Loaf Dept. · Sourdough for Rob

00Journal

The Brotokoll

My sourdough notebook, translated from German. Brotokoll is a pun: Brot (bread) + Protokoll (log). Seven logged bakes between June 2018 and August 2020, each one scored and adjusted. Loaves #4 and #7 came out best, and the recipe here is built on them.

A little bit of flour. A lot of patience.

01Starter

Meet the starter

The starter is a mixed one: 50% wheat flour (Type 550, "strong") and 50% rye flour (Type 1150). The first one was called Wido; the 2020 bakes used its successor, Fiete.

Feed it about 4 hours before you start mixing, so it's active and bubbly. You need 200 g of freshly fed starter per loaf.

Start your own

Mix 50 g of flour (25 g Type 550 wheat and 25 g Type 1150 rye) with 50 g of lukewarm water in a big clean jar. Cover it loosely and leave it somewhere warm, ideally 24–26°C. For the first one to two weeks, feed it every day. Nothing gets thrown away: just stir in a few tablespoons of the flour mix and a splash of water, enough to keep it like a thick batter. After 5–7 days it should start to bubble and smell pleasantly sour. It's ready to bake with once it reliably doubles within 4–8 hours of a feed.

After that it needs much less attention. Baking keeps the amount in check, since each loaf takes 200 g. In the fridge, feed it a few tablespoons about once a week; take it out the day before you bake and feed it once or twice to wake it up. A cool, dark cabinet works too, but then it needs feeding every day or two.

Give it a name. It helps on the days it sulks.

TYPE 550 WHEAT: Strong white / bread flour
TYPE 997 RYE: Light rye flour
TYPE 1150 RYE: Medium rye flour
RÖMERTOPF: Unglazed clay baker with lid. Soak it in water before use.
GÄRKORB: Proofing basket (banneton)

02Recipe

Ingredients

House loaf
after #4 & #7

LOAF SIZE ≈ 1.2 kg baked

RYE BLEND

200 gSourdough starter freshly fed

400 gWarm water (350 ml to mix + 50 ml with the salt)

500 gWheat flour, Type 550 strong white / bread flour

70 gLight rye flour, Type 997

30 gMedium rye flour, Type 1150

12 gSalt

#4 blend: more light rye. Airier, with big holes and a great chew, but milder in flavour (taste 7.5).

03Method

0 of 11 done

Step by step

DAY ONE
DAY TWO

04Schedule

Plan your two days

Slow dough, good company.

DAY 1 · FEED STARTER AT DAY 2 · INTO THE OVEN AT

DAY 109:00Feed the starter

DAY 113:00Mix flour, water and starter; rest 1 h

DAY 114:00Add salt water, knead ~25 min, shape

DAY 114:30First rise, about 4 h

DAY 118:30Fold into a package, basket into the fridge

DAY 207:30Out of the fridge (2–3 h before baking)

DAY 207:30Start soaking the Römertopf (1–2 h)

DAY 209:00Pot into the oven, preheat to 250°C

DAY 210:00Reshape, score, drizzle water, bake lid on

DAY 210:35Lid off, 220°C for 40 min

DAY 211:15Turn upside down, 5 more min

DAY 211:20Out of the oven, let it cool

Fridge time with these settings: about 13 hours.

05Troubleshooting

What went wrong, and what fixed it

Dough sticks to the basket or towelHappened on #2–#6. Reshaping it costs a lot of volume. Flour the towel well, pack the dough neatly into the basket so it doesn't need reshaping, or line it with baking paper.#2 · #3 · #4 · #5 · #6

Dry skin, cracks everywhereEvery loaf had this. In an open basket at room temperature the skin dried out so much it couldn't be tensioned again (#6). The tea-towel basket in the fridge did much better.all bakes

Dense, tight crumb#1 used Type 405 flour and kneaded with flour; it was hard work to chew. Switching to Type 550 and kneading with wet hands made the crumb much lighter. #5 was dense because it was under-kneaded and too wet.#1 · #5

Too dark, slightly burnt#4 baked uncovered at 250°C. Drop to 220°C once the lid comes off.#3 · #4 · #6

Flavour too mildMore light rye (997) means an airier loaf with less rye flavour. More medium rye (1150) brings the flavour back.#3 · #4

A little too moist insideEven the best loaves (#6, #7) were slightly moist. Next idea: bake a bit longer at a lower temperature.#1 · #6 · #7

06Bake log

Seven bakes, scored 1–10

BAKE	LOOK	CRUMB	CHEW	TASTE
#1 · Type 405 wheat	7.8	6.0	6.2	8.7
#2 · Type 550, wet hands	8.0	7.5	7.9	8.7
#3 · light rye only	8.0	8.9	8.5	7.0
#4 · rye 70 light / 30 medium	8.0	8.9	8.5	7.5
#5 · basket in the cellar	7.9	7.3	7.3	8.7
#6a · real basket	6.9	6.5	7.0	8.6
#6b · tea-towel basket, fridge	8.1	8.7	8.6	8.2
#7 · rye 30 light / 70 medium	8.4	8.6	8.6	8.4

Crumb means density and airiness; chew is texture in the mouth. #4 kept a lovely chew for several days, with a crust "like crisps". #7 was golden brown, voluminous, and tasted malty.