Vollkornbrot

Vollkornbrot — 'whole-grain bread' — names a category as much as a single loaf, and Germany defines it tightly: under the Deutsches Lebensmittelbuch (the German food code) it must be at least 90 percent whole-grain rye and/or wheat, the entire kernel milled or cracked in. That standard reflects a long northern and central European tradition of milling little away from the rye, the grain that grew where wheat struggled, and the resulting dark, keeping bread has become the everyday loaf of the German table — eaten more at breakfast and at the cold supper than warm with a meal. The dense, seed-laced rye loaf sold abroad as 'German bread' is usually this.

It is heavy in the hand and cuts into thin, close slices that hold their shape; the crumb is dark, moist and almost fudge-dense, shot through with whole and cracked grains and seeds that give it a nutty chew. The flavor is deeply grainy and gently sour from the rye sourdough, more earthy than sweet, with the toasted note of sunflower and pumpkin seeds. It is filling out of all proportion to its size, and improves for days, the crumb growing more moist and mellow.

Whole rye carries its bran, germ and pentosans, all of which fight gluten development, so this is not a loaf that rises light — it is built dense by design. Sourdough is essential: its acid conditions the pentosans, holds the crumb together and, by lowering the pH, lets the loaf bake through without the starch turning gummy. Soaking the cracked grains and seeds in advance softens them and lets them hold moisture, which is what keeps the baked loaf moist for days. The bake is long, moderate and often in a covered tin, sometimes near-steamed at low heat, to set a dense crumb all the way to the centre without burning the bran-rich crust.