German "Weltmeister" Buns - for Sourdough Beginners

"Weltmeisterbrötchen" ( world champion buns) a good, easy to make

and healthy sourdough bun from germany.

Whole grain rye sourdough as a base, mixed with wheat flour and tasty seeds.

this recipe is well-suited to beginners in sourdough baking.

It's totally possible to use store-bought sourdough in combination with yeast if you don't have any own sourdough at home.

Don't be afraid to try it - you'll succeed!

Step 1: Mixing and Kneading the Good Stuff!

for 8 buns you'll need:

• 333g sourdough from whole rye flour
  
• 380g wheat bread flour
  
• 12g salt
• 12g brown sugar
• 5g olive oil
• 110g water, lukewarm
• optional 28g rye grain cut - you have to prepare that 2 hours in advance and if you forget it won't matter
• optional 28g boiling water
• 2 tbsp sesame seeds
  
• 2 tbsp flax seeds
• 2 tbsp poppy seeds
• 5 tbsp sunflower seeds

getting started:

2 hours in advance mix the rye grain cut with the boiling water - if you forget this step it won't matter.

mix the sourdough with the brown sugar and leave it for 20 minutes.

then mix in and knead all the remaining ingredients - except the seeds! - by hand or machine for max. 10 minutes, leave the dough for another 20minutes.

Step 2: Making the Buns

after the 20 minutes grab the dough and knead it another minute by hand

sprinkle the sunflower seeds on your working table and place the dough on it.

take a rolling pin and roll the dough gently until it's a little flatter, then sprinkle the other seeds on top of the dough and roll into a circle shape until it's 1,5 to 2 cm thick and approx. 25cm in diameter and cover it fully with the seeds.

split the dough circle in 8 parts - basically like a pizza :)

place the pieces / buns on a baking plate and cover with a sheet of plastic foil and leave it on a warm spot ( 25C is great).

Now you have to wait for the buns to rise until they reach double height - that can take about 2 to 3 hours, and depends a lot on your sourdough and temperature.

If you are cheating with a little yeast, it'll be done after 1 to 1,5 hours

Step 3: Baking or Prebaking - You Decide

the buns are double size now 3 to 4 cm high and fluffy :)

preheat your oven to 250C

fill a cup with abot 150ml boiling water

put the buns in the oven and pour the water on the metalbottom of your oven and close the door instanly!

The water turns into steam and helps the buns to rise and avoids cracking as well and helps the crust to form.

after 10 minutes open the oven door for a few seconds to release the remaining steam.

Lower the temperature to 200C -220C ( depends on your oven and bake another 10 minutes until they have a nice colour.

after that let them cool on a grid

Now to your choice:

you can bake them ready to eat

or prebake and freeze them and bake another 5 minutes just before breakfast.

Step 4: Enjoy

- well that wasn't to hard!

Enjoy your very own "weltmeister" buns and feel like a real world champion!

I'm pretty sure you're gonne double the recipe next time!

and if you prebaked some, freeze them and just bake them for another 5 minutes at 220C and eat them whenever you want!