Farmhouse bread

A quick and easy recipe without pre-ferments

A simple mixed bread without pre-ferment, sourdough and complex procedures that is ideal for beginners. And for people who like to forget to prepare a sourdough in time.

Schedule

  • Main dough: 20 minutes preparation, 2.5 to 3h bulk fermentation, 45 minutes final proofing
  • Baking time: ca. 40–45 minutes

Ingredients main dough

  • 500g wheat flour type 1050
  • 175g rye flour type 1150 + ca. 25g for topping up when kneading & flouring the worktop
  • 18g salt
  • 225g water
  • 225g milk
  • 15g fresh yeast (or 5g dried yeast)
  • if desired: 1 tsp enzyme-inactive baker’s malt

Prepare the main dough

  • Mix the flours (, malt,) and salt in a bowl and set aside
  • Slowly heat the milk and water in a small saucepan to approx. 35° C
  • Crumble the yeast and stir into the liquid; let stand for a few minutes and stir repetedly until the yeast has completely dissolved
  • Add the yeast mixture to the flour, then knead for about 10 minutes
  • EITHER knead with the food processor: first 6 minutes on the lowest speed, then 4 minutes on the highest kneading speed (usually speed level 2)
  • Keep a close eye on the dough while kneading, if it sticks too much to the bowl during the first kneading phase, sprinkle in the additional flour in small amounts until the dough no longer sticks
  • OR knead by hand: knead for about 10 minutes on the floured work surface; the 25g of additional flour can be used in total if necessary
  • The finished dough should be tight and elastic and hardly stick to the bowl or hands
  • Note: When working with the food processor, it can happen that the dough is “overkneaded”, i.e., after reaching the ideal state it starts to lose structure and sticks to the bowl again; if so, stop kneading immediately

Bulk fermentation

  • Place the dough in a lightly floured bowl, cover with a damp kitchen towel and leave to rise for a total of 2.5h (24°C) or 3h (21° C)
  • After 1h, fold the dough in once all around from the edges up to the center, either with a pastry card or the flat of your hand
  • At the end of the rising time, the dough should have at least doubled in volume

Final proofing

  • Shape the dough into a curved, as round a form as possible and place it on a baking tray lined with baking paper
  • Lightly flour the top and let rise for 40 minutes at room temperature
  • Cut the dough with a sharp knife several times crosswise (ca. 0.5cm deep) to create a diamond pattern; let rest for 5 minutes

Baking

  • Preheat the oven to 210 °C top-bottom heat about 45 minutes before the dough is ready
  • Insert the baking tray into the lower third of the oven
  • Bake for 40 to 45 minutes at a constant temperature until the bread is evenly browned
  • Turn the finished bread onto a wire rack and let it cool down for at least 2 hours
  • The bottom of the bread should sound hollow when tapped on it