bread with seeds

If I would have to name one food that evokes in me the feeling of security and family, I would nominate freshly baked bread. Since I can remember my mother baked the greatest breads for us. The entire family would gather at the table for a cold dinner, something we call “Vesper” in Germany. There would be cheese, sausage, salad, yogurt and so forth on the table. And most importantly, there would always be slices of fresh bread.

The bread baking started for my mom, when my parents were living in the States for a while. Because they were not able to buy a classic German bread anywhere then. If you’ve been to the United States (or live there), you know, that the bread there is softer and comes with less of a snap in the crust. A typical German bread, especially if baked with spelt and rye like in this recipe here, is not as fluffy in its consistency and has a harder crust. If you cannot buy what you crave, you got to make it yourself.

I got the recipe for this quick loaf of bread with seeds from my mom (and she got it from a German baking book called “Bio-Backen mit Kindern” from Gudrun Ambros). As the dough does not need to rise before being baked, the entire bread is whipped up in under 15 minutes in a bowl and in the oven. And that makes it for us the perfect bread, if you’ve only got a limited kitchen time during a weeknight.

Recipe – Bread with seeds

Amount: 1 loaf of bread
Prep time: 15 minutes preparation, 75 minutes baking time

1 Pack (16 g) of dry yeast
1/2 tsp honey or agave syrup
500 ml (2 cups) lukewarm water
2 tsp salt
2 tbsp apple vinegar
75 -100 g mixed seeds (i.e. sunflower, sesame, flax, pumpkin, poppy)
1/2 tsp each of ground cilantro, fennel and kummel (or 1 1/2 tsp of your favorite herb mix for breads)
350 g spelt flour
150 g rye flour

Mix 1 pack (16 g) of dry yeast with 1/2 tsp of honey/agave syrup and 500 ml (2 cups) lukewarm water in a mixing bowl and let it stand for 10 minutes.

Meanwhile grease a loaf pan and set aside (I do not use any extra grease with my silikon mold). If you would like to you can add a few sesame or poppy seeds to the pan for an added crunch.

Now add the rest of the ingredients minus the flours (2 tsp salt, 2 tbsp apple vinegar, your mixed seeds and 1/2 tsp each of ground cilantro, fennel and kummel) to the bowl and stir everything together. Then also add 350 g spelt flour and 150 g rye flour and mix to a sticky dough with a wooden spoon.

Now fill the dough in your prepared loaf pan and set it in the cold oven. Then turn on the oven to 390° F (200° C, Upper- and lower heat) and bake your bread for 75 minutes.

Keeps fresh in a bread container for 4 days.