Müslibrot

I attempted bread making yet again.  This time I tackled Müslibrot, a German multigrain bread.  I expected to be sweet, since the recipe called for dried fruit but it turned out quite good.  It is on a denser side, but as you bite into various grains a warm fragrance will release.

For those adventurous baking souls out there, here is the recipe (adopted from Küchen Götter , with my own modification):

Ingredients

• 100g 5-grain flakes
• 150ml milk
• 180ml lukewarm water
• 1Tbsp honey
• 75g of dried apricot, roughly chopped
• 2-3 Tbsp dried cranberry, roughly chopped
• 2-3 Tbsp pistachio, roughly chopped
• 50g Hazelnut, roughly chopped
• 15g fresh yeast
• 375g bread flour
• 1-2 tsp of salt
• 1 egg

* Most American market are not exactly friendly to avid bakers.  For the 5-grain flakes, I put 20g of the following:  flax seed, oat, sunflower seed, barley (not pearl), and spelt.  I found most dried apricot too sweet and I am glad to find Unsulfured Apricots a nice substitute at Trader Joe’s.  They might look unsavory, but the flavor is rich and they have a hint of tartness.  To avoid tough pieces of apricot in the bread, I reconstitute the apricot by soaking them in hot water before I chopped them.  Being a horrible  follower of instructions, I use nuts that are available in my pantry.  In this case, I use walnut and almond slivers.  Lastly, I only find dry yeast in markets, to make the fresh to dry yeast conversion, please consult here. 

Instructions:

1. Mix 5-grain flakes with milk, along with 130ml of water in a bowl.  Coarsely chopped dried fruit and nuts and placed the mixture in another bowl. 
2. Melt the yeast with 50 ml of lukewarm water along with honey (yes, make sure it is just lukewarm, otherwise, the yeast will rebel against you!)  When all the yeast is melted, add in salt and flour in increment.  (In most German recipes I have encountered, the recipes instruct mixing salt and yeast before sugar.  My baker-other-half stared at me as if I was committing carnage when he heard that.  From what he was taught sugar goes with the yeast, since it is the food, and add salt once the sugar/yeast mixture is well mixed.  It could be that yeast sold in German markets are more robust.  I will have to ask my German friend about it.)
3. Knead the dough on a floured surface and gently pull the dough into a rough rectangular shape.  Pour the fruit-nut mix onto one side of the dough and fold the other half over it.  Knead it that fruit and nut are evenly distributed.  Shaped it into a ball, placed in a bowl, covered the bowl with a moist towel.  Put the bowl in a warm place until the dough doubles in size.  (A tip a friend gave me is to warm up the oven for a minute or two, turn it off, and put the bowl in it)
4. Divide and shape the dough into two equal-sized elongated loaves.  Brush the loaves with beaten eggs and sprinkle oatmeal and chopped hazelnuts.   
5. Let the dough rests on the flour surface for 30 minutes.  Preheat the oven to 400°F.  Lay the dough on the parchment paper in the loaf pan  for 20 minutes.  Remove the parchment paper and let the bread bake for another 5-10 minutes (this is to darken the bottom of the loaf).  Pull the loaf out and cool it completely.    

***
Note:  While re-reading and translating this recipe, I realized that I did not follow the recipe very close at all.  I did not put as much water in it and I mix the egg into the dough. For some reason, the bread still turns out okay.  I will follow the recipe more faithfully next time! 

Here are some pictures:

Before proofing

After shaping

Before eating… yum?

See all the muscle work?