German Souls Bread - ‘Swabian Souls’
Hello everyone, happy new year! Life has been busy and some unexpected events have slowed me down a bit recently, but I was keen to film this video and share it with you all.
I was inspired to make these wonderful breads by a man known as ‘Corvus Corvax’, who shared his method and various versions of his recipe recently on the Whole Grain Sourdough Baker group on Facebook. Corvus (not his real name) is an outstanding and very experienced baker, and you can find a full article with his recipe and instructions on the Breadtopia website HERE.
The recipe I share here is my simple version of Swabian Souls Bread. It is based loosely on the instruction from Corvus Corvax, but I’ve made my recipe a bit larger and have used a modified method to suit my casual style of baking.
What are ‘Swabian Souls’?
There area various theories about the origins behind Swabian Souls bread (‘Schwäbische Seelen’ in German), but this is one take from a man from Southern Germany, and here is another explanation from ‘Betty Bakes German Breads and Cakes’. I also had recent contact from a woman from Swabia who said the breads could be related to ‘Aller Seelen’ (All Souls Day) which is a holiday remembering the deceased, aligned with Halloween in other countries.
With no further adieu, here is the recipe I made as demonstrated in my YouTube video.
Elly’s Everyday Version - German Souls Bread
Makes 3 large or 4 smaller ‘Souls’
Stage 1 Ingredients
200g whole spelt flour
100g whole wheat flour
*My flour is freshly milled using my Mockmill 200, but store bought whole grain flours are perfectly fine to use as well.200g water
30-50g whole wheat, spelt or rye sourdough starter
*You can use freshly fed starter or older, unfed starter from the fridge. I use unfed starter for convenience.
Stage 2 Ingredients
60g water
5g salt
*Optional: Caraway seeds for sprinkling on the dough before baking.
Method
Add sourdough starter into 200g water (from stage 1) and stir thoroughly until dissolved.
Add starter-water mixture to flours and mix until no dry flour remains. There is no need to knead or otherwise handle the dough at this stage.
Cover the dough and rest for one hour.
While you wait, dissolve 5g salt into the final 60g of water (stage 2 portion).
After one hour has passed, gently mix the salt water into the dough. Press and fold the dough for a few minutes until the water is incorporated.
Rest the dough for 30 minutes, then commence gentle stretching and folding every half an hour or so for 2-4 hours.
Once the dough is starting to become gassy, cover it and place into the fridge. Leave your souls dough in the fridge for around 12 hours before baking. If your dough was very well fermented before refrigeration, bake it the next day. If the room temperature fermentation was less advanced, you can leave it for a longer period.
When you are ready to bake your ‘souls’, preheat a baking stone or other flat baking surface in your oven to 230°C/446°F. My pizza stone (used in the video) takes a full 30 minutes to become thoroughly heated.
Once your oven and baking surface are preheated, remove the dough from the fridge and form your souls on a piece of non-stick baking paper. Spray the baking paper, the dough and your hands with water and gently tip the dough onto the baking paper. Using wet hands, cut into the dough and separate into little loaves. Place the paper onto a peel or other flat surface for easy transfer into the oven.
Sprinkle any toppings on top of the dough, spray with one final spritz of water and load your souls into the oven.
Bake the souls for 15-20 minutes. Ovens can vary a lot, so keep an eye on them as they bake.
Cool your fresh ‘souls’ on a wire rack and enjoy them as you please! I love them with avocado, fresh tomato and cracked pepper, hummus, all sorts of things! They make great rolls for a salad sandwich and in winter will be lovely with soups and stews. Just make sure you eat them fresh! They are best within 12 hours of baking I think :)
These ‘souls’ were so soft, bubbly and flavourful. I could eat them all day long! Thanks Corvus Corvax for sharing this wonderful bread tradition with us all.
Looking for more?
Find out about my Mockmill 200 and where you can purchase one from just about anywhere in the world!
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