A German style bread with seeds and nuts.
Germany is known for its amazing bread recipes. But not many people know that there are more than 3.200 different trademarked bread specialties offered in German bakeries. In this video I will show you how to make a healthy seed bread, named “Körnerbrot” in German. It contains valuable vitamins, minerals and trace elements, and is rich in dietary fibers. This recipe will show you how fast you can make this flavorful healthy bread with very little work.
How to make German Bread with Seeds and Nuts Video Tutorial
Authentic German Bread with Seeds and Nuts Recipe
Recipe
German Bread with Seeds and Nuts (Vegan)
Ingredients
- 2 cups dark rye flour
- 3 cups whole wheat flour
- 1 tsp. bread spice
- 1 tbsp. instant yeast
- 2 cups very warm water
- ⅓ cup olive oil
- ⅓ cup honey for a vegan version use agave nectar
- 2 tbsp. brown sugar or molasses
- 1 tbsp. apple cider vinegar
- 1 tbsp. salt
- 1 cup mixed seeds and/or nuts i.e. pumpkin, sunflower etc.
Instructions
- Add flour, bread spice and yeast to a large bowl and blend.
- Mix water, oil, honey, brown sugar or molasses, vinegar and salt.
- Gradually add the water mixture to the flour and knead on a medium low setting for about 5-10 min.
- Cover the dough and let it rise for about 20 - 30 minutes. The dough will NOT double in size.
- Add seeds/nuts and knead briefly into the dough.
- Knead briefly and shape to a ball.
- Add to a floured banneton or bowl and allow to rise for about 30 - 60 min.
- Preheat the oven to 450 Fahrenheit. Add a heatproof bowl of water.
- Turn dough out of the banneton on a parchment paper lined baking sheet and slash with a sharp knife.
- Bake for 10 - 15 min. on 450 F.
- Reduce to 350 and bake for additional 30 – 40 min.
- Add to a rack to cool completely.
Nutrition
Yield: 1grams
Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!
Gabor says
Do I need molasses in this recipe because in the ingredients section it doesn’t mention it but when I read the instructions it does mention molasses to be added. And if I need molasses how much ? Thanks
Angela says
Hi Gabor, thank you for catching that. The recipe asks for 2 tbsp. of brown sugar or molasses. I adjusted the recipe. I hope you will give it a try, it always turns out great.
Sussie says
What is bread spice ??
Can I not use rye ?
Angela Schofield says
Here is a recipe for bread spice: https://alltastesgerman.com/german-recipes/bread/german-bread-spice-blend/. Do you mean rye flour?
Shahnon says
How big a banneton is needed for this recipe?
Angela says
Hi Shahnon, I use a 9-inch banneton, that works for most recipes quite well.
sally hurt says
What is in the bread spice?
Angela says
Hi Sally, you can find the recipe for the bread spice here: https://alltastesgerman.com/german-recipes/bread/german-bread-spice-blend. It is very easy to make and stores for years in an airtight container.
Samra says
Danke für das Rezept! Ich lebe in Kalifornien und vermisse deutsches Brot! Ich werde versuchen es diese Woche zu backen 🙂
Angela says
Viel Spaß beim Backen und guten Appetit!
Susan says
Looks amazing!
Angela says
Thank you, it tastes very good too 🙂
fRED says
What is the purpose of the bowl of water in the oven?
Do I place the ball of dough into a particular baking dish or container?
Angela says
The bowl of water creates a light steam. This is important during the oven-spring period so that the surface of the loaf remains moist and expands.
If you are having an oven with steam function, you can use this for about the first 15 min. and then shut it off if you like a crunchy crust like German bread usually has.
You can place the bread directly on a with parchment paper lined baking sheet, no container needed.
Betsy says
It seemed like the liquid ingredients made the dough too wet!
Angela Schofield says
Hey Betsy, the recipe calls for 5 cups of flour in total and the rye flour usually needs more liquid. I made the bread a lot of times and it always turned out great. I am sorry to hear yours was to wet, but I can´t really explain why. Did you knead it long enough and added the liquid gradually? You can see in the video the consistency of the bread perhaps that helps and you can adjust the liquid.
Norm says
Thanks for the Recipe. It came out looking and tasting great. I ended up having to use the longer of the 2 times for rising and baking. Also your recipe calls for 1 Tbsp of Instant Yeast, the Red Star packets of Instant Yeast say they are only equivalent to 2 1/4 teaspoons of Instant Yeast, which is a little shy but seems to work without issue.
Angela Schofield says
Thank you for your feedback and your tips, Norm. I am glad your bread turned out to your liking. It is one of my favorite breads.
Janet says
Is it possible to include grams for ingredients for those of us who are using a digital scale? Thank you
Angela Schofield says
Thank you for the suggestion, I will try to incorporate it over the next weeks.
C Zietz says
I followed this recipe with a couple of deviations, I proofed active dry yeast in the bowl with a little of the honey and kneaded by hand for about 5-6 min. since I don't have a mixer and I enjoy kneading. It was a messy process, but in the end it was wonderful! Mine wasn't quite as pretty because the flour didn't stick much to my bowl, so it settled a bit at the bottom of the bowl, leaving big patches of flour on my bread but it didn't affect the taste one bit! I'm at the beginner level in bread baking. I found this recipe to be easy. So far it's my favorite recipe! Thank you.
Angela Schofield says
Thank you so much for the nice feedback. It´s wonderful that you liked the bread. I hope you will try out more of our bread recipes. I am always happy to help in case you run into questions.
Charles Cox says
You call for 3 cups of wheat flour. Are you using all whole wheat or some bread or AP flour?
Angela Schofield says
I used all whole wheat flour, but you could go half and half with bread or AP flour if you prefer that.
Charles Cox says
Thankyou
Renate says
I made the bread and followed the recipe to the letter. The bread came out looking perfect, but a little flat. However I was very disappointed with the taste of the bread. It is too sweet. I used 1/3 cup honey and 2 tbsp. molasses. The bread has a definite sweet taste to it. German bread is never sweet. I also found the bread to be sort of doughy, like it didn't bake long enough. I added 10 min. to the baking time because after I pulled the bread out after the original baking time it didn't sound hollow when I tapped the bottom. I might try again and cut back on the honey or the molasses. Do you have any other advise for me please. I can not find German bread where I live and I need for this recipe to work for me.
Angela Schofield says
Hi Renate, it is always difficult to say how long a bread needs to bake. Ovens vary a lot and it is also depending on your humidity, the flour you use and other factors. It is best to do the "tapping test" to find out if your bread is fully baked.
The reason bread dough spreads out rather than rise up is likely because of weak gluten structure, underdeveloped surface tension during kneading.
Regarding the sweetness it depends a lot on the seeds and nuts you take, it turns perfect out for me. The bread recipe is from a bakery from the Rhineland region, the addition of honey balances out the bitterness of the seeds, but you can adjust the sweetness to your liking.
We have many more German bread recipes, perhaps the potato bread or the rye bread would be something you would like more.