World Bread Day: Pfennigmuckerl
It is that time again. Zorra from 1x umrühren bitte invites us to celebrate bread on this World Bread Day. How to think of bread, how to put it into the perspective of a person living in 2008?
Johann Lafer, an Austrian cook living and working in Germany, used to have a column in the FAZ named ‘This is the cook speaking’. (The column title was later picked up by Jürgen Dollase, the culinary critic, who wrote under the weekly headline ‘This is the guest speaking’ in the same newspaper.)
Johann Lafer wrote:
I love good bread and I could live on it. It is the ultimate food. If you cannot appreciate good bread, I question your attitude towards eating in general.
I’m feeling free to add, that good bread is natural food. Nature provides and abundance of food and I don’t think we should impose our fast lives onto processes that take time more than necessary. An apple that is not ripe, does not taste as good as a ripe one. Bread made from a dough that wasn’t ready to be baked, has a pale crust, a dense crumb and lacks flavor. For the lazy baker, a small amount of commercial yeast can give a little boost in the cooler months of the year.
Pfennigmuckerl
This is a pull-apart bread made from a dough with 50% rye flour. I read about it in a German baking book, that gave only very little info. “Pfennigmuckerl” do not refer to a recipe, but to a shape of rye rolls. Rolls are shaped and then put close together, either on a baking sheet or in a proving basket before they are baked at rather high temperatures. Ideal for a hearty Brotzeit. If I had a bakery, I would call these ‘Bandits’. I see a group of clumsy bank robbers eating them next to their loot.
Dough (one loaf)
- 120g strong white flour
- 50g rye flour
- 3g fresh yeast
- 80g warm water
- 200g rye sourdough, hydration: 100%
- 60g levain, hydration: 100%
- 6g salt
Bulk Fermentation: 1 hour at room temperature
Cut into 6 pieces, each weighing about 85g. Or cut into as many as 15 pieces for giving the bread the real ‘penny’ look. Put them next to each other into a proving basket or directly onto a sheet of baking paper.
Final Fermentation: 1 hour at room temperature
Bake at 240°C for 25 minutes
@ Jeremy? ‘Pfennigmuckerl’? Yes, I don’t know what it means, though. Pfennig is penny, muckerl…not sure.
@ Flo: Yes, for me ‘levain’ is alway wheat sourdough. I should use that wording instead, though. I suppose there are many more words for it.
theinversecook
18 October 2008 at 00:00
Thanks for the answer! I’ll try them soon, I love their shape and I’m sure they taste wonderful. Thanks again.
Flo Makanai
18 October 2008 at 00:37
die schauen wirklich super-lecker aus.
wie soll denn die konsistenz des teiges nach dem kneten sein? denn roggensauerteig ist ja meist recht klebrig. lassen sich die muckerl leicht formen?
danke fuer weitere tips!
Rosi
19 October 2008 at 21:24
Hi, Rosi, die Konsistenz sollte möglichst nass und klebrig sein, so dass sich die Brötchen nicht so leicht formen lassen. Am besten, mit etwas bemehlten Händen schnell arbeiten, dann wird es gelingen. Teig mit 70%-100% Roggenanteil werden sogar mit Hilfe von befeuchteten Händen geformt, glaube ich, da sie wehr wenig zusammenhängend sind.
theinversecook
20 October 2008 at 00:03
A very interesting shape and name for yummy rye rolls.
I wonder whether the name comes from the fact that they used to be sold for a penny a piece?
bakinghistory
26 October 2008 at 18:56
Yeah, that might be another point of the “Pfennigmuckerl” marketing concept behind this bread – back when bread was a little cheaper, of course. The book suggests to make very small rolls, like pennies, but wouldn’t that give too much crust? Maybe a good idea for dog treats
theinversecook
27 October 2008 at 13:43
Pfennigmuckerl – lange nicht mehr sehen und früher oft beim Bäcker gekauft. Da werde ich mir doch mal das Rezept gleich vormerken. Super!
lavaterra
31 October 2008 at 01:44
Scheint wirklich eine aussterbende Spezies zu sein, dieses Brätchen, habe es noch nie gesehen, nur eben im Fachbuch, aus dem ich den Vorschlag adaptiert habe. Viel Erfolg, lavaterra.
theinversecook
3 November 2008 at 14:37
Great rolls for parties! I love the fact that they are made of rye… I just have to make them. I imagine how good they must be with a good strong cheese, like an Alsation Münster maybe, one that can be sprinkled with caraway seeds. Yummy!
MC
3 December 2008 at 00:33
Please do. I think an increased hydration would do them good. May be flatter, but also a bit lighter. They do have a strong flavor…Alsace Münster sounds good
theinversecook
3 December 2008 at 14:57