Imagine an old farm kitchen with an oven that’s heated with charcoal. You can feel the heat of the oven and this traditional smell that lives in an old kitchen like this.
This is exactly the perfect picture you can have in mind when you think of this delicious and hearty rustic mixed wheat loaf. It is delicately hearty but with a fine and soft taste.
Things to know before you start
Time Schedule
| Steps | Work time | Waiting time |
| Levain | ~5 minutes | 12 hours |
| Mix | ~15 minutes | – |
| Bulk Fermentation, Stretch & Fold | ~15 minutes | 3 hours |
| Shape | ~10 minutes | – |
| Proof | – | 10 hours |
| Score | ~5 minutes | – |
| Bake | ~5 minutes | 45 minutes |
| Cool | – | 2 hours |
You will be welcomed with a great rustic mixed wheat loaf in about 28,5 hours.
Total ingredients
| Weight | Ingredient |
| 10 g | Sourdough starter – Preferably from whole wheat flour |
| 515 g | All-purpose flour |
| 130 g | Pumpernickel flour |
| 15 g | Salt |
| 3 g | Yeast – Fresh |
| 445 g | Water |
You will have a dough of about 1.118 g in total.
Difficulty
A simple recipe for a rustic loaf. You can have a look at our sourdough bread for beginners recipe that contains a lot of details for the different steps used here.
Baking tools
An oval banneton proofing basket is recommended. You can also have a look at our should have baking tools for an easier time baking this loaf.
Steps
1. Levain
| Weight | Ingredient |
| 10 g | Starter – Preferably from whole wheat flour |
| 65 g | All-purpose flour |
| 65 g | Water – 40°C (°F) |
- Mix your sourdough starter with the ingredients above
- Store sealed for 12 hours at 25°C (77°F)
2. Mix
| Weight | Ingredient |
| – | Levain |
| 450 g | All-purpose flour |
| 130 g | Pumpernickel flour |
| 15 g | Salt |
| 3 g | Yeast – Fresh |
| 380 g | Water |
- Mix all of the mentioned ingredients in a stand mixer for 5 minutes on speed level one and 8 minutes on speed level two
- The dough should be smooth after mixing
3. Bulk Fermentation, Stretch & Fold
- Cover the dough and let it rest for a total of 3 hours at 20-22°C (68-71,6°F)
- During that time stretch & fold the dough every 30 minutes (4 times in total) and after the 4th time let it ferment further for 1 hour until 3 hours in total are reached
- After each stretch and fold put it back to the bowl and cover it again so it doesn’t dry out
4. Shape
- Get the dough in shape by long moulding it
5. Proof
- Dust your proofing basket with all-purpose flour
- Put your previously shaped dough seam-side-up in the dusted proofing basket
- Add a bit of flour on top and cover it with a towel
- Let it proof for 10 hours in the fridge at 5°C (41°F)
6. Score
- Cover a pizza peel with parchment paper
- Take your proofed dough out of the fridge
- Gently take your dough out of the proofing basket by flipping it upside down on the pizza peel
- Make one lengthwise cut (about 2-3 cm deep) on top of the dough with a bread lame
7. Bake
- Preheat oven to 250°C (482°F) for ~45 minutes with the upper and lower heat function
- Put the loaf in the oven, create steam and bake for 45 minutes
- After 10 minutes lower the temperature to 230°C (446°F), let the steam out by opening the oven door for ~45 seconds and close it again
8. Cool
- After baking take out your rustic mixed wheat loaf immediately
- Let your loaf cool for about 2 hours on some kind of grid before you start cutting it
Conclusion
Crust
Crunchy and aromatic with a good-looking middle to dark brown colour.
Crumb
Soft with uneven pores. Some bigger and some very fine. The pores are getting bigger towards the crust of the loaf.
Taste
This loaf has a hearty and aromatic taste. It is nice to taste the crunchy crust in combination with the soft and fluffy crumb.
Goes good with
Hearty things like ham, cheese or boiled eggs.
Credits
This recipe was inspired by Rustikales Weizenmischbrot.
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