Caraway Soaker Sourdough Bread

What I like about old bread soakers is that they are a good way to get water into the bread and that I can recycle some old bread that I have left over. I based this bread on the Rauriser Weizensauerteigbrot from Plötzblog. I added a soaker using toasted slices from a previous attempt to make the Rauriser Weizensauerteigbrot. While preparing the soaker I remembered that I have caraway. My previous attempt to use caraway in a bread was a bit disappointing. The caraway taste in the bread was rather weak. I decided to add the caraway to the soaker, giving its flavor more time to unfold.

Ingredients

Soaker

• 150g old bread
• 200g water, boiling
• 20g caraway

Sourdough

• 60g sourdough starter
• 60g whole wheat flour
• 60g water, 50° C

Dough

• soaker
• sourdough
• 450g white bread flour
• 250g water, 80° C
• 18g salt

Instructions

The evening before, prepare the soaker and the sourdough. Let them rest for roughly 12h in a warm place.

For the soaker, cut the bread into pieces (roughly 1 - 2cm diameter) and toast it in a pan on medium heat. But the bread into a bowl, add caraway and boiling water. Cover the bowl.

For the sourdough, mix flour, water and the starter in a bowl. Mix water and flour first (to avoid damaging the starter). Cover the bowl.

The next day, put the soaker in a larger bowl, mix with water, add the remaining ingredients. Knead the dough for a few minutes. Ferment for four hours. Fold every 60 minutes.

Fold over the dough lengthways, wrap it into well floured towels and put it into a proofing basket with the seam downward. Proof for two hours. In the meantime, preheat the oven to 250° C.

Remove the bread from the towel and place it into the oven (ideally onto a hot oven stone). Reduce heat to 220° C. Bake for 45 minutes.