (with remaining shortening) and folding. Wrap dough in plastic, and refrigerate for 20-30 minutes.

Wrap dough package in plastic and refrigerate for at least 15 minutes

3. Turn:
Roll out dough to the same size, and fold into thirds again.

4. Turn:
Roll out dough to a rectangle (60 x 20 cm/24 x 8 inches). With bench knife, straighten and square short edges as needed (to get an even seam). Fold rectangle into fourths, bringing left and right side towards center, the fold in half, like closing a book. Wrap in plastic and refrigerate for 20-30 minutes.

If I had remembered to straighten the edges, my folded dough package.....

.......could have looked like this (croissant dough) - no smearing of grease!

Roll dough out into a 20 x 45-50 cm/8 x 18-20 inches rectangle (1.25 cm/ 1/2 inch thick), short end facing you. With rolling pin, taper dough on near side (so that it's easier to seal the seam later).

Spread filling over 4/5 of the dough rectangle

Starting 2.5 cm/1 inch from far edge, spread filling evenly over ca. 4/5 of dough. Roll dough towards you into a log, like a jelly roll. Moisten free bottom edge with water, and press to seal.

Cut log into 7 slices with a sharp knife

Using sharp knife, cut log into 7 even slices. Place one slice in center of a parchment lined baking sheet, and arrange others around it so that rolls touch each other. Sprinkle with herbs. (If you want your rolls all around crispy, forgo the pretty flower shape and place them separately.)

Assembled "flower"

Cover, and proof rolls at room temperature for 20-25 minutes. They will not have grown much in size, but the spaces between the rolls will have shrunk a bit.

Preheat oven to 410ºF/210ºC, adjusting a rack in the middle, and place a steam pan on bottom or top rack (I use a broiler pan.)

Place rolls in oven,  creating steam by pouring a cup of boiling water into steam pan. After 5 minutes, remove steam pan, and continue baking for another 17-19 minutes (rotating baking sheet 180 degrees after half the baking time for even browning). Rolls should be medium brown, and the cheese melted and bubbling.

We loved the hearty rolls!

Serve warm or at room temperature.

STORAGE: The rye rolls can be frozen, individually wrapped in plastic, then placed in a freezer bag.
Thaw, then re-crisp for a few minutes at 400ºF. Or microwave frozen rolls, until halfways thawed (not fully!) then finish in the oven.

Reprinted with permission from "The Rye Baker" by Stanley Ginsberg, copyright © 2016. Published by W.W. Norton & Company

FRIESISCHES SCHWARZBROT - A HEARTY RYE FROM THE NORTH SEA COAST

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When I started baking breads for A&B Naturals, I searched online for some interesting rye breads. A recipe that really intrigued me was made with an intermediate dough, with a batter-like consistency, and just poured into a loaf pan - no shaping involved!

At The Fresh Loaf, my Frisian Rye post sparked a bit of a controversy - a Dutch user protested this were not a "real fries roggebrood": a pumpernickel-type bread, dark, and very slowly baked.

North Frisian Islands

But the Frisian region stretches along the North Sea coast from the Netherlands to Germany and up to Denmark, and there is really no such thing as ONE authentic Frisian Rye.

A quick search on Google shows several different recipes, all with different amounts of rye, wheat, seeds, and what not. I was never able to find the original recipe again, but the guy who had posted it said he was from Frisia - so he should know!

Whether real authentic or not - this Friesisches Schwarzbrot tastes great! Over the years I tweaked the formula quite a bit to achieve a nice, thin crust and satisfying crumb.

                                               Amrum - my favorite North Frisian island

The North Sea coast is lovely, dotted with islands, with white sand beaches and dunes, and definitely worth a trip - whether on the Dutch, German or Danish side. Close to Hamburg, this was a popular destination for our family vacations.

Fortunately, it's not sooo different from Maine, so I won't get homesick!

A typical sea coast resident - whether in Germany or in Maine!

FRIESISCHES SCHWARZBROT - FRISIAN RYE

Starter:
100 g rye meal
  26 g whole wheat or rye mother starter
200 g water, lukewarm

Intermediate Dough:
     all starter
100 g rye meal
100 g whole wheat flour
150 g water, lukewarm

Final Dough:
     all intermediate dough
100 g whole wheat flour
    6 g salt
  10 g honey
    8 g molasses
  25 g flax seeds
  25 g sesame seeds
  25 g sunflower seeds, toasted
  50 g water, lukewarm (or more, as needed)
sunflower seeds for topping

Sunflower seeds, sesame and flax seeds for a nice crunch

DAY 1
Stir together all starter ingredients in medium bowl. Cover, and leave at room temperature to ferment overnight.

The intermediate dough is very liquid

DAY 2
In the morning, using a large spoon or Danish dough whisk, mix together all ingredients for intermediate dough until well combined. Cover, and leave at room temperature for 6-8 hours, until its visibly risen and puffed.

Wow - hyperactive intermediate dough!

In small bowl, soak flax seeds in the water for final dough (longer soaking makes them better digestible).

In the evening, using a large spoon, dough whisk (or mixer with paddle attachment on low speed), mix together all final dough ingredients for a few minutes, until well combined - dough will have the consistency of thick pancake batter.

This is what the dough looks like after mixing

Fill dough up to 3/4 in lightly oiled medium sandwich loaf pan (9-inch), smooth with wet rubber spatula, and sprinkle with sunflower seeds. Cover pan with aluminum foil (you will use it as cover for baking, later) and refrigerate overnight.

Ready for a cold night in the fridge

DAY 3
Remove dough from refrigerator 2 hours before baking. The bread will have risen a bit, but not much.

Preheat oven to 450ºF/230ºC.

