On 16 October it’s World Bread Day, and we can hardly think of a better reason to slide a loaf into the oven again. If you’ve been meaning to try an Austrian farmhouse bread at home, now is the perfect time: the evenings are getting cooler, the kitchen smells of caraway and crust, and a fresh loaf on the table turns an ordinary evening into a cosy family supper.
In this post we take you on a little tour of Austria’s bread culture, and then share our simple basic recipe for a Salzburg farmhouse loaf made with freshly milled rye and spelt.
World Bread Day falls on the same date as World Food Day. Bakers all over the world use it as a reminder of how much craft, time and care goes into a good loaf, and how much work happens out in the fields before a grain of wheat or rye can ever become flour.
Here in Hallein, this day always makes us think of our grandparents. Bread used to be something precious. In many farmhouses across the Alps, people would trace a cross on the underside of the loaf with the knife before cutting it, and nothing was thrown away. Old bread went into soups, dumplings or a sweet bread pudding. That kind of respect for bread is something we’d love to pass on.
Travel through Austria and you’ll quickly notice that bread is never just bread. Every region has its favourites, and every bakery is a little world of loaves and rolls. A few classics:
In the Salzburg region, a proper Brettljause, a rustic snack board, isn’t complete without a good farmhouse loaf: bacon, mountain cheese, a little horseradish, radishes and a thick slice with a crackling crust. That’s all you need for a lovely afternoon up in the mountains or on the bench in front of the house.
Good bread needs very few ingredients: flour, water, salt and time, plus sourdough or a little yeast. What makes the difference is the quality of those few things.
When you mill your grain right before baking, the whole kernel ends up in your flour: the germ, the bran and the endosperm. Freshly milled wholegrain flour smells of grain and has a lot of flavour of its own. Because it contains more bran, it also absorbs a little more water, which keeps your bread moist for longer.
A farmhouse loaf doesn’t like to be rushed. A long rest gives the sourdough time to develop flavour and helps the bread keep longer. Plan a relaxed baking day.
A good crust comes from high initial heat and steam in the oven. It protects the crumb and gives you that wonderful roasted flavour.
This is our simple basic recipe for one loaf of about 1 kg. It works even if you haven’t baked much with sourdough yet; the small amount of yeast gives you extra confidence.
Mill the rye and spelt finely and put the flour straight into a large bowl. Mix in the salt and bread spice. You’ll notice how wonderfully the fresh flour already smells of grain.
Dissolve the yeast in the lukewarm water. Add the water and sourdough to the flour and knead slowly for 8 to 10 minutes. Rye dough is sticky and stays that way. Don’t worry, that’s exactly how it should be. Wet hands or a dough scraper make it easy.
Cover the dough and let it rise in a warm place for about 60 to 90 minutes. Then shape it into a round loaf on a floured surface and place it seam side up in a well-floured proofing basket. Let it rise for another 45 to 60 minutes, until fine cracks appear on the surface.
Preheat your oven to 250 °C (top and bottom heat) with a baking tray or stone inside. Turn the loaf out onto baking paper, slide it in and pour a small cup of water onto a hot tray on the oven floor. After 10 minutes, briefly open the door to let the steam out and bake at 200 °C for another 40 to 45 minutes. If the loaf sounds hollow when you tap the bottom, it’s done.
Our tip: Let the bread cool on a rack for at least two hours before slicing. Rye bread needs this time for the crumb to set, and it tastes even better the next day.
If you’d like to read more about bread traditions, have a look at our post on the harvest festival in Salzburg.
For us, the best moment in bread baking is when the freshly milled grain trickles into the bowl. With your Salzburg grain mill you mill rye, spelt and wheat exactly when you need them, as fine or as coarse as your recipe calls for. Perhaps World Bread Day will become a brand-new ritual in your kitchen.
Give it a try, and tell us how your first farmhouse loaf turned out. We’d love to hear from you!
