May 7, 2010 - 12:09pm
First Vollkornbrot
I used the Local Breads recipe, though I used my WW starter to build the rye starter. I also added more water than called for because it seemed to need it. I have no idea if this is how it's actually supposed to come out but, wow, does it smell good! So sweet even though there's no sweetener in it. Nobody told me it would smell like this. And now I have to wait how long before I get to try it?!? I may lose my mind. Must be strong. Gonna make it, gonna make it...
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but I wholeheartedly recommend to wait 4 days: the wait is really worth the reward you will get.
4 days!?! I'll try that. Good thing I made two, though, as I may have to do some testing in the meantime with the other loaf. Purely in the name of science, of course!
It's not recommended and it'll be a little gummy but I'm a baaad girl. I cut mine open less than one hour after a 6 hour bake this morning. It was soooo good! MMMM. But I think you should wait 5 days and send one of them to me.
Shoot, I'd have to bake 3 of them to keep one around for 5 days. Otherwise, I'd never keep my husband off of it that long, much less myself. And I make rye weekly so it's not like it's the first time I've ever eaten it.
Volkornbrot is our new favorite bread. This bread that I baked today is the best bread I've ever made, hands down.
My curiosity got the better of me, but then I had this in my head as a learning loaf from the beginning, so no surprise there. First taste at 4 hrs... awful! I don't think I hit this one quite right. Really gummy (starter did seem a little lifeless) and the only flavor component was salt?!? Uh, oh.
Tried again at 8 hrs (same loaf) and it was already a little better. Some of the flavor was starting to come through and the crumb was beginning to dry out (in a good way). But still the lingering taste of too much salt.
Now it's been 24 hrs and I can sense what the loaf is trying to be, what it wants to be, but I didn't quite get it there. And still the saltiness! I don't know what's going on with that. Now that I've muddled through the first one I have high hopes for the next. I'll be trying the schwarzbrot version that Hanseata posted here. The next one will rock, oh yes, it will rock. And no, you can't have it. Mine, mine, mine! =)
Don't give up, it really takes a while, before you are able to produce a good Vollkornbrot. It definitely trickier than many others. The dough should feel like clay and be rather sticky after kneading. After refrigerating it overnight it will still be slightly sticky, but you should be able to roll it into a sandwich loaf.
A Vollkornbrot should not taste awful four hours after baking. And even though it develops its flavor slowly, it should taste really good the next day - to wait for four days until you eat it? Nobody in Germany would dream of that! Even though it keeps much longer than wheat breads (wrapped in aluminum foil after it cooled out), it tastes best when it's not totally dried out.
How much salt did you put into it? It sounds as if it was way too much.
By all means try my "Rheinisches Schwarzbrot" - it took me a long time to do it right, but now it always turn out great - I baked it for our local store today, and it was gone in no time.
2 days later. The texture has improved considerably, still a little on the sticky/gummy side. The flavor is coming through. With a slab of mild cheese it's actually pretty decent. Thank you for the tips and encouragement!
Unfortunately I forgot to warn my mother-in-law, who saw the bread on the counter and decided to make a snack for my daughter using it and a thick layer of salted peanut butter - oops! That piece didn't get eaten.