Naturally Fermented Danish Bread

This Naturally Fermented Danish Bread is perhaps the most delicious and nutritious bread out there. Jam-packed with seeds and grains, just a slice of this dark rye and buckwheat bread, and you will feel satisfied for hours. This recipe also leaves a lot of freedom to the baker regarding what you want to use. If you are gluten-free, simply replace the rye kernels with another cup of buckwheat groats, if you prefer other types of seeds, just choose your own mix. You might find it curious, but there is no use of yeast or bread starter in this recipe, all you need is patience. The yeast and bacterias naturally present on the seeds and grains will do the job in time. It takes 3 days to complete the fermentation process and nothing more. Best enjoyed with smoked salmon and scramble eggs.

Ingredients

Serves 1 loaf of bread

1 cup rye kernels, whole
1 cup buckwheat groats
4 cups lukewarm water
2 tbsp greek yogurt
1/4 cup sunflower seeds
1/4 cup pumpkin seeds
1/4 cup flax seeds
1/4 cup quinoa
1/8 cup pine nuts
1 tsp salt
Olive oil

Directions

Day 1

1. In a large bowl, combine rye kernels and buckwheat groats.

2. Add 3 cups of lukewarm water, cover with plastic wrap and let it soak overnight in the fridge.

Day 2

3. Drain and rinse rye and buckwheat with the help of a sieve, then place them into the container of a high-powered blender.

4. Add yogurt, salt and 1 cup of lukewarm water (quick note: rye needs a generous amount of salt to develop flavor, don’t be shy with it).

5. Blend for a minute until smooth and creamy like.

6. Place into a large bowl, add sunflower seeds, pumpkin seeds, flax seeds, quinoa and pine nuts. Combine well.

7. Cover with plastic wrap and let it ferment for 24h in a warm room. The mixture should slightly raise after the process and smell as if there was yeast. If you feel like it didn’t ferment enough, you can extend the fermentation time up to 48h.

Day 3

8. Preheat the oven to 355F (180C)

9. Place fermented batter into a loaf pan with parchment paper.

10. Brush the top, in a thin layer, with olive oil.

11. Bake for 1 hour or until the crust is golden-brown. The bread texture should be moist on the inside and crusty on the outside.

12. Store in a container in the fridge for up to a week or slice it up and freeze it. Each slice will naturally de-froze in 30 minutes on the counter of your kitchen.