The second bread wich I baked for the “Schwarzmarkt” was a oatmeal bread. My love for oat shines through one or the other recipe and so I made up my mind quite fast that a bread with oats would be a “must have” for the Schwarzmarkt. This time I opted for a rolled oats partly as porridge, and partly roasted. The porridge makes the bread moist and keeps it fresh for a long time, while the roasted oats add flavour and a nice texture to the crumb. The bread is risen by only the sourdough and rye poolish, which makes the flavour deep and complex.
To get four breads into the oven, I decided to bake them as “Twins” which means that I proof two round loaves in one oval proofing basket. The breads fuse while baking on the side they touch each other, but are easily seperated when cooled down.
I like my oat twins very much, with their dark crust and moist crumb, and the slight honey flavour in combination with nutty oats it is harmonize with cheese as well as with honey or jam. A bread, suitable for every meal!
Whenever we spent our vacation in nothern Germany, I have to buy something I have troubles to find in the Rhineland: Steel cut oats! I like them very much, not for the kale stew like it is typical in North Germany, but for making porridge or baking bread. A porridge is such a good addition to a bread, adding some bite and a good deal of moisture and helping to keep the bread fresh for a long time. Especially for spelt bread it is a good addition as spelt has the tendency to bake dry without added soaker.
I had a nice email exchange with a reader some time ago. She just had started her own sourdough starter and had some questions about it. One was how to replace the bought dried sourdough with her own one. She mailed me the recipe and I adjust it so that it is sole leavend by sourdough. To ensure that the sourdough is strong enough, it is fed twice. I although added a soaker for seeds, to ensure they can take up enough water. As I changed much of the handling as well, add the end there are just the same ingredients but a complete different recipe. But it is worth while as it yields an aromatic, moist bread with a well balanced mild soudough flavour.
Sometimes days go in another direction then my bread baking plan was scheduled. Like last weekend when my mum called to invite me for a spontaneous lunch. So I placed my dough in the fridge after kneading. When we came home it was already late afternoon and when I calculate how long it would take to proof and bake the bread I realize it would be already past my bed time. So I decided to form the loaves and proof them over night in the fridge. With a mild sourdough, this works very well without getting a to sour bread.
When I stroll over the Christmas market I’m often wondering about the enormous prices for little helpings of Schupfnudel, fried mushrooms or molten raclett cheese. And so I’m little tempted to spend my money there. But what I take with me this time was an inspiration for “Handbrot”. The name means literally hand bread and is a pieces of bread dough filled with Cheese, bacon or mushrooms. The versions sold on the cologne Christmas market where baked to pale for my liking and the dough contained surely to much yeast, but while looking on the breads a recipe started to appear in my mind.
Beside apples walnuts are another autumn favourite of mine. And beautiful autumn days with blue sky, colourful trees and rustling leaves on the ground make me wish for a bread with nuts. The bread I baked is another sibling of the 
