The use of countless aromatics to flavor bread lies at the center of Germany's rich whole grain baking culture. Breads are often prepared with different grains and grinds of flour to achieve distinctively textured loaves. In this 100 percent whole grain loaf, I use spelt for its pleasing mild flavor, but you can use regular whole wheat flour. Yes, this is a thick-crusted loaf, unlike any bread you will find in a U.S. supermarket or pretty much anywhere else, but the inside will be chewy and soft with seeds and spices. Give it a day, and the crust will soften from the humidity in the air. Enjoy this unusual aromatic bread with cheese and cold cuts as a simple supper, or use as a base for a nourishing sandwich. It's also delicious with a bowl of soup.
This is an effortless no-knead bread made using an old technique, most recently revived by New York master baker Jim Lahey. I have taught students to make a slow-fermentation bread with minimal yeast for years, albeit in a plain old loaf pan — initially inspired by a recipe by German cookbook author Luise Brüggemann. I credit Lahey with introducing me to the use of a lidded heavy pot and a simple folding technique to get a truly spectacular artisinal bread — no wonder his method has won him cult status. If the lid of your Dutch oven has a plastic knob, be sure to wrap it in aluminum foil so it doesn't melt in the high heat of the oven.
Ingredients
Makes 1 (2-Pound) Loaf
Aroma Spice Blend
Step 1
1 To prepare the dough, start at least 12 hours ahead. Whisk together all the ingredients except the whole grain berries and the water in a large bowl. Scatter the grain berries on top and add almost all the water. Stir with a dough whisk or a wooden spoon until the flour is incorporated. The dough should be wet and sticky to the touch, like firm oatmeal; otherwise, add a bit more water. But don't worry too much about the liquid-to-flour ratio, as this is a forgiving dough. Cover loosely with plastic wrap and let sit at room temperature to ferment for at least 12 hours and up to 18 hours.
Step 2
2 The next day, finish the bread. Sprinkle a linen or cotton kitchen towel (not terry cloth) with cornmeal and generously flour your work surface. Using a bench scraper or a rubber spatula, scrape the stringy, bubbly dough onto the work surface. Using floured hands, fold it exactly 4 times, always toward the center — from the right and from the left, as well as from the top and the bottom. Turn the loaf upside down so the fold is at the bottom, and set it on the kitchen towel. Fold the towel over the loaf to cover, and let sit for about 1 hour.
Step 3
3 After about 30 minutes, position a rack in the bottom third of the oven and preheat to 475°F. Place a 4 1/2- to 5 1/2-quart cast-iron pot or Dutch oven with its lid in the center of the rack. After about 1 hour, your loaf should have nicely risen. (When you press it with your finger about 1/4 inch deep, the dimple should remain; if not, wait 15 more minutes.) But again, don't worry too much — I have sometimes been less than precise and still succeeded.
Step 4
4 Using thick pot holders, carefully remove the cast-iron pot from the oven and place it on a couple of folded kitchen towels (to avoid cracking); uncover. Unwrap the dough, sprinkle with a bit more cornmeal, and invert directly from the kitchen towel into the pot, seam side up (it might look a bit wiggly; that's normal). If the dough doesn't drop into the center, shake the pot once or twice (use caution, it is hot!).
Step 5
5 Cover with the lid and bake for 30 minutes. Uncover and bake until the loaf is nicely browned and an instant-read thermometer inserted into the center registers 200°F, 20 to 25 minutes. Using thick pot holders, remove the loaf from the cast-iron pot and transfer to a wire rack. If you can resist, allow to cool completely, about 3 hours, before cutting the loaf with a sharp serrated knife. And a sharp knife it must be — this is a German-style bread, after all.
_To vary it:You can use 3 cups regular whole wheat flour (13 ounces) for a slightly denser loaf. If you don't have a cast-iron pot, use a 10-inch cast-iron skillet. Bake until an instant-read thermometer registers 200°F, 40 to 45 minutes. You can also bake the bread in a 9 by 5 by 3-inch loaf pan. Grease the pan well with oil and sprinkle with 1 to 2 tablespoons flax seeds or sesame seeds. After folding the dough as in step 2, drop it seam side up right into the pan. Cover with a dish cloth for about 1 hour (do the finger-poke test as in step 3). After 30 minutes, place a rack in the bottom third of the oven and preheat to 425°F. Bake until an instant-read thermometer registers 200°F, about 60 minutes. Transfer the pan to a wire rack to cool for about 5 minutes. Run a knife around the edges, unmold, and return to the wire rack, right side up, to cool completely before cutting. For a nicer crust when using a skillet or a loaf pan, slide a second rack with a broiler tray into the lowest level of your oven when preheating. After you place the loaf in the oven, carefully add about 1 cup hot tap water to the tray. Stand back so the steam doesn't hit you!
