vollkornbrot

I have started making this and wonder if anyone knows anything about it.

It is made with whole kernels instead of flour.

First you soak the grain.  I've been using rye lately because it has more phytase than wheat, though my first loaves were kamut.

Anyway soak the grain until you see the tiniest protrusion where the root will be coming out.  Length of time depends on temperature in the kitchen.
When the sprout is visible, then wet grind the grain.  I read that a champion juicer would do this well, using the peanut butter "plate" but it did not work at all.  It stopped the champion as I had never experienced before.  I use a cuisinart.  I think the vitamix would also do the job but I have not tried it.

Once the grain is "ground" it is still in chunks, but it's visible that the gluten has developed, then it needs to be fermented.  I've used whey, and sourdough starter, and now have heard I could use kefir, which I intend to try.  The references I have seen say ferment for several days, then bake.  After baking I've read that you should let it sit for 3 days before slicing.  I have sliced at 24 hours and it is slice-able.  It is supposed to be sliced very thin.

This is a very moist bread, and dense, and chewy.  I read that this is a traditional bread from Germany-Switzerland, that sometimes the baking was done only once a year, and the bread hung in linen sacks on the wall.  That was in olden days, that in these modern times, it may be baked once a month.

The reason I got interested in this was because of the connection between whole grains, phytic acid and demineralization of bones and teeth (decay & cavities), discussed at a Weston A Price discussion group.

The bread is delicious and keeps a long time.

I found no instructions for how much liquid to add, or how to shape the dough into loaves.  I baked in preheated closed heavy preheated pans- crock with lid, cast iron dutch oven, romertopf type baker.  Heat to 475, then put dough into the heated pot with cover.  Bake 30 minutes, remove lid and bake another 10 minutes.

I have added some regular bread yeast, and about a teaspoon of sea salt per loaf, though with the sourness of the dough, it could use more salt.

Does anyone have any experience with this whole kernel bread baking?

I know nothing about the bread you made, but it sounds interesting. I've made "The Life-Changing Loaf of Bread," though, another interesting one that uses no flour. It's quite delicious! http://www.mynewroots.org/site/2013/02/the-life-changing-loaf-of-bread/

Fascinating! Following this thread... Anyone else out there know this stuff?

They make this bread at the best bakery in the Boston area, Anna Rosa's Bakery (Salisbury, MA, http://www.annarosas.com), in a long Pullman pan, probably closed on the top, so it has the height of a normal piece of sandwich bread. It is VERY dense, and it has a long shelf life. It is similar to some of the breads they eat in Scandinavia, and my Norwegian husband says it should be sliced thinly, around 3/8" or less. I bought one of these breads for him when we were dating; it weighed a lot and slicing it was like a day's work.

As to a recipe, I think it may be close to the Westphalian Pumpernickel you'll see in Stanley Ginsberg's _The Rye Baker_.

I know that kind of bread, but I never baked it. It's sold at the health food store here, there's a Dutch brand and a German brand. The Dutch is already cut in slices (very thin!), the German isn't. The taste of the German is better, but cutting it is too difficult ...
It's visible this bread is almost all made of entire grains of rye.

I hope the rye on a bed of our community garden will give us grain ... then we can try making such bread.

And because of the thread on baking with kefir, I made some bread with kefir.  I added live milk kefir instead of yeast and water.  It's great.  I was in a pinch, and used rye flour to soaked whole kamut.  The flour trapped the gas bubbles so I can say the kefir does bring leavening ability.  The flavor is great too, but I want to try whole kernels ground wet in the cuisineart to develop the gluten, so there is a place for the bubbles to be trapped.

The recipe for life changing bread looks very interesting,and I may be influenced by the recipe, but since many of the ingredients are things I don't eat often,what I will be trying is substitutions into my developing recipe and procedures.

