Kastenbrot

Nils at Ye Olde bread blogge is always amazing me with the loaves he produces, and I have yet to make a decent German loaf, so what do you do but follow a German bakers formula and see what happens, right? This particular loaf has some flour, (quellmehl) unavailable here in the U.S., it must be the dollar exchange rate! I followed Nils advice and used a bread soaker which I toasted before hand, fed my starter as he explains, though I took the liberty to use spelt instead of rye. To be a bit different I added another Nils special flavor enhancer, hemp seed as well the flax and Styrian pumpkin seed and oats for the grain soaker. Trouble was my dough was wet, more a batter, so I heavily floured my basket and hoped for the best! No chance this wasn't going to be a disaster, and it was! The loaf came out with bits of itself stuck in the banneton. I quickly divided the dough into two small loaf pans, let them rise a second time and baked them.
They feel light enough, perhaps not as dark, I may add ale on my next try but I can't wait to dig in with some sausage or cheese, a real brotzeit for sure!

Comments

[Jeremy]

Thanks Nils first for inspiring me and of course for the great breads that you show on your site! I did cut into the loaf too early, it was fairly wet so I left the other to dry out, though it did taste delicious and nutty!

[Nils]

Wow, such passion for bread. Bravo! Those look good, better let them rest a while before cutting. The color of my bread was rather strange, almost like chocolate or coffee. Maybe that's one of the main reasons "Quellmehl" is used - to give a warmer color.