Swiss Twisted Bread - Recipe for Wurzelbrot

Place dry ingredients in bowl, add water and mix until a dough forms. (If you are using active dry yeast, dissolve in 1 tablespoon water, first) Turn out onto a lightly floured board and knead for 5 to 10 minutes, adding a little more flour as needed, to keep dough from sticking to everything.

Update June 2008 : I now recommend kneading with a stand mixer. If you want to knead by hand use wet hands so that no further flour is added.

Place dough into oiled casserole dish and place that in a clean plastic bag, such as a garbage bag. Twist tie the top and place in refrigerator for 12 to 24 hours.

Remove dish from refrigerator and allow it to reach room temperature before proceeding (1 - 2 hours). At this time, dough should be visibly risen.

Update June 2008 : You can let it rise for a longer period of time and make sure the dough shows growth, almost doubled or doubled in size.

Preheat oven to 500°F. Place an old aluminum pan on the bottom rack and your baking rack on the next level up.

Remove dough from bag and casserole and place on floured board, turning once to coat. Do NOT knead. Using a sharp utensil (bench knife or razor), cut into two pieces, lengthwise. Take a hold of the two ends and twist them (as if you are wringing out a towel) twice. Place on baking tray or cookie sheet lined with parchment paper.

To bake, place cookie sheet in oven, pull bottom rack with old pan out and pour about 2 cups of water into it. Close quickly. If you have a spray bottle with water, open oven after 3 and 6 minutes and give 10 quick squirts onto the walls of the oven. Turn oven down to 450°F after that and bake for 20 to 25 more minutes, or until internal temperature of the bread reaches at least 190°F. Remove from oven and cool for 1 hour.

You can bake these breads directly on an oven stone if you prefer. Preheat the stone for 1 hour. King Arthur sells pizza baking stones that work well, or you can find them at Williams Sonoma or check out other pizza stones here:

Variation: May be made with all white (bread) flour.