This easy, flavourful sourdough bauernbrot is made with a mix of bread and rye flour. A dream to shape and perfect for sandwiches!
Photography by Alexandra Daum.
Sourdough bauernbrot is a slight twist on a classic German recipe. That is, in German speaking countries, because it’s common in Switzerland and Austria, too, but with different variations.
I always make it with water, but in the southern regions you may find bauernbrot (farmer’s bread) more often made with milk. This makes for a softer loaf and you can use milk if you want to – see below for more on that.
It’s typically made with a mix of white and rye flour. This addition of rye makes for an excellent flavour, but keeping white bread flour makes for a good crumb due to a higher level of gluten, and doesn’t overwhelm the way dark rye bread can if you’re not used to it.
This loaf has a relatively small crumb and it’s not meant to be really open and airy (see our no-knead sourdough for that). That means it’s perfect for sandwiches of all kinds, because your toppings won’t fall through.
Use the JUMP TO RECIPE button at the top, or scroll to the bottom of the post to see the printable recipe card with full ingredient measurements and complete instructions.
Ingredients
Method
Add starter and water to a bowl. Mix to combine. Add flours and salt. Stir to a shaggy dough. Do 3 rounds of stretches and folds. Form into a ball. Shape and place in a proving basket. Rise at room temperature. Refrigerate overnight. Score and place into a pot. 
Bake, cool, and serve.
Tips and Notes
If you’re unfamiliar with the terms used, see these posts on how to stretch and fold sourdough and how to shape sourdough boules.
It is possible to place the shaped bread into a bowl lined with a tea towel if you don’t have a proving basket. A smaller bowl (not a mixing bowl, but more medium-sized) is best.
The pot doesn’t need to be preheated for this recipe to be successful. Heating in advance will result in a slightly greater oven spring, but if you’re not so confident placing the dough into a very hot pot, then put the bread in cold. The loaf pictured was baked in a cold pot and it makes virtually no difference for this recipe.
This is a low hydration dough and is easier to work with for beginners. If you’re used to higher hydration, it may seem too stiff, but it isn’t.
After the autolyse it softens up a bit and once the stretches and folds are complete, it will be soft and smooth like any other dough. The dough is shaggy and very sticky when first mixed.
Any recipe with rye flour really benefits from a full cooling down period before slicing. All sourdough should, ideally, cool before being sliced. This loaf will be gummy if sliced when warm.
Substitutions
Depending on how wholesome of a loaf you want, you can use different types of rye flour. This will also depend on what’s available to you. I use sifted (light) rye, but whole grain will work just as well and will add a more noticeable rye taste.
If you want to, it is possible to use milk in place of water here. It will make the dough slightly softer, but doesn’t make such a difference. If you have leftover whey, it’s a very good sub for water.
If bread flour isn’t available, plain white can be used in a pinch. We have several other sourdough recipes using white flour, however, which are specifically developed with that in mind, so I would recommend going for one of those instead.
More Sourdough Loaves
Cinnamon Raisin Sourdough Bread
Cranberry Sourdough Bread with Walnuts
Basic Sourdough Pan Loaf
100% Whole Wheat Sourdough
Gluten Free Sourdough
Recipe
Sourdough Bauernbrot (German Farmer’s Bread)
Description
Equipment
- Mixing bowl
- Wooden spoon or spatula
- Tea towel
- Banneton proving basket
- Dutch oven
- Parchment paper
- Wire rack
- A digital kitchen scale
Ingredients
- 350 grams water, at room temperature
- 100 grams active sourdough starter, 100% hydration
- 400 grams bread flour
- 150 grams rye flour
- 10 grams sea salt
Instructions
- Day One
- Add the water and starter to a mixing bowl and mix until fully combined.
- Add the bread flour, rye flour, and salt to the bowl. Mix with a wooden spoon or spatula until a shaggy dough forms.
- Cover the dough with a tea towel and set aside for 30 minutes.
- Once a half hour has passed, do three rounds of stretches and folds over the course of an hour, one round every 20 minutes. The dough will be sticky but will come together as the folds are completed.
- Shape the dough into a boule and sprinkle the top with flour. Place it, seam-side up, in a proving basket (banneton) lined with a tea towel.
- Cover the dough and set it aside to rise at room temperature for three hours.
- The dough should look slightly puffy but not doubled in size. Cover with a plate and refrigerate for 8 hours or overnight.
- Day Two
- Preheat the oven to 500°F (260°C). The pot (dutch oven) can be heated with the oven but this is optional (see notes below).
- Once the oven is hot, remove the dough from the refrigerator. Carefully tip it out onto a piece of parchment paper and score the top.
- Reduce the oven heat to 450°F (230°C).
- Carefully remove the pot from the oven if you chose to preheat it. Place the dough into the pot and bake for 20 minutes with the lid on.
- Remove the lid and bake for another 15-20 minutes, or until the loaf is golden brown.
- Carefully lift the bread out of the pot (use the parchment paper as handles) and cool fully on a wire rack before slicing. Store leftover bread in the same pot you baked it in, or wrapped in a tea towel and stored in the oven.
Anja says
Fantastic bread! I’ve never heard of milk being used in a sourdough bread even though I am from Southern Germany but it’s worth a try. I’d use milk in yeast based breads.
Usually I substitute about 50g of flour with of linseed because it adds to the nutritional value of the bread.
A very German recipe is sourdough bread with a slice of cooked ham and a fried egg on top,
Alexandra Daum says
Hi Anja! I heard from some friends that their omas had made it with milk, but I’m north German, so I’ve never done it. I think it’s more for leftover milk as a way to use it up! Linseed is always a nice addition :) so glad you like the bread.