Authentic German Bread Recipe

Authentic German Bread

Authentic German Bread – Farmer’s Bread – Bauernbrot

The Authentic German Bread – Farmer’s Bread is made in Germany mostly with flour # 812, which is not available in the States. Therefore I combined bread flour with whole grain whole wheat flour, and the result is speaking for itself.

Ingredients for the Authentic German Bread:

  • 550 g (1.21 lbs) of bread flour
  • 200 g (7.05 oz) of 100% whole grain whole wheat flour
  • 1 ½ pouches of dry yeast, rapid rise
  • 3 tablespoons of diastatic malt powder
  • 3 tablespoons of sunflower oil
  • 2 teaspoons of salt
  • 2 teaspoons of sugar
  • ½ teaspoon of ground coriander
  • ½ teaspoon of ground fennel
  • ½ teaspoon of ground caraway
  • 470 ml (15.89 oz) of water, lukewarm

Preparation of the dough:

Mix the flour in a bowl of a stand mixer and add yeast, diastatic malt powder, salt, sugar, spices, sunflower oil, and half of the lukewarm water. Start kneading on low while slowly adding the rest of the water. Knead for 8 minutes and transfer the dough into a bowl covered with flour on the bottom. Cover with a kitchen towel and let it rise for 20 minutes.

Preparation of the dough for the Authentic German Bread   Kneading of the dough   Rising of the dough

Shaping the bread:

Knead the dough with your hands and roll it with a rolling pin to a circle. Fold the edges of the dough into the center and close the seam with the fingers. Turn the dough around and form a smooth ball. Place the dough ball with the seam on top into a bread basket floured with a mixture of 1 teaspoon potato starch and 1 teaspoon of flour. My breadbasket measures 8.5 inches in diameter. Cover it with a kitchen towel and let it rise for 20 minutes.

Shaping of the Authentic German Bread   Folding of the dough   Forming a ball

Baking of the bread:

In the meantime, preheat the oven to 210°C – 410°F and have a pot with water on the bottom of the oven to create steam.

Take the bread out of the breadbasket and make cuts on the top. Sift the flour on the top of the bread and place it on a baking sheet covered with baking paper.

Breadbasket  Cutting the top of the bread   Baking of the Authentic German Bread

Add 3 ice cubes left and right to the pot on the oven’s bottom to create more steam and place the bread on the oven’s third rack. Bake for 45-50 minutes. Open the door entirely after 20 minutes to release steam and remove the pot with water. Close the door again and continue baking.

Let the bread cool down on a cooling rack. Click here to make the Onion Bread, and to make the Breakfast Rolls click here, and for the Spelt Rolls, click here.