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.

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.

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)

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?