The Fresh Loaf

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Senfbrot Revisited - Mustard Cheese Bread with Sourdough

hanseata's picture
hanseata

Senfbrot Revisited - Mustard Cheese Bread with Sourdough

Several years ago, a baking buddy asked me to help him with a German recipe.

The formula, published by a German bakers' association, combined rye meal and cracked wheat with mustard and cheese. The amounts, of course, were calculated for a commercial bakery, as were the sparse instructions. I had to downsize the formula to home baking proportions.

A friend of slow fermentation, I re-wrote the procedure, from using just a small amount of pre-fermented flour, to preferment plus soaker (for the coarser grinds), as well as a long, cold fermentation of the dough.

For my first bread I used a medium-hot yellow mustard from Düsseldorf

I was very pleased with the result, a beautiful red golden bread, with a stunning, almost neon-yellow crumb. Pleasantly spicy (but not too much), it tasted great with cold cuts, and was a nice surprise when toasted: a bread with built-in grilled cheese!

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My first loaf had an almost neon-yellow crumb

After writing a post about the Senfbrot, I never got to baking it again. Like my friend Dabrownman, I find that there are always interesting new breads out there, so why make the same, when you can try something new?

But then I received an email from food historian, lecturer and author Demet Güzey. The Senfbrot had caught her eye, as she was doing research on mustard.

Taking this a sign from above, I revisited the formula, trying it with different kinds of cheese and mustard. I, also, substituted the preferment with a sourdough starter, and reduced the yeast in the final dough even more (down to 1/3 of the original recipe amount!)

If you prefer a more assertive taste of cheese, you can choose a sharper one. For me, a version made with sharp cheddar was a bit too much.

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With smoked Gouda and white Dijon mustard, the crumb is a much lighter in color, but has the same great taste!
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For the updated recipe, please follow me to my blog "Brot & Bread" (recently relocated to WordPress).

Comments

DesigningWoman's picture
DesigningWoman

I love the idea of "built in grilled cheese". With a bit of tomato, a couple of slices of this is a meal in itself. Thanks for sharing!

Carole

hanseata's picture
hanseata

I absolutely agree!

Karin

Southbay's picture
Southbay

Perfect for braunschweiger sammiches!!!

hanseata's picture
hanseata

but you are right!

dabrownman's picture
dabrownman

Lucy started a batch of fermented dijon mustard yesterday morning!  Now I can't wait to make some of your dijon mustard and cheese bread since Lucy has some smoked gouda somewhere in the cheese bin of the fridge.  David Snyder got me thinking about his mother's fermented pickles with his latest JDR bake since you can't have a pastrami on rye without mustard and a pickle.  Then I thought ,surely if Jewish folks made fermented bread and pickles they must have made fermented mustard too.    Sure enough they did so I started some, half yellow and half brown mustard seeds, some water some yogurt, some NMNF rye starter, some NMNF wild and black rice starter and some salt for day one.  Then add in some NMNF ripe levain, some vinegar, some white wine and  caramelized red onions.  Buzz with a stick blender and let ferment for a 3rd day then in the fridge for at least a month.

So expect some Cheese Mustard SD Bread from Lucy in a about a month and a day:-)

Love your post Karin and happy baking!

hanseata's picture
hanseata

think alike...

I'm eager to learn how your experimenting turns out. Sounds intriguing!

Karin

 

dabrownman's picture
dabrownman

With the onion, white wine, vinegar and garlic added in then buzzed in the mini Cuisinart it is time for getting it in the jar and in the fridge for 6 weeks of aging to calm the mustard down some:-)

hanseata's picture
hanseata

I love your adventurous experiments, DBM!