The dough is puffed, but has not risen much

Place bread (covered with foil) in oven, reduce temperature to 425ºF/220ºC, and bake for 15 minutes. Remove aluminum foil and bake for another 40 minutes (rotate180 degrees after 20 minutes, if bread browns uneven). Internal temperature should be at least 200ºF/93ºC.

Freshly baked Frisian Ryes

Remove bread from pan. Mist bread with water while hot (optional - this softens the crust a bit), and let it cool on wire rack.

To avoid a gooey mess on your bread knife, be patient and wait at least for 12 hours to cut into your bread - and it will have developed its full aroma, too!

Even if it's hard to resist - wait at least 12 hours before slicing!

BreadStorm users (also of the free version) can download the formula here.

KARIN'S GERMAN SCHWARZBROT WITH WHOLE RYE BERRIES

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When I started my little home based bakery, I wanted to offer a typical German Schwarzbrot. Though "schwarz" means "black", a Schwarzbrot doesn't have to be a 100% rye bread, only most of the flour should be rye.

With Peter Reinhart's pre-dough method from "Whole Grain Breads" in mind, I cobbled together different recipes into one I could work with. Baking this bread often (my customers love it!) I played with the formula around, and, over the years, tweaked it so much, that it became entirely my own.

It contains whole rye berries, has a little bit of sweetener, but, also, a pleasant natural sweetness, and it is not artificially colored with large amounts of molasses, cocoa, coffee or other additives.

People familiar with my blog know that I'm very much in favor of long fermentation. Breads that are allowed to ripen slowly are much better digestible, and long fermentation reduces the discomfort that gluten may cause for some.

We enjoy Schwarzbrot with ham or other cold cuts, but also with honey

But most important for me - the taste of most breads improves significantly if flavors have more time to develop.

Scarred by my father's strict enforcement of daily Schwarzbrot consumption as a child - "Schwarzbrot macht Wangen rot!" (black bread makes your cheeks red!) was his motto - I never cared too much for dark ryes.

But, overcoming my early Schwarzbrot trauma, I love this hearty, crunchy bread and always bake an extra one for my family, when I make it for my customers. We like it with all kinds of cold cuts,  Fleischsalat (German meat salad) and, also with an aromatic honey.

KARIN'S GERMAN SCHWARZBROT

Rye Berries
150 g rye berries
water, for soaking

Soaker
150 g whole rye flour
5 g salt
113 g water

Starter
40 g whole wheat mother starter (75% hydration)
116 g whole wheat flour
83 g water, lukewarm

Final dough
all cooked rye berries
all soaker and starter
37 g whole wheat flour
3 g instant yeast
11 g salt
15 g molasses
3 g honey
 rolled rye or sunflower seeds, for topping


DAY 1 (afternoon)
In a bowl, cover rye berries with at least 1 inch/2.5 cm cold water and let them soak for 24 hours.

Drain rye berries -  reserve the soaking water to water your plants!

DAY 2
In the morning, stir together soaker ingredients until all flour is hydrated. Cover with plastic wrap and leave at room temperature.

Combine all starter ingredients until all flour is hydrated, then knead (using stand mixer or wet hands) for 2 minutes. Let rest for 5 minutes, then knead again for 1 minute. Cover with plastic wrap and leave at room temperature.

Cook soaked rye berries in fresh water for half an hour

In the afternoon, drain soaked rye berries and discard water (I use it to water my plants, it contains a lot of nutrients). Place berries in a saucepan, well covered with fresh water, bring to a boil, reduce the heat and simmer for 30 minutes.

Place berries in strainer to drain, cover, and let cool to room temperature. (Cooked berries can be kept at room temperature for 24 hours.)

Schwarzbrot is made with a whole wheat starter

In the evening, combine all final dough ingredients in mixer bowl and mix at low speed with paddle for 2 minutes. Continue kneading (paddle or dough hook) at medium-low speed for 4 minutes. Dough will be soft and sticky.

Let dough rest for 5 minutes, then resume kneading for 1 minute more. The dough will still be somewhat sticky. Transfer dough to lightly oiled container. Mist with oil, cover, and refrigerate overnight.

The dough has risen overnight in the fridge

DAY 3
Remove dough from refrigerator 2 hours before using, to warm up.

Preheat oven to 450ºF/230ºC. Spray loaf pan (8 1/2" by 4"/22 cm x 10 cm) with oil.

Loosening the slightly sticky dough with a spatula

Transfer dough to a lightly floured work surface. (If you used a square container, it is already pre-shaped.)

Practically pre-shaped (from the container)...

....rolling it into a sandwich loaf is easy

Roll dough into a sandwich loaf and place it into the pan, seam side down. Mist with water, sprinkle with rolled rye or sunflower seeds, pressing them a bit down with your hands to attach, then spray with oil.

Cover pan loosely with aluminum foil, don't let the bread rise anymore!

Covered loosely with foil, the bread is ready for the oven (no second rise!)

Place pan in oven, reduce temperature to 425ºF/220ºC and bake it for 35 minutes. Take loaf out of the oven, remove aluminum foil, loosen the sides from pan with a spatula, and turn the half-baked bread out onto a baking sheet.

Remove foil from half-baked bread, and turn it out onto a baking sheet

Return bread to the oven to bake for about 30 minutes longer. It should be crisp, and register at least 200ºF in the center.

Transfer bread to cooling rack, mist with water while hot, and let it cool. For the first 24 hours, keep it in a brown paper bag to allow it to continue drying out and developing flavor. After that, it can be wrapped in aluminum foil. (Don't keep it in the refrigerator!).

A very popular bread in my bakery

 BreadStorm users (also the free version) can download the formula:


Ginger (from Ginger & Bread) made a lovely version of this bread: http://gingerandbread.com/2016/01/28/karins-german-schwarzbrot/