My fellow blogger Cindy asked me, if the Weizenvollkornbrot mit Sauerteig 75 % is a typical German bread. I can’t speak for whole Germany, but our family likes this kind of bread and it is typical in the North of Germany. It is denser compared with French bread.

Whole Wheat Sourdough Bread

If you compare both recipes, the German and this English version, you will note a difference in the water amounts. This is caused in the different types of wheat between the US and Europe. The English recipe works with a hydration between 82 % and > 95 %, in the German recipe I had to decrease the water to a hydration of 64 % to bake a free formed loaf.

The same experience I make as a recipe tester for Peter Reinhart’s new whole grain book.

If anyone wants to replicate a German-style whole wheat bread from US wheat, be aware of the water amount. You’ll need probably more water than the German recipe recommends.

For all who are interested: this is the source of the German recipe:

-==== REZKONV-Recipe – RezkonvSuite v1.1

Title: Whole Wheat Sourdough Bread
Categories: Bread, Wheat-sourdough
Yield: 1 Recipe

======================== STARTER INGREDIENTS ========================
3/4 cup Of sourdough starter, 100 % Hydration, 175 ml or
— 210 grams
1 1/2 cups Whole wheat flour, 225 g
3/4 cup Water, room temperature, 175 ml

======================== DOUGH INGREDIENTS ========================
2 teasp. Active dry yeast, 1/4 oz or 7 g
1/2 cup Warm water, 120 ml
2 cups Whole wheat flour, 300 g
2 1/2 teasp. Salt,14 g
The starter mixture
1/2-1 cup Water, 120-235 ml
Cornmeal for dusting, optional

============================== SOURCE ==============================
*
 
The Laurel’s Kitchen Bread Book: A Guide to Whole-Grain Breadmaking *
— Edited *RK* 04/25/2006 by
— Ulrike Westphal

THE STARTER Mix together and keep at about 65 °F for 12 to 18 hours.
Manuel’s starter, kept at room temperature for 12 hours, makes a
moderately sour bread that is very light.

THE DOUGH Dissolve the yeast in warm water. Stir the flour and salt
together; add the starter mixture and the water and mix them all
together to make a soft dough. Knead until supple and elastic. Form
the dough into a ball and place it smooth side up in the bowl. Cover
and keep in a warm, draft-free place. After about an hour and a half,
gently poke the center of the dough about ‚h inch deep with your wet
finger. If the hole doesn’t fill in at all or if the dough sighs,
press flat, form into a smooth round, and let the dough rise once
more as before. The second rising will take about half as much time
as the first.

Press the dough flat and divide in two. Round it and let it rest
until relaxed, then deflate and shape into loaves. Divide into two
or three pieces and round them. Let them rest and then shape into
loaves: the dough will make two 8″x4″ pan loaves, but it is nicer
baked hearth-style on cookie sheets that have been dusted with
cornmeal. Make two or three round hearth loaves, or shape into
rolls. Let rise in a very warm, draft-free place until the dough
slowly returns a gently made fingerprint.

Place in preheated 450°F/230 °C oven. Follow one of the suggested
steaming techniques on page 106. When the crusts show shine and
color, turn the heat to 325°F/180 °C Continue baking for about 40
minutes for the large loaves, less for the smaller ones, about half
an hour for good-sized rolls.

=====

*=Affiliate-Link to Amazon