Körnerbrötchen/Grain and Seed Buns

I had many recipes for körnerbrötchen, so many that I forgot which actually turned out to be the best of the bunch... but I can now guarantee that this was the champion among them. The long rise time and preferment create a surprisingly soft and light bun, with the whole wheat and spelt flour still providing plenty of flavour. The grains and seeds can be varied depending on what you have have (sometimes I like to add walnut pieces) and so can the flours- you can also use just whole grain spelt or whole wheat instead of both. The use of diastatic malt and steam in the oven creates a thin, crispy crust to contrast with the tender insides, and an extra sprinkling of seeds on top creates toasty, nutty flavour. While I may not be going to a real German bakery any time soon, these are good enough to pass.

Körnerbrötchen
Adapted from chefkoch.de

For the Preferment:
160 g. All purpose/type 550 flour
160 g. Water
2 g. Fresh yeast, or 1/4 Tsp. Active dry yeast

Mix all well and allow to stand, covered, at room temperature overnight.

For the Soaker:
150 g. Mixed seeds, e.g. Sunflower, flax, sesame, poppy, pumpkin
50 g. Grain flakes, e.g. Rolled oats, rye, barley (Note: I used 200 g. of a King Arthur mix of grains and seeds for both these quantities)
18 g. Salt
200 g. Water

Dissolve the salt in the water. Toast the seeds and grains lightly in a large, unoiled skillet pan over medium heat until fragrant, if desired. Mix the seeds, grains and salty water and let stand covered overnight.

For the Final Dough:

All of above preferment and soaker
450 g. Bread flour
100 g. Whole grain spelt flour
50 g. Whole grain rye or wheat flour
250 g. Water
10 g. Fresh yeast, or 3 g. Active dry yeast
1 Tsp. Diastatic malt powder or honey (optional)
1 TBSP Vital wheat gluten (optional)

Additional flour, oil to grease bowls
About 1/2 C. Grains and seeds, for tops of buns

Mix water with yeast and malt/honey, if using. Mix the flours and gluten in a large bowl or stand mixer and add the water, along with the preferment, and knead until homogeneous. Add the osaker and continue kneading until smooth.

Let rest for 2 hours in an oiled, covered bowl, stretching and folding the dough after 40 and 80 minutes have passed.

Stretch and fold the dough one last time, them stretch out into a large rectangle over a floured surface. Divide into 12-16 pieces with a sharp knife, either triangles or rectangles. Cover and let rise for 1 1/2 hours.

Preheat the oven to 220℃. Dampen the tops of the buns with a spray bottle and sprinkle on additional grains and seeds.

Bake for 10 minutes, spraying at the beginning and end with water from a spray bottle to create steam. Reduce the temperature to 200℃ and bake for another 10-15 minutes.

Übernacht Sonntags-Brötchen - Infinitely Adaptable Overnight Buns

There are few things in the baking world simpler and more versatile than this recipe. It's my go-to for when there's been a glut of sweet things around the house, and I want to make the Sunday breakfast on the savoury and simple side while letting people customize to what they want. And buns are awesome in that they're basically personal breads- the German name pretty much translates to that. Breadlings. Nice.

Real bakeries are already staffed by the wee hours of the morning to ensure that there's bread to sell at opening time, but most of us don't want to (or in my case, simply can't due to sleeping family members) get up at 4 to start making bread for breakfast. Even though many breads are supposed to rest in the fridge overnight, they also often need to warm up to room temperature, get shaped, rise a bit more, and so on- so they really aren't ready in time for a Sunday breakfast. In such a case, one wants something fast, easy to make the night before, and preferably not requiring much morning preparation. These fit that bill very well.

It's also very forgiving. You can use just bread flour or even all-purpose flour, more or less spelt or whole wheat, and skip the malt if you want- it just adds crustiness. The yeast can be fresh or dried, and though I always choose fresh if I can, it works very well with either. You don't even need to do the step of preheating a pan to put the bread on- it's just another way to make them more crispy, as is the water-spraying. I like crusty buns, but you can make them softer by skipping these things.

You can also go nuts with add-ins! I like the plain ones because of the attractive floureyness, but they're also fantastic with sesame or poppy seeds. You could also use caraway, or even cumin. They're also great with grated cheese added as a final touch, not so early for it to burn- just enough so that is forms a crispy delicious crust. I added olives to some on the request of my brother. 

Of course, it's nice how simple these are because they can accommodate just about any desired filling, spread or topping. Any extras can be used for sandwiches, with soup, as toast, or wherever some fresh morning-baked bread might be appreciated.

Overnight Buns
Adapted from Chefkoch
420 g. Bread flour
80 g. Spelt flour, whole wheat flour, or a mix (can substitute more regular bread flour- or use more of another flour in place of the bread flour, though more whole grains will make it denser)
1 1/2 Tsp. Diastatic malt powder, or 1 TBSP malt syrup (optional- honey also works)
2 Tsp. Active dry yeast, or 25 g. Fresh yeast (fresh if you can!)
350-400 ml. Lukewarm water, preferably filtered
1 TBSP Salt
Toppings: Extra flour, any seeds or grains desired, or about 100g. grated cheese such as edam or gouda. Get creative!

Blend flours, malt (if powdered) and yeast (if dry). If using fresh yeast, crumble into the water and mix to dissolve. Dissolve the malt in the water as well, if it is a syrup.

Pour water onto flour and mix with a dough hook on medium-low until incorporated. Increase speed to medium-high and mix until it no longer sticks to the sides of the bowl. Alternatively, work the dough by hand on a lightly oiled surface until it forms a cohesive, relatively nonsticky mass. The dough is quite moist, so it will never be completely unsticky, but it should cling to itself well. On drier days, you may need the larger amount of water.

Add the salt and mix on medium-high for 5-7 minutes, until the dough forms strings when you stretch a small piece apart with your fingers. This can be done by about 15-20 minutes of working by hand.

Cover in a floured or lightly oiled bowl and place in the refrigerator for at least 12 hours.

Preheat the oven to 220℃. Heat up a baking tray, pizza stone, or Dutch oven. 

Divide the dough into 8-10 pieces and let rest 20 minutes covered. Using extra flour to prevent sticking, shape into desired form and slash the tops with a bread lamé or very sharp knife. Add any desired seeds or grains on top by first dusting off the flour, then spraying with water from a spritzer and sprinkling on top. 

Place the buns onto the hot pan, stone, or Dutch oven bottom. Spray the inside of the oven with water. If using the Dutch oven, cover them. Bake for 20-25 minutes, uncovering after 15 if using the dutch oven, and spray with more water after 5 and 10 minutes. Sprinkle with cheese 5 minutes before you plan to take them out if desired.

Let cool about 20 minutes, or 30 if using the whole grain flour.

Cold-Risen Baguette with Poolish

I have a dozen recipes for baguettes, depending on exactly I want to use them for. This one is a bit unusual it that it contains white spelt and dark rye flour, both usually available at good grocery stores or health food stores. It gives these a more hearty flavour ideally suited to hard cheeses, eating with stews or soups, et cetera- a more Northern European flair. The name is a bit funny, but my German isn't quite good enough to give a more accurate translation. Basically, this baguette takes two steps- making the poolish and letting it rise in a cold environment. 

  The poolish and long cold rise also adds flavour, so what you're left with is the polar opposite of the bland quick-made baguettes usually sold at grocery stores. It's a bit sour, a bit malty, and very complex, definitely not what you'd expect from a baguette. The only real challenge is planning ahead and starting the poolish the morning before the day you want to bake the baguettes. 

This recipe makes two very big baguettes, but considering the size of the average oven, you'll probably want to make four smaller ones. You can halve the recipe easily to end up with only two, but since bread freezes so well, you can always keep a couple for another day. The crumb is dense enough to hold up well against different fillings, and the use of poolish helps keep these baguettes from going stale far longer than a plain white one. My recommendation is to serve it in thin slices with sharp gouda and tomato to make lots of mini open-faced sandwiches- my favourite way to eat a baguette. 

Cold-Risen Baguette with Poolish
From Chefkoch

450 g. T65/ French-style flour (or AP flour)
450 g. White spelt flour
100 g. Dark rye flour
700 g. Water, cold
20 g. Salt
15 g. Diastatic Malt powder
20 g. Fresh yeast, or 7 g. Active dry yeast

For the poolish, mix 150 g. of the wheat and spelt flour with 30 g. rye flour. Add 330 g. of the water and 5 g. of the yeast (or 2 g. if it's dry yeast). Let rise at room temperature 12 hours.

Add the remaining ingredients and knead well, for about 20 minutes or until elastic. (If using fresh yeast, dissolve in the water first.)

Let rest 30 minutes. Fold the dough once and let rise in the fridge for 12 hours. 

Allow to come to room temperature for 1 1/2 hours. Form baguettes and let rise 1 hour.

Bake at 240℃ for 25-30 minutes.