Authentic German Black Bread Schwarzbrot Recipes

Steps:

• First, make the sourdough starter. Crumble the yeast into a large bowl. Whisk in 1 quart of warm water and 2 tablespoons of sugar until dissolved. The water should be just slightly warmer than body temperature. Gradually whisk in 4 cups of flour, continuing to mix until all lumps are gone. Cover with a dish towel, and let sit for 24 hours at room temperature.
• After 24 hours, stir well, cover, and let stand another 24 hours. It will be a thin, light-colored sourdough which is then ready to use.
• In a large bowl, stir together the rye flour, remaining 4 cups of all-purpose flour, salt and sugar. Mix in the sourdough starter using a wooden spoon, then stir in 2 cups of warm water. I transfer the dough to a heavy-duty stand mixer to mix the first couple of minutes, then it can't handle the heavy dough and I start using my hands by turning the dough out onto a floured surface. A clean countertop works best. Knead the dough, adding a few tablespoons of water at a time if it is too stiff. Fold the dough over, pull it apart, whatever you can do to get it kneaded up good. Total kneading time should be 15 to 20 minutes to get a smooth dough. Place the dough in a large bowl, cover, and let rise until doubled, 1 to 2 hours.
• When the dough has risen, scrape it out of the bowl and back onto a floured surface. Knead for about 5 minutes. This is important to activate the gluten. Shape into 1 or 2 long loaves. Place on baking sheets, and let rise for about 1 hour, or until your finger leaves an impression when you poke the bread gently.
• Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F (220 degrees C). Bake the bread for about 45 minutes for 2 loaves, 1 1/2 hours if you made one big loaf. Don't worry if the crust is dark. The bread will be delicious and so will the crust. Cool completely before cutting. I always freeze half.

Steps:

• Combine the water, sourdough starter, and one half of the cracked rye. Mixture will be soupy. Cover and allow to set at about 70° F for 8 to 10 hours.
• After 8 to 10 hours, the mixture will have absorbed water and be similar in consistency to porridge. Save 1 cup of this mixture for the next batch of bread, then add salt and the rest of the cracked rye.
• Allow the dough to ferment at about 70° F for 4 more hours. At the end of this time, work and squeeze the dough with your hands to develop its cohesiveness. The dough is nothing like wheat bread dough. It is very moist and slippery and cannot be kneaded. When a handful is squeezed, it will squirt out between your fingers.
• After working the dough for several minutes, pack it into bread forms, preferably glass. There's not much rising that goes on and too much air space in the bread would be detrimental to the texture. The moistness and acidity of the dough and the long baking time will strongly rust steel pans and etch aluminum ones. Pack the dough into the pan tightly and smooth the top with a spatula. Lay a piece of parchment paper over the top of the form and then cover tightly with aluminum foil. The aluminum foil keeps the bread from drying out and the parchment paper keeps the aluminum foil from dissolving into the bread. Bake at 225° F for 3½ hours.
• Turn the oven off but allow the bread to remain inside for a couple more hours. Carefully remove the bread from the pans and place on a rack to cool and dry. Ideally, you should wait a day or two until the bread becomes firmer before attempting to slice it.

Steps:

• In a medium bowl, stir together the warm water and corn syrup. Sprinkle the yeast over the top, and let stand until foamy, about 5 minutes.
• Add 2 1/2 cups of the rye flour to the yeast mixture, and beat until smooth.
• Stir in the salt. Set bowl in a warm place, and cover with a cloth or towel.
• Let rise for 30 minutes.
• Stir in more flour 1/2 cup at a time, until the dough is stiff. Turn the dough out onto a floured surface and knead in more flour by hand as needed to form a stiff but slightly sticky dough. You may use less or more flour. Form dough into a ball. Clean the mixing bowl, and lightly grease it. Place the dough in the bowl, and cover with a towel. Place in a warm place to rise until doubled. This may take as long as 2 hours.
• Turn the risen dough out onto a floured surface, and press out the air bubbles. Roll dough into a loaf, and place into a greased 9x5 inch loaf pan.
• Turn the loaf so that the seam is on the bottom. Cover the pan with plastic wrap, and let rise in a warm place until doubled, about 1 hour.
• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Remove plastic wrap from loaf pan.
• Bake for 30 to 35 minutes in the preheated oven, or until the loaf sounds hollow when tapped on the bottom. Bread will not brown very much.