Kürbiskernweckerl (Pumpkin seed rolls)
Austrian bread is flavorful. That is one of the lessons I have learned so far by reading my way through Gerhard Ströck’s book “Brot backen”. Many breads use a soaker including rye meal, flax seeds, soy bean meal, oats, sunflower or pumpkin seeds. And as if that wasn’t ample taste, sometimes “bread spice” (coriander, caraway and fennel seeds in equal quantities) is used as well.
How does Austrian bread differ from German bread? Tricky question. By a far stretch of the imagination, the biggest difference to German baking, apart from the stress on Styrian pumpkin seeds and oil, is probably, that the Austrian wheat breads are more robust and heartier and that the rye breads are a little lighter than their counterparts in Germany.
If there was a perfect breakfast roll, this is it. Grainy, yet light enough to provide an easy going eating quality. You could put the shaped rolls into the fridge overnight and proof and bake them in the morning. The pâte fermentée adds flavor and moisture to the crumb, so does the additional oil. Good.
Kürbiskernweckerl (Pumpkin seed rolls)
Makes 10 round rolls
Pâte fermentée
- 50g flour, Type 700 (strong white flour)
- 30g cool water
- 2g fresh yeast
- 1g salt
Mix together and let rest for 12 hours in a cool place, or: 1 hour at room temperature and in the fridge overnight, 12-16 hours.
Soaker
- 25g coarse rye meal
- 50g pumpkin seeds
- 25g flaxseeds (linseed)
- 100g warm water
Stir the ingredients of the soaker together and let stand covered for about 12 hours.
Dough
- 250g flour, Type 700 (strong white flour)
- 50g light rye flour, Type 960
- 140g cool water
- 10g barley malt
- 15g pumpkin seed oil or vegetable oil
- 10g salt
- 10g fresh yeast
- Soaker
- Additional pumpkin seeds
- Sesame seeds
Combine all ingredients to a shaggy mass and let stand for 10 minutes. Knead for 10 seconds, either on an oiled surface or drag the dough in circles with a strong fork in the bowl. Let stand for another 10 minutes, then knead again for 10 seconds. Let stand fo 10 minutes, then tip the dough onto an oiled surface and fold it onto itself a couple of times. It will be sticky, although not excessively wet like ciabatta dough.
Let stand for 40 minutes at room temperature. Agitate / Fold the dough after 20 minutes.
Divide dough into ten pieces weighing roughly 73g each, shape round, moisten the surface and press with the wet top into a bowl of pumpkin and sesame seeds (I omitted the sesame).
Proof for 50 minutes.
Bake at 240°C for 20-25 minutes reducing the heat to 200°C after 10 minutes.
Also jetzt muss ich mir das Buch doch auch zulegen. Deine Brötchen sehen fantastisch aus!
Petra aka Cascabel
16 January 2008 at 20:46
Sie haben auch wirklich gut geschmeckt. Nach den bisherigen Ergebnissen bin ich auch recht angetan vom Buch; kann es empfehlen.
theinversecook
16 January 2008 at 22:01
Wow! I mean wow! These are the rolls I’m always looking for when we travel. These are the rolls I would love every morning for breakfast! Must give this a go!
MyKitchenInHalfCups
17 January 2008 at 08:23
Me too, MyKitchenInHalfCups, I am looking for a bakery that offers good rolls and not those fluffy things, which taste like cardboard and that chemists invented in an effort to use less and less flour for one roll. Thanks for dropping by.
theinversecook
17 January 2008 at 14:35
Thanks for posting the recipes from this book! You are so lucky to be have access to so many bread books in German. I love German breads, especially ryes, and in books in English the selection is very small.
Do you think that someone who doesn’t read German can benefit from books in German? Judging from the recipes you’ve posted from Brot Backen, this is a really good book (and I am seriously thinking about purchasing a copy, even though I don’t speak a word of German). Do you have suggestions for other good books about German breads? (In English or German)
And, still on the topic: do the original instructions for this bread call for the intermittent kneading, or have you applied the Dan Lepard kneading technique on this bread?
Boaz
17 January 2008 at 20:24
Hi, Boaz, you’re right, I applied the method from “The handmade loaf” by Dan Lepard. The instructions on how to mix are very sparse in “Brot backen”, and an electric mixer is listed in the “must haves”.
I know of only few German books on bread baking, that I would rate higher than average. The tenor in the media seems to be that German home-cooks are an army of middle-aged men who wave their blow-torches over Crème brûlées and who rather spend hours of waiting to make a “clear tomato soup” than baking an honest loaf of bread. And that while commercial bread quality is on the decline.
“Brotrezepte aus ländlichen Backstuben” (Link to amazon) has eome very good recipes of hearty rye bread.
I would recommend “Brot backen” for the recipes. The first part of the book is a bit dry and too general to keep my interest (history of bread etc. pp)
theinversecook
17 January 2008 at 21:58
Thanks! Any other suggestions? If I am going to place an order from Amazon.de, the shipping overhead is 15 Euro per package, so I might as well make a larger order…
I know it’s kind-of crazy to buy a bread book in a foreign language. I can already see myself making a list of common terms so I would be able to work with the book.
Boaz
17 January 2008 at 23:02
Hm, might add this one: “Brot, Brötchen, Snacks. Die besten Rezepte aus der Allgemeinen Bäcker-Zeitung” (Link to amazon.de).
But it has vague instructions and sometimes asks for additives, because it is aimed at professional bakers. A couple of recipes are worth checking out though.
theinversecook
18 January 2008 at 00:44
Da möchte man doch direkt reinbeissen!
zorra
22 January 2008 at 16:12
Das habe ich übrigens auch getan, und dann nochmal und noch einmal und … und … und …
theinversecook
22 January 2008 at 20:29