I'm someone who enjoys good bread and rolls. Unfortunately, there are very few locally owned bakeries left in Hamburg that don't use baking mixes. I don't use them myself!
I prefer to avoid all the additives that are unfortunately found in most industrially produced breads and rolls. Or why does packaged toast from the supermarket stay fresh for up to two weeks? That's another reason why I don't buy bread or rolls anymore! But it really took me many years to bake usable rolls and breads that were worth it, that could even be called that. When I present my recipes here, it's without claiming that I created them all myself. I'm not that creative, but I usually adapt the recipes to suit my needs. I'm very grateful for the inspiration that Marcel Paa, Ploetzblog, the Brotdoc, Ketex, Hefe&mehr, a few Danish YouTubers, and many, many others give me.

 

My sourdough, Levito Mamma My beloved sourdough, it's like a pet. You have to nurture and care for it, and then it'll be good to you. Personally, I can't live without it anymore. It keeps well in the refrigerator for a long time if kept sealed. I was able to revive it after a vacation of several weeks. When refreshing Levito, I use the 2-1-2 method. That is, my leftover Levito, 50% water, the same amount of wheat flour as Levito, and 1 teaspoon of olive oil. I use it in almost all of my recipes. If it's been well-fed, it has great leavening power. Levito gives the dough a special lightness and a very distinctive flavor. If you don't want to use wheat flour, you can (or are allowed to) also make Levito Mamma with spelt flour.

Day 1

50 g 550 Wheat Flour 25 g lukewarm water 5 g honey 10 g olive oil Mix all ingredients together, form into a ball, cut it crosswise, and place it in a tall glass jar. Cover with a lid and let it rise at room temperature for about 24 hours.

Day 2

Remove the dough from Day 1 from the jar, add 50 g Wheat Flour 25 g Water and knead thoroughly until no flour remains. Form into a ball, cut it crosswise and place it back in the jar.

Day 3

50 g of the starter from days 1 and 2 with 25 g water 50 g wheat flour Slurry the starter with the 25 g water, add the flour, knead well, form into a ball, and place in a glass jar.

Days 4, 5, and 6 Another 50 g of the starter 25 g water 50 g wheat flour Slurry the starter with the 25 g water, add the flour, knead well, form into a ball, and place in a glass jar. The Levito Mamma should now be ready for use. If it doesn't yet have the desired strength, simply feed it for a few more days. You don't need to throw away the leftover dough; simply collect it and use it in other recipes, including cakes.

My favorite Baguette Rolls 

Makes 10 rolls (105 g each)

Morning Sourdough

- 50 g Levito Madre

- 100 g Water

- 130 g 550 Wheat Flour

Pre-Dough

- 100 g 550 Wheat Flour

- 100 g Water

- 1 g Dried Yeast

- 5 g Honey

Prepare the sourdough and pre-dough the evening before, then leave covered in the kitchen.

On Baking Day Cooking Piece

- 30 g 550 Wheat Flour

- 100 g Water

In a small saucepan, bring the flour and water to a boil, stirring constantly, until it reaches a pudding-like consistency. Transfer to a small bowl and cover with plastic wrap. Refrigerate to cool.

Main Dough

- 270 g 550 wheat flour

- 70 g whole wheat flour

- 50 g milk

- 12 g baking enzymes or malt

- 6 g dry yeast

- Add both pre-doughs and sourdough starters and knead the dough

- 14 g salt (add after about 5 minutes)

- Knead in 20 g butter at the end of the kneading time.

Place the dough in a lightly greased dough pan and let it rise at room temperature for 90 to 120 minutes,

stretching and folding it twice.

Shape into 120 g rolls and let them rise for about 30 to 60 minutes, seam-down, in a linen cloth dusted with plenty of rye flour.

Place the rolls on a baking sheet with the seam facing up.
Preheat oven to 250°C and bake at 230°C with plenty of steam for about 15-20 minutes.

These Baguettes are like in France

Recipe for 3 Baguettes

Pre-dough

- 150 g 550-grade all-purpose flour

- 150 g water

- 1 g dry yeast Sourdough

- 50 g Levito Madre

- 25 g water

- 6 g honey

- 100 g rye flour

Main Dough

- Sourdough - Pre-dough

- 360 g 550-grade all-purpose flour

- 220 g water

- 11 g baking enzymes

- 3 g dry yeast

- 12 g salt

40 g water, to be added later

Mix all ingredients, except the 40 g water and salt, into a smooth dough. After about 3 minutes, add the salt.

If necessary, knead in the 40 g water towards the end of the kneading time.

Place the dough in a dough bowl and let it rise for about 2 hours. Stretch and fold it 2-3 times.

Then refrigerate until the next morning.

The next morning, remove the dough from the refrigerator and let it acclimatize for 1 hour.

Divide the dough into 3 equal pieces on a well-floured work surface.

First, shape it into a round, then carefully lengthwise.

