Rheinisches Schwarzbrot (Rhineland Black Bread)

Really more of a very dark brown, a "black" bread in German is one that is made with 100% (or nearly 100%) rye. I saw this bread in a local bakery, and because the loaf was pretty, searched for a recipe. I found one that looked very good on Bäcker Süpke's blog. Besides being pretty, the bread also turned out delicious--very rye-y, sour, and slightly sweet. Bäcker Süpke's recipe makes two free-standing 1kg loafs. I cut the recipe in half and made a single 1kg pan loaf 1. because that's what I saw in the local bakery and 2. because I didn't know what to do with two 1 kg loaves.

Sourdough

• 250g coarsely ground rye meal (or chopped rye--Roggenschrot)
• 250g water
• 25g sourdough starter

Sourdough should (optimally) have a temperature of 28C. Mine started at 28C and cooled to room temp overnight. Let stand 20 hours.
Old bread soaker

• 50g old bread, toasted and ground
• 100g hot water (80C)

Pour water over bread and let stand at least 1 hour. I let mine stand overnight. Because I also couldn't find a good way to grind the bread, I smashed it with a fork after soaking. The soaker serves to make the bread moister. A whole-grain bread (preferably rye) is recommended. If this isn't available, bread crumbs serve as another alternative.
Dough

• Sourdough and old-bread soaker
• 250 g moderately or finely ground rye meal
• 25g sugar beet syrup
• 10g fresh yeast
• 10g salt
• 6g sugar
• millet or rolled oats or rye for decoration (optional)
  

Dissolve the yeast in a bit (~50g) of warm water and add to other ingredients. Add enough water to make a smooth, sticky dough with the consistency of very dense mashed potatoes. The dough should be very warm--about 30C. Then, knead for 12 minutes slowly and a further 6 minutes quickly (because I don't have a mixer and only limited arm strength, I just folded the dough for ~5-6 minutes). Do this a total of four times with 20 minute breaks between kneads. This process apparently gives the bread its characteristic consistency.

After the last knead, form the dough into a ball (easiest with wet hands), and roll out into a bread pan shaped log in a 1:1 mixture of cornstarch and medium rye flour. Lay into a baking-paper-lined bread pan and let rise for 1 hour in a warm place (ideally ~30C). (If you double the recipe and make two free-standing loaves, make two rolls, place them next to one another so that they're touching, and boarder them with cutting boards so that they rise up rather than out.) Before baking, spray the loaf with plenty of water and rub the surface of the loaf with your hand. Through this process, the cornstarch mixture will seal the cracks that opened up during the second rise. It will also create a pretty surface on the loaf. Sprinkle with millet or rolled grains.

The baking instruction given were pretty cryptic, but this is what I did: bake in an oven with lots of steam (I stand a bowl of water in the bottom of my oven). Bake for 10 minutes at 240C, then reduce heat to 190C for a further 60 minutes. As instructed, I released the steam in the oven after 1-2 minutes at 240C, but with the bowl of water in the bottom, the steam was replenished quickly. After baking, spray the loaf once more with water, remove from the pan (I did this right away and sprayed the sides of the loaf, too), and let cool on a wire rack.
Makes: 1 x 1kg loaf

Schinkenbrot

Unfortunately, there's no ham in it, but it does go great with smoked schwarzwaelder Schinken. Perhaps a ham beer to complement?

Source: Ye Olde Bread Blogge

Soaker:

• 150g coarse rye meal or chopped rye
• 150g boiling water

Pour water over rye meal, cover, and let stand over night at room temp.

Sourdough starter:

• 125g whole rye flour
• 125g water
• 10g rye sourdough starter (hydration 100%)

Mix flour, water, and sourdough and let stand 18-24 hours.

Dough:

• 100g dark rye flour (type 1150)
• 150g whole rye flour
• 100g strong white flour
• sourdough starter
• rye meal soaker
• ~350g water
  
• 6g yeast
• 10g salt

Proof yeast in ~75g of the water and mix with other ingredients. Fold for 5-10 minutes by hand. Desired dough temperature: 28C. First rise: ~1 hour

Pour dough into a lined baking tin, and let rise ~1 hour or until almost doubled in bulk.

Bake at 250C for 10 minutes, then reduce temperature to 190C and bake for a further 60 minutes. Remove from oven and let rest for 10 minutes in tin. Then, remove bread from tin and baking paper. Let rest 12-24 hours before cutting in order to allow the crumb to stabilize.

Bread turned out well--dark, mildly sweet, and somewhat sour. Next time, I would reduce the hydration a bit to firm up the crumb.

Thai curry chicken pizza

A recipe of my own invention

Makes: 2 pizzas - 4 servings

Cost per serving (Heidelberg): ~€1,81

Calories per serving: ~541

Crust:

• Basic Pizza Dough

Toppings:

• 200ml (half a can) coconut milk
  
• 1 1/2 Tblsp. red curry paste
  
• 2 chicken breasts, thinly sliced
• 1 Tblsp. brown sugar
• 1 Tblsp. fish sauce
• 1/2 lime
• 1 pkg. (200g) grated pizza cheese
• 1/4 onion, thinly sliced
• 1/2 red bell pepper, thinly sliced

Preheat oven to 250C.

Topping: heat curry paste and 100ml coconut milk in a pan until a red oily film starts to form over the surface and the mixture begins to simmer. Add chicken and cook just until chicken is white all the way through. Add enough coconut milk to provide enough sauce for pizza but so that the sauce remains somewhat thick. Remove from heat and add fish sauce and brown sugar.
Assembly: Divide pizza dough into two parts. Roll out one crust to fit oven/pan and transfer to baking paper. Spread out 1/2 of the cooked chicken on the crust and add up to half of the sauce and spread over the crust. Sprinkle some lime juice over the chicken and sauce. Sprinkle on 100g of the cheese, then distribute half of the onion and bell pepper. Transfer to a hot baking stone, and reduce heat to 175C. Bake for 15 minutes. Repeat with second crust.

Basic Pizza Dough

Makes: 2 crusts - 4 servings

Cost per serving (Heidelberg): ~€0.11

Calories per serving: ~244

Ingredients:

• 2 cups flour (~250g)
• 1 tsp salt
• 2-3 tblsp. powdered milk
• 1 pkg. instant yeast (Dr. Oetker--for 500g bread)
• 1 scant cup warm water

Mix dry. Add water and mix to form a shaggy dough. Let dough rest for 5 minutes, then knead on a floured surface until dough is smooth and elastic. Put about 1 tblsp olive oil in the bottom of a large bowl, and coat dough by rolling in oil. Let dough rise in a covered bowl until doubled in bulk (between 30 and 60 min. depending on the ambient temperature). Punch down dough and divide into two equal sized balls (or just use one large dough ball for garlic bread). Roll out each ball on a floured surface and add toppings as desired.

For whole wheat dough, substitute ~3/4 cup of the flour with whole wheat flour.

Makes: 2 pizza crusts or 1 garlic bread