Inge,can you post a photo of what the bread you get at your deli,German or Dutch, looks like?  I've never seen any I did not make, and believe there may be useful information for me in seeing the real stuff.  Also, can you tell what's on  the list of ingredients ?
Thanks

Thekla McDaniels wrote:... Inge,can you post a photo of what the bread you get at your deli,German or Dutch, looks like?  I've never seen any I did not make, and believe there may be useful information for me in seeing the real stuff.  Also, can you tell what's on  the list of ingredients ? Thanks

Hi Thekla. Please wait some days. As soon as I need to buy new bread, I'll buy that rye-vollkorn-bread and make photos (also of the ingredients, which are not a long list ... )

Of course I will wait til you were buying it anyway.  Thank you Inge.

I have been baking whole grain bread for years, and when living in Denmark in the 70s, I fell in love with Struer brød,  which was basically whole-grain rye kernels held together with sourdough and whole-grain rye flour and a bit of salt.  The sourdough was usually produced with potato water and flour, I poured boiling water over the rye kernels as previously described, and assembling the bread was generally quite a sticky heavy mess. One thing that they did in Danish recipes was suggest weighting down the top of the bread and placing a pan of hot water at the bottom of the oven. I would wrap the bread in a tea towel after removing it from the pan if I wanted a softer crust.   Since that time I have modified my standard recipe because I have only myself to bake for, so I have combined different breads. I generally use rye or spelt whole kernels, soaked as described, sourdough or yeast, whole-grain flours whether rye or spelt or both, and sometimes sunflower seeds, flax seeds and sometimes anise for a lovely aroma when toasted.  Fulkornbrot there's always heavier, more nutrient-dense,  and can be a meal in itself with some cheese, boiled egg, or pickled herring. It is the foundation of Danish smørbrød.  I have enjoyed experimenting over the years, and always appreciated heavier bread after a childhood eating German or Lithuanian breads.  Have fun with it.

Thanks for sharing your experience, Gene.  I think this kind of bread relies on experience more than recipes,which can be a challenge when you are new to it.  

I am going to try  anise which is probably traditional,but your comment about fragrance makes me think cinnamon would be a great addition, and with the cinnamon, I could easily add raisins or other dried fruit, maybe cocoa nibs.  And now I have more of a feel for the vollkornbrot as a starting place,and the amount of variability of the method,andthe breadit creates.

My latest batch,I did not use yeast or sour dough,I added kefir instead.  It came out wonderfully scrumptious!

I got the idea from the discussion on kefir leavened breads  https://permies.com/t/66185/kitchen/Kefir-Bread-Recipes.  It is worth taking a look at.

I'm going to try the kefir suggestion.  I noticed from one of the threads that they preferred the kefir with yeast.  Whether it contains yeast or not, it would seem the difference would be in the time it takes to rise the very little bit a true folkornbrot does.  I don't have a bread cutting machine, and it's next to impossible to get the uniformity without it.  I do not add anise to the rye bread, but the more leavened spelt bread.

Whether I make it with sourdough starter or yeast or with milk kefir, I let the dough sit loosely covered for a couple of days or even a week.  I have not noticed any difference in the amount it "rises".  It does increase in bulk, some.  

I think live kefir includes yeasts, and I have used the liquid kefir rather than including the grains... there are plenty of microorganisms in the liquid kefir.

But, I read that it should sit for three or four days before slicing.  I find I can easily slice it about 1/4 inch thick, the knife cutting right through those whole kernels.  One mistake it is easy to make in slicing is to push down too hard with the knife.  (I've noticed many people do this when slicing bread).  What works for me is to use a serrated knife, and exert almost no downward pressure at all, and let the movement of the knife back and forth do the cutting.  Downward pressure seems to crumble the bread.

Here are the photos of rye-bread they sell here (in a whole-food supermarket). This is the German type. The 'ingredients' are only rye, nothing else (but of course they used water, the rye grains are sprouted first).
the bread is packed in plastic, not sliced

I cut one slice to show the inside of the bread

Thanks so much Inge,for posting the photo.  It is amazing to see how little whole kernels remain, they must have a great "wet grinder" of some kind. My food processor leaves large chunks, which I kind of like.

It looks delicious.

Thekla McDaniels wrote:....  It is amazing to see how little whole kernels remain, ....

Thekla, in the photo you don't see them, but in the real bread I clearly see lots of kernels. They look only broken, not grinded. The inside of the bread looks like a very, very thick porridge to me.