Let it rise in a well-floured linen cloth, seam down, for 45 minutes.

Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 250°C (fan/convection oven).

Carefully turn the dough pieces over and place them on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper.

Moisten with water and bake with plenty of steam for about 20 minutes.

Wheat Toast- and Sandwich Bread

This recipe is intended for a 30 cm loaf pan.

Boiled dough:

- 30 g 550-grade wheat flour

- 100 g milk

Bring the flour and milk to a boil in a small saucepan, stirring constantly.

When a pudding-like consistency has formed, transfer the boiled dough to a small bowl,

cover with foil, and let cool.

Pre-dough:

- 100 g 550-grade wheat flour

- 1 g dried yeast

- 100 g cold water

Prepare the pre-dough the evening before. Let it rest for approximately 12 to 16 hours.

The next day,

Main Dough:

Cooking dough and pre-dough

- 35 g Levito madre

- 325 g 550 wheat flour

- 75 g whole wheat flour

- 10 g baking enzymes or malt

- 140 g cold water

- 1 egg, size L -

- 13 g salt

- 6 g dry yeast

- 25 g apple cider vinegar

- 30 g butter

Mix all together and Knäckebrot It for a smooth, not sticky dough.
Cover the dough and let it rise at room temperature for about 2 hours.

Stretch and fold it twice.

Place the dough on a floured work surface, divide it into 5 roughly equal pieces,

and roll them into rounds.

Place the dough in a greased 30 cm loaf pan and press firmly.

Let it rise, covered, for another 60-90 minutes.

Preheat the oven to 180°C and bake the bread with steam for about 40 minutes.

 

American Sourdough Bagel

I've loved this American bread for decades, even though it doesn't actually come from the USA. In San Francisco, one of the most expensive cities in the US, there are small shops that sell only bagels, in countless different varieties. A generously filled bagel to go costs just over $5. That's a bargain by local standards

I calculated the following recipe for 8 bagels.

They'll just barely have enough room on the baking sheet.

My "rolls with the hole" are so incredibly delicious and soft, making the effort of cooking the dough worthwhile!
Sourdough

- 30 g Levito Mamma

- 70 g Water

- 100 g 550 Wheat Flour

Cooking dough:

- 30 g Wheat Flour

- 100 g 3.5% Whole Milk

Mix the flour and milk in a small saucepan, stirring constantly until a pudding-like consistency forms.

Transfer to a small bowl, cover with plastic wrap, and refrigerate to cool.

Pre-dough:

- 100 g 550 wheat flour

- 1 g dry yeast

- 5 g honey

- 100 g cold water

Prepare the pre-dough and sourdough starter and let it rise, covered, for 12 to 18 hours.

This step isn't actually necessary when making bagels.

However, I think the improved flavor the bagels develop is worth the effort.

If you want to save yourself the effort, please include the ingredients listed above below.

Main Dough:

- 270 g 550 wheat flour

- 80 g cold water

- 30 g sugar

- 10 g baking enzymes

- 12 g salt

- 6 g dry yeast

- 2 tbsp. oil

1 tbsp. honey 

Knead the ingredients into a smooth dough that easily pulls away from the sides of the bowl.

Let the dough rise for 60 to 90 minutes, stretching and folding it twice.

Divide the dough into 8 pieces. First, roll the dough pieces into rounds, then shape them into a long circle.

Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and sprinkle with semolina flour.

Place the dough pieces on the sheet and let rise, covered, for 45 minutes. In the meantime,

bring water with a little honey  to a boil. Add the bagels, one at a time, to the boiling water.

Cook for 45 seconds on each side.

Remove from the oven and place on the parchment paper.

Brush with egg yolk and sprinkle with cheese or seeds (if desired).

Bake in a preheated oven at 180°C (convection oven) for about 17 minutes.

Danish Tebirkes

These wonderfully airy, flaky rolls never cease to amaze me, despite the effort involved. They're made from homemade Danish pastry with plenty of butter.

Preparation of the dough:

500 g 550 wheat flour

250 g water

50 g milk

10 g salt

7 g dried yeast

40 g cold butter

180 g butter for the butter slab (please prepare this beforehand)

Roll out the butter with a rolling pin on a floured work surface.

Quickly knead all ingredients together in a food processor. The dough doesn't need to be smooth.

Place the dough on the work surface. Shape it into a rectangle with your hands.

Roll out with a rolling pin to a thickness of 5 mm.

Place the butter slab on the dough, fold it over, and roll out the dough to a thickness of approximately 10 mm.

Fold the dough like a letter. Refrigerate for 1 hour. Place it with the narrow side facing up,

roll it out, and fold it back together. Refrigerate for 1 hour. Repeat this process 2 more times.

Store in the refrigerator until the next morning.

On the day of baking, remove the dough from the refrigerator and roll it out into a rectangle.

Using a pizza cutter, cut it into 8 pieces along the wide sides.

Roll up tightly, spread with icing, and sprinkle with sesame and poppy seeds.