To time it:Soak the whole grain berries the morning before, no later than lunchtime. Mix the dough (as in step 1) in the late afternoon or evening. Finish and bake the loaf (steps 2 through 5) in the morning, but no later than 18 hours after you start the dough._
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Reviews (7)
Back to TopI made this bread two days ago... it is fantastic and delicious...beautifully aireated despite having so many seeds and the wheat berries (which I forgot to soak previously, by the way, only rinsed them). It took only 11 hours to develop... beautiful, aromatic and complex... my husband and I loved it and I will definitely make it again. Note: I did add a spoonful of my sourdough.
susanaflorenty7434
Argentina
6/11/2017
Delicious and hearty bread recipe that deserves a better rating. A favorite for my group and we experiment with a lot of breads.
terrik1
Ohiopyle, PA
1/23/2014
I made this bread in all possible variations, it is one of my absolute favorites. To the reviewer Grace who added un-soaked kamut berries: no wonder your bread didn't rise. The dry berries will have soaked up a lot of water from the dough, making it too dry, so that it lacked the necessary moisture to rise, and had to turn out dense. The concerns about the small amount of yeast and the cold water and cool rising environment are unfounded with this type of bread. A long, slow rise needs only very little yeast, and the flavor development is so much better. For my take on Aroma Bread and a few recommendations, check out on my blog: http://hanseata.blogspot.com/2013/03/aroma-bread-love-story.html
karinhh
Bar Harbor, ME
4/2/2013
这面包有了完美的每一次made it. My house is usually very cool, 63 or so and there have been no problems with the rise. This bread does not double in volume. The only modification I have made is soaking the Kamut berries for at least 36 hours. This tends to keep the bread a bit moister and the berries are softer to chew. This is the perfect accompaniment for the cheese course, add a sliced apple and you are in heaven!
gjfee
montana
4/1/2013
@ C. Grace - a few ideas about your problem... it's of course always possible your yeast was old, otherwise 1/4 tsp over this period of time should get things going well. Room temp is generally around 70-75F, I think. The dough should not be trying to rise in an air-tight container, it needs some air. And cold water is to slow the fermentation to allow more flavor development. It's also possible that the unsoaked wheat berries grabbed up all the available moisture and gummed up the whole process - soaked berries would have provided more moisture to better hydrate the flours and support the fermentation. I recommend you try again.
Anonymous
SoFL
1/24/2013
Well, for a first attempt at making this bread, I learned some things and would like to learn some more so that I can make it successfully. I followed the directions to the T and the mixture didn't rise even a teensy- weensy bit overnight. In the morning, I moved it to a slightly warmer environment where it sat for another 6 hours without doing anything. I think it is strange that only 1/4 tsp. of yeast is used. I have been making breads over the past couple of days and all of them have called for a packet of yeast. Granted, this is supposed to be a heavier bread. Also, the cold water bit doesn't make sense to me as in my experience, yeast needs warmth to be activated. So is it possible for this bread to rise?? The recipe talks about it being sticky and bubbly and needing to be scraped from the bowl. Mine didn't need to be scraped at all. Does "room temperature" need to be defined?? Was the coolness of my kitchen overnight to blame for the lack of success? Regarding something that I did do incorrectly, I didn't see the bit about soaking the berries and simply added dry berries to the mix (haha, I will be eating this bread and will consider it a lesson learned). After folding the bread envelope style, it did'nt rise at all. I baked it in a 10" cask iron skillet with a lid for most of the time and was pleased with this method of baking. I did heat the skillet first as directed. It started to smoke a little and set off the fire alarm (prior to putting the dough into it). The crust is thick and has a artisinal texture to it. The inside of my loaf is very dense and tastes slightly strongly of the rye and fennel. If I make this again (if someone knows the secret to the yeast dilemma), I think that I will cut the spices by 1/3. Instead of mixing the aroma blend in bulk, I mixed 1 Tbsp. of coriander seeds with 11/2 tsp. each of fennel and caraway. The taste overall is not bad; it is strong however. I like strong flavors in general, but this is a little bit much.
Chromatophilic_Grace
12/3/2012
Delicious and hearty! Goes great with borcht and homemade yogurt.
Anonymous
Oakland, CA
4/16/2012