Great, Inge, that's what my bread looks like inside, too, porridge.

Thanks for that I love this bread I grew up on it and I cannot buy it here. Another name is pumpernickel, maybe you google recipes for it. Apparently the name is derived from pain pour Nicole and Nicola was Napoleon's horse.. these Frenchmen!

I really got inspired by this. I want to try rye which are the traditional breads made with whole berries. I read a bit around and all recipes either call for ready made sprouted flour which is annoying or sprout for several days.
I intend to use my corona mill I think this should work.
I tried to make a sourdough starter twice recently and both got mouldy!!! What is the problem? Maybe I buy a commercial starter and go from this one??

Angelika,

I have dispensed with the sour dough starter because I keep kefir going, and read that kefir has enough yeast to leaven vollkornbrot, and folks on the kefir bread thread are saying it has enough yeast for "regular" bread too. Kefir isn't as fussy as sour dough starter IMO.

https://permies.com/t/66185/kitchen/Kefir-Bread-Recipes

Now, I just add kefir to the "ground" sprouted grain and let it ferment for several days.  It is pretty goopy sloppy and wet, and that is the only reason I add some flour.  I think next batch I will add less kefir so it dow not get so wet, because I prefer not to add dry flour, but, because of the phytase from the rye grain, and the fermentation time, that the phytates in the dry flour I add do get broken down.

I don't know what a corona mill is, but I know my flour mill won't grind wet grain.  I have a food processor and it works to chop up the soaked grain some.  I made a batch of vollkornbrot with whole sprouted kamut that I added rye flour sourdough starter and rye flour to, and didn't grind the sprouted grain at all.  That worked pretty well.

Anyway if you keep experimenting you are sure to come up with a method that suits you.  Everyone who has tried what I make has loved it, and they will yours too.

I experimented with kefir instead of yeast / sourdough. This is water-kefir, but I added some yoghurt too. I used whole wheat meal from the windmill (it isn't organic, but it's grinded with real mill stones!) I did not have the patience to let it rise for days, only some hours, but it was edible

Here is a photo showing the loaf I leavened with kefir, plenty of yeast evident from the holes.  I added too much kefir, (not thinking) and so added rye flour to soak up some of the liquid.  It was still a very wet and sloppy dough.  Only the sesame seeds in the pan kept it from sticking.  You can see that the whole kernels are surrounded by the dough formed from that flour.  I think it is OK from the phytic acid standpoint because it was all mixed together for more than 3 days before I baked it.

It is quite flavorful, it has maintained its freshness for more than a week and has not dried out (even here in the desert).  I do not keep it wrapped in plastic because I think that would promote mold growing on the surface.

One new problem with this loaf is in the slicing.  Prior loaves have been narrow.  This one is very wide at the center and when cutting across the center, once half way through the cut, the weight of the top half of the slice caused the slice to fold over and break.  Still quite tasty, just not a pretty slice.  I can't remember why I wanted to bake this one in the round, but if I do that again, my firsr cut will be across the diameter of the loaf, then make the individual slices in the short direction, perpendicular to that first cut.

here is a photograph of the degree of sprouting that needs to be attained.

That row at the front of the plate each has tiny white dot which is the radicle, the root beginning to exit the bran, (I think there is an official word that part of a grain, but I can't think of it right now.(getting old is SO much fun.)

I lined them up facing the camera because they are pretty tiny, and no need to let them go further.

The corona mill is a very simple hand mill with steel (? hopefully not alu) plates. My partner is gluten sensitive, but probably only wheat and I want to create a bread were all these anti- nutrient however they are called are eliminated. I have to get some kefir. How much kefir to grains to flour? Do you use rye?

Oh, I might have a similar mill, just a simple hand crank with a couple of metal plates and the gears to turn it, and an adjustment for how far apart the plates are/how coarse you are grinding.

I am in the process of making a batch of dough right now.  I started with a pound of whole kernels of rye, and soaked it at room temperature until I saw the little sprouts as in the photo above.  How long depends on conditions in the kitchen.

I drained the grain, and let it drip for an hour or so.

Then I put it in the food processor in three batches.  Here is a photo showing the grain "chopped" but gluten not developed yet, I squeezed it in my hand but it did not care.

and how I tell if the gluten is developed (it holds together after squeezed).

I think you might want to pay careful attention to the gluten formation.  If the corona hand mill does not mix it enough to get the gluten developed, you might have to hand mix it until you get to that stage.  I read that a champion juicer with the peanut butter plate in would wet grind the soaked grain, but it did not work at all.  The gluten developed and plugged up the auger... so many adventures!






Then I added a cup of kefir and mixed it up, covered it loosely.  I will let it ferment for about 4 days.

Angelika Maier wrote:Another name is pumpernickel

Pumpernickel is not the same as volkornbrot or rugbrød (rye bread) as it's called in Denmark. Even though it does look similar and have much the same ingredients pumpernickel is baked at a lover temperature and for longer which makes for a sweet and very dense bread. Here it's usually eaten aroud Christmas with cheese on top much like you would a cracker unlike the rye bread which we eat by the ton. There's even a joke that here bicycles have rye bread engines. It's a bread you eat just like any other sliced breads. You can eat it as an open faced sandwich which is one slice with cold cuts on top. I also like it with sliced tomatoes, salt and peber or instead or cake for my afternoon tea: butter and banana slices. The child friendly way is to eat it like a normal sandwich. I eat it for breakfast and lunch and if I can't be bothered for dinner with a fried egg.

The best thing about it is it's ridicoulously easy to make when you have the ingredients.

This is the reciepe I use:

7dl water
6 dl kernels
roughly 2 dl of sourdough (see explaination)
1/2 dl honey or syrup
2 tea spoonfull salt
200 grams wheat flour
300 grams rye flour
2-3 table spoonfull dark,malted flour

Stir ingredients together in a bowl. It makes a very loose dough. Cover with a damp dish towel and then leave to rise for 10-12 hours. After the dough is done rising put 2-3 table spoonfull of the dough in a jar and add a table spoonfull wheat flour and water. Stir the mixture untill homogenenous. Close the lid and return to the fridge. This is an important step because this is your new sourdough. Warning DO NOT fill the jar more than half way up or it will ouze all over you fridge. Bake the bread in a lined rectangular bread pan 12 by 30 cm in a preheated oven to 210 degrees centigrade for 1 hour. After about 5 mins of baking cut a slit down the center of the top with a wet spatula (see the first picture). Wet is better because then the dough is less likely  stick to the spatula. The slit prevents the bread from splitting on the side. It does nothing to the taste of the bread but it does make it harder to slice.
When the bread is done remove baking paper and wrap in a dish towel. Then leave to cool. It's ready to eat after it's cooled. If you try and cut it before that it compacts into a gooey mess that sticks to the knife. Store at room temperature wrapped in a dish towel.

reciepe explained:
Kernels:
If you want you can double the amount of kernels. This gives a more grainy bread. The reason I the amount listed is to make it economical as rye bread here is relativly cheap and it doesn't make the bread any less delicious or filling. I use a mix of what ever the supermarket has on the shelves which here wostly is flax, sunflower, pumpkin and sesame seeds and also whole grains of spelt og rye kernels. You don't need to soak these because the water in the dough and time it needs to rise does the soaking for you.
Sourdough:
The amount is what ever is in the jar from last time but it's roughly 2 dl. I keep my sourdough in the fridge because it slows the fermenting process. This way it's about ready when I need it to bake a new loaf.
Dark, malted flour:
This is a specialty flour. It's sprouted barley that has been dried, roasted and ground into flour. Depending on how long the kernels are rosted it ranges from light to dark chokolate brown. I use the dark one which looks like the dark unsweetend cocoa powder you can use for baking - small hint if you keep it in an unlabelled container make sure to give the tin a sniff before use so you don't use the wrong one. Some people think it's only purpose is to coulor the bread darker but we ran out of it and had to do without. I didn't like the result because it didn't taste as nice as it usually did. The coulor is not important depending on which brand you buy at the store the colour will range from a medium sand to dark chocolate colour so it wasn't my eyes decieving my mouth.
I buy the flour at the health food store and not every store here stocks it. It's not essential to the bread but it's the taste I'm used to so I think it tastes wrong if it's not added.
Rising time:
I either stir together the dough before I go to bed or when I get up because then I can either bake it when I get up or after dinner so this works really well
Wrapping in a dish towel:
It's important to wrap the bread while it's warm because the steam it gives of will help soften the crust. If not you get a very hard crust which is difficult to slice through without crumbling the loaf.

If the last bit of the loaf gets stale and boring you can make it into porridge by slicing it into small cubes and pour a bottle of brown ale with a low alcohol percentage over it. The one I use has a 1,4 percentage alcohol and this evaporates when cooked. Leave it in the pot over night. The next morning add some water and a pinch of salt and cook like you would oates into a porridge. The amount of water depends on how runny you like your porridge and remember just like oates it will end up with a consistancy of wallpaper paste if you stir it continously while cooking. You can put whipped or sour cream on top. However don't use more bread than you would if you were just eating it as slices or you will eat too much and you belly will feel like it is about to explode. As I said this bread is extremely filling and I even with my healthy appetite I can't eat more than 2 or 3 slices at a time.

Karen, that looks wonderful, and I intend to try it.  Thanks too for telling us how to make the porridge.  My regular B&B guest would LOVE that.  When I make something like that, simple, hearty, traditional "real food", his refrain is "Why can't you get food like this EVERYWHERE?"

and now, getting back to what happened to the loaf I was documenting the progress of, above:

It would have been good, but a few days after I added the kefir and began the fermentation phase, the day I should have baked it I was not able, and a few days went by, then it had white spores over the top, I see this on cheese, and on top of the kefir sometings, and know it is 'normal' and 'OK', besides it smelled great.  I mixed it in, thinking I would bake the next day and couldn't.  The next time I got to it was several days later and this time it smelled rotten, so I gave it to the chickens, who loved it and gave it back to me as eggs.   It has been awhile since I had any vollkornbrot, and I have missed it.  So yummy, so filling.  I'll have to begin again I guess.

I have to revive that thread! So the recipe of Thekla above is not pumpernickel? It sounded so close to it! I need a pumpernickel recipe without the wheat, pumpernickel is the yummiest of all breads (especially when it comes with all these fancy toppings).
I have my real doubt that our food processor breaks when trying to make that and no the corona doesn't do what I want it is a mess, I could try a meat grinder though. I read somewhere that pumpernickel was made by cottagers to avoid milling costs (I don't know whether that story is true) so if they could do it without fancy kitchen equipment, what did they use?
I will sprout some rye now and deal with the rest later!
The other (frugal) thing is I would really like to buy rye by the 50 kg direct at a farmers door here in Australia...

Angelika, how did your bread turn out?

I have come back to this thread to find my own recipe!  I have not had much opportunity to bake much bread, nor go online since July 2017.

Now, a couple of people have wanted my vollkornbrot, and I barely remember the details of my recipe.

Anyway, I am going to try the Danish recipe too.

Thanks for the thread and the recipe, Thekla! I haven't baked bread for many years (must get back into it!). When I did bake, I used a simple no-knead wholewheat flour recipe using commercial yeast, but added a mix of whole grains and seeds - wheat, rye, barley, oats, linseeds, pumpkin seeds, sunflower seeds - that had soaked overnight, then were drained, rinsed, and given a day to sprout.  I didn't grind the whole grains and seeds at all, just threw them into the wet dough after the first rise and kneaded in extra flour till the bread felt "right", shaped the loaves, and let them rise again before baking. It made a small, heavy, Scandinavian style bread that was sooooooo delicious. I'd love to recreate that bread using sourdough!

As this thread popped up again, I wanted to add a smart-ass comment that Vollkornbrot in German simply means bread baked with wholemeal flour instead of white flour. Whether part of the berries are left whole or not does not make a difference.

I have a great recipe for spelt bread that has part of the spelt as whole berries (plus sunflower seeds). My son loves it as well so I guess I will make it these days.

And btw traditional pumpernickel does not contain whole rye berries either, they are coarsely milled. You don't actually bake it but steam it over a long period of time (e.g. taking advantage of the remaining heat of a woodstove). It develops a lot of caramelized flavour and is very dark without any additives.
I didn't grow up on pumpernickel so I am not totally keen on it but I had a time when I liked to munch on the round "party pumpernickels".

Anita Martin wrote:As this thread popped up again, I wanted to add a smart-ass comment that Vollkornbrot in German simply means bread baked with wholemeal flour instead of white flour. Whether part of the berries are left whole or not does not make a difference.

I have a great recipe for spelt bread that has part of the spelt as whole berries (plus sunflower seeds). My son loves it as well so I guess I will make it these days.

And btw traditional pumpernickel does not contain whole rye berries either, they are coarsely milled. You don't actually bake it but steam it over a long period of time (e.g. taking advantage of the remaining heat of a woodstove). It develops a lot of caramelized flavour and is very dark without any additives.
I didn't grow up on pumpernickel so I am not totally keen on it but I had a time when I liked to munch on the round "party pumpernickels".

Hi Anita. That's the bread I love (and eat most), the kind that's called pumpernickel in German. Earlier in this thread I showed a picture of it, as it's sold here (coming from Germany). If that picture doesn't show, it's because it was from facebook.
Here in the Netherlands we call it roggebrood (meaning 'rye bread'). There are different types. The dark one with whole rye kernels is 'Fries roggebrood' (Frysian rye bread, from Friesland in the north). The lighter, of whole rye flour, is 'Brabants roggebrood' (from brabant in the south of the Netherlands). Most supermarkets also sell some German types of finer rye bread.
And, as you say, here too 'volkorenbrood' is ordinary bread, but baked from whole wheat flour.

Anita Martin wrote:As this thread popped up again, I wanted to add a smart-ass comment that Vollkornbrot in German simply means bread baked with wholemeal flour instead of white flour. Whether part of the berries are left whole or not does not make a difference.

Yes, I know, Anita.  It's like English speakers saying "whole wheat" or "whole grain".  No way was that going to be a good name for this bread.    When I started making it,I had no idea what to call it.  A woman I knew at the time loved the bread.  Her father had been a baker.  When I asked her, she gave the name vollkornbrot.

We ought to rename it something along the lines of "whole kernel sprouted grain bread" which ought to combine into a wonderful long characteristically German compound  word.  :-)

You, or any German mother tongue speaker, provide the appropriate translation and I will happily go with it!

Thanks

Thekla McDaniels wrote:

Anita Martin wrote:As this thread popped up again, I wanted to add a smart-ass comment that Vollkornbrot in German simply means bread baked with wholemeal flour instead of white flour. Whether part of the berries are left whole or not does not make a difference.

Yes, I know, Anita.  It's like English speakers saying "whole wheat" or "whole grain".  No way was that going to be a good name for this bread.    When I started making it,I had no idea what to call it.  A woman I knew at the time loved the bread.  Her father had been a baker.  When I asked her, she gave the name vollkornbrot.

We ought to rename it something along the lines of "whole kernel sprouted grain bread" which ought to combine into a wonderful long characteristically German compound  word.  :-)

You, or any German mother tongue speaker, provide the appropriate translation and I will happily go with it!

Thanks

Hi Thekla. In Dutch just as in German we can make such long words. But it's a little 'out of fashion' nowadays. So probably your bread would be called 'volkorenbrood met gekiemde korrels'. But maybe some alternative organic bakery would give it a nice name like 'kiembrood', not mentioning everything, only the most important: sprouts (kiemen) and bread (brood).

I just looked into my favourite German bread baking book for names. The longest name I found was Roggenvollkornkastenbrot (whole rye bread baked in a pan).

Tomorrow I will bake "Dinkelvollkornbrot mit Buttermilch" (an easy one: whole spelt bread with buttermilk, which I will replace with kefir).
I remembered incorrectly, it does not have whole soaked spelt berries, but whole sunflower seeds (plus sesame and linseed).

You can see that it says "100% Vollkorn" in the left upper corner, and I just ground some spelt. If it is not enough, I will add a different variety of spelt flour or some darker wheat flour.
The bread stays juicy for a long time and keeps you satisfied much longer than a loaf baked with white wheat flour but you know this from own experience already, I guess!

And here is a short humourous clip (in English) on Germany's bread obsession and the difficulties to pronounce the varieties as a non-native speaker ;-)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lga6cs1F5Ug&feature=youtu.be

Here's a photo of the Fries Roggebrood (organic) I eat almost every day.

Hello, and Thanks for this stimulating thread on bread!
Here's my favorite recipe, which evolved as both nourishment and therapy during recent chaotic years. Photos show my latest batch; Fixing, and Done!
Sour Mountain Rye
Sourdough Bread, Vollkornbrot style
This variation uses extra sour dough and skips commercial packaged yeast from the store. (I figure; better a little flat than from a vat!)
Sour Mtn Rye is extra dense and moist bread, with all the seeds it's nutrient dense too. I was aiming for a nice hearty survival food or journey bread, like lembas in Elvish tales, with more whole grains.
Bake in round 10" Dutch oven or 9" stoneware pan with lid.

First day make Starter and Soaker
Starter:
2 cups ripe rye sourdough
1 cup water
2 cups rye flour
Combine, cover, rest overnight
Also start Soaker:
2 1/2 cups rolled rye (or rolled oats, etc)
1 1/2 cups lukewarm water
Combine, cover, rest overnight
Second day, Combine the Dough ingredients:
2 cups rye flour
1/4 cup lukewarm water
1 tablespoon salt
1/2 cup (or more) sunflower seeds
1/4 cup (at least) each flax meal, hemp hearts & pumpkin seeds. Or use your favorite mix of edible seeds & nuts. Optional, add 1/4 c dried cranberries or other dried fruit, for fancy.
Add Starter, Soaker and stir till mixed. Rye flour doughs don't need kneading, nor do they want it! Just stir till well combined.
Form the dough into rounded loaf and plop it in oiled & floured pan. Using wet fingers or moistened spatula, pat the surface to even it out. I used to oil my hands first, now I use wet fingers to keep the dough in it's place, otherwise it is very sticky.
Sprinkle top with flour or enhance with pumpkin/sunflower seeds, etc, optional/recommended
Cover with pan lid.
Let rise at room temp till it shows lift cracks, 4+ hours. Overnight even.
Towards the end of the rising time, preheat the oven to 450°F.
Uncover the risen dough and bake without the lid for 15 minutes. Then put the lid back on the pan and reduce the oven temperature to 425°F. Bake 60 minutes. The surface will be cracked and dark brown.
Note: Adjust bake time based on your oven and for different pan size, for instance a 10" pan would make the loaf flatter which bakes quicker or while a 9" pan makes a taller, thicker round which takes longer to bake.
Remove from the oven, take the bread from the pan and transfer it to a baking sheet. Lower oven to 400°F. Bake for another 20 to 30 minutes or so, until the loaf's internal temperature reaches at least 205°F in the center on an internal probe thermometer, which helps prevent the loaf being under-cooked in the center.
Remove the loaf from the oven and transfer it to a rack to cool completely. Wrap the cooled bread in a cloth or place it in a paper bag and let it rest for at least 24 to 48 hours before cutting and slicing. This gives it time for the internal moisture to distribute.
Storage: When completely cool and aged a day or so, cut the loaf into convenient hunks, I generally cut a big round loaf in quarters, then wrap in parchment paper & ziploc bag or other reusable wrap, and store on counter for up to a few days, in the refrigerator for a couple weeks. Make sure the wrapper isn't collecting moisture or it's more likely to mold. Freeze for longer storage.
Use a bread knife to slice thin. A little goes a long ways. Extra tasty toasted, and bumps croutons up a couple gourmet notches!
Next I'm going to try using it crumbled up with nuts and layered with apples in a German dessert called Apfelbettelmann.

Nancy, thanks for your detailed post.  I think I am going to try your recipe, to familiarize myself with the many new ideas.

Especially i like the internal temperature as an indication of doneness.  I have various pan shapes and sizes, and have noticed varying degrees of doneness, and overly crunchy, dry thick crust.

And I bet dried cranberries or raisins would be great in my vollkornbrot…. Or any dried fruit, or candied ginger too.