Vollkornbrot Bread from the Bakehouse
A traditional, dense, and delicious loaf that’s a staple of German eating
The now eight-year-old Bakehouse Grain Commission project—the undertaking of on-site milling of grains at the Bakehouse—has been one of the most inspiring improvements we’ve made in our 44 years at Zingerman’s! The difference in flavor of the breads and pastries that use the fresh-milled grain has been remarkable—products that were already great have become amazing.
The German Vollkornbrot is at the top of that list. As baker Hazim Tugun writes, “Part of the Zingerman’s ethos is ‘constant improvement,’ and we believed this bread could be revised to have improved flavor and texture.” The Vollkornbrot (which, in German, simply means “whole grain bread”) is made using organic rye that we’re sourcing from Janie’s Mill in Ashkum, Illinois. Hazim adds, “Another change we made in terms of even further improvement: Now, we have a two-stage rye sour that we use to leaven this bread. This means better texture and more balanced flavors. The total amount of time it takes to make this bread from the build of the first rye sour to baking is about 21 hours.”
The Bakehouse mixers take that fresh rye and start a sour from rye chops, sunflower seeds, and more whole grain rye flour for natural fermentation. As per German baking tradition, the crew waits 24 hours to allow the loaves to “cure” and set up after the newly baked bread comes out of the ovens. And unlike a good baguette, the Vollkornbrot will last at least a week on your counter.
Vollkornbrot like this is one of the staples of everyday German baking and eating. Dense, intense, and delicious, it’s sliced thinly to make for some marvelous eating. There’s a fantastic complexity and depth of flavor to it that reminds me of roasted coffee, or even hints at the sorts of spiced Christmas breads that are so popular in Central Europe.
Vollkornbrot is equally good whether sliced fresh from the loaf or toasted. My favorite practice is to spread thin slices of it with the handmade Zingerman’s Cream Cheese. The dark, deep flavors and dense texture of the bread are a perfect counterpoint to the light, creamy, soft, spreadable artisan cream cheese. It’s also excellent with a thick layer of that Vermont Creamery Cultured Butter we use so much of at the Bakehouse and Roadhouse. Or enjoy it with thin slices of speck ham or smoked salmon.
You can get Vollkornbrot at the Bakeshop every day or pick it up at the Deli. We’re happy to ship some, too.
Reserve your loaf
