Sourdough rye-einkorn loaf from the Römertopf

This recipe is from the recipe sheet that came with my Römertopf bread pan. I’m not too sure about the original amount  of  salt (1 tbsp) because on the website it says 1 tsp of salt, so I went for the smaller amount. It’s my first attempt at baking a loaf of bread without yeast so I was a bit uncertain whether the bread would rise properly. But it did! The only thing I’ll change next time is that I’ll use an oven thermometer to make sure the bread is fully baked in the middle. According to information on the Internet, the inner temperature of wholemeal bread is 90C when it is ready.

The night before you want to bake the bread:

Mix the following ingredients in a large (!) bowl:

150g finely ground rye grain

1 level tsp fermentation starter

1 heaped tbsp sourdough starter (see recipe posted earlier)

Cover with a dishcloth and leave to stand overnight at room temperature.

The next day mix the sourdough starter with:

500g wheat flour (I used 500g einkorn)

1 tsp caraway seeds (ground with the wheat flour/einkorn or ready ground.Can of course be omitted if you hate caraway. Perhaps you could try fennel instead)

1 tsp salt

100g sunflower seeds

Directions:

Knead the dough for 5 to 10 minutes until it all comes together. The original recipe says that you shouldn’t use a food processor because the dough likes the warmth of your hands.

Leave the dough to rise for 40 minutes or longer. What I did was to mix all the ingredients until I had a dense dough. I then (lazy me) tipped the dough into the bread machine, pressed the dough function (1 1/2 hours) and went back to bed. The dough was beautifully soft after this.

After the dough has doubled in size, give it a quick knead and then tip it into a greased Römertopf. Place the Römertopf in a sink of warm water so that the water comes up to almost the top of the Römertopf (original recipe says 2/3 of the way) and leave dough to rise for at least 20 minutes. I waited until the dough was slightly higher than the Römertopf.

Place the Römertopf in a COLD oven and turn temperature to 220C (convection 200C). Bake for 50-60 minutes in the lowest part of the oven. I baked mine a little longer because it didn’t sound ready after 60 minutes. It was luckily really easy to get out of the Römertopf.

Note for Römertopf newbies. While the bread is baking, get two oven gloves ready and cover a large wooden chopping board with a dishcloth. This is so you don’t make the fatal mistake of placing the hot Römertopf on a cold surface, causing your expensive piece of cooking equipment to shatter.