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Schwäbische Seelen
Spelt caraway rolls
Schwäbische Seelen: long, chewy spelt rolls with coarse salt and caraway
Seelen, meaning 'souls', are the long, pale spelt rolls of Upper Swabia, around Biberach and Ravensburg, said to have first been baked for All Souls' Day. Today they are an everyday bakery item, eaten split with butter or alongside a bowl of soup, and they turn up at every Swabian beer garden. The dough is very wet, so the rolls are pulled into shape rather than rolled, giving an open, chewy crumb under a thin crust crusted with salt and caraway. A common mistake is adding extra flour to make the dough easier to handle, which turns them into ordinary bread rolls. Chef's tip: keep a bowl of cold water beside you and wet your hands before every piece; the dough won't stick and you can stretch each soul straight onto the tray.
- Total time
- 180 min
- Difficulty
- medium
- Serves
- 8
Ingredients
- 1 ⅛ lb white spelt flour (type 630)
- ⅛ oz dried yeast
- ⅜ oz salt
- 1 ¾ cups cold water
- 1 tbsp coarse sea saltfor the top
- 2 tsp caraway seedsfor the top
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Method
0/5 doneStep 1: Mix the 1 ⅛ lb white spelt flour (type 630), ⅛ oz dried yeast, ⅜ oz salt and 1 ¾ cups cold water in a bowl until no dry flour is left. The dough will be very soft and sticky.
5 minStep 2: Cover and leave for 2 hours at room temperature, giving the dough a set of folds every 30 minutes: with a wet hand, lift one side and fold it over, turning the bowl four times. The dough becomes smoother, bubbly and wobbly.
120 minStep 3: Heat the oven to 475°F (450°F fan) with a baking tray inside. Wet your hands and the worktop with cold water. Tip the dough out and cut it into 8 strips with a wet scraper.
15 minStep 4: Lift each strip with wet hