Frankenlaib

Saw this at my favorite stand at the local (bi)weekly market. Then, I saw this recipe online--I took it as a sign. The bread turned out fantastic--very sour and flavorful, but not super dense. The recipe is a little large, so I cut it in half. The only change I'll make next time is to rub the water on the loaf before putting it in the oven (as suggested by the author) instead of just spritzing thoroughly with water.

Ingredients:

• 360g whole-rye sourdough (100% hydration)
• 250g medium rye flour, type 1150 (recipe calls for light rye flour, but I haven't seen it in any local supermarkets)
• 100g whole-wheat flour
• 7g (~1 1/2 tsp.) salt
• 1 tablespoon ground caraway (optional--I didn't add it)
• ~175g warm water

Mix together all ingredients except the salt to form a soft dough (the recipe recommends ~5 minutes with a mixer, but we don't have one, so I did this by hand). Proof for 30 minutes in a warm place--during this period, to make up for my lack of a mixer, I folded the dough two more times at 10 minute intervals. Knead in the salt (and bread spice if you like such things). Dump the dough out on a table and shape into a round. Place the shaped dough into a well floured proofing basket seam-side up and let rise in a warm place for 2-3 hours--until the dough shows ~2mm cracks. Carefully flip the bread onto a well floured pallet or baking sheet (alternatively, use baking paper). Rub water all over the surface and place bread in oven that has been pre-warmed to 240C on a hot baking stone. Bake with steam. For the first 15 minutes, spray the dough several times with a water sprayer. Then, turn the temperature down to 200C and bake for a further 35-45 minutes. Spray the bread once more immediately after removing from the oven. Let cool completely on a rack for several hours before cutting (I let mine cool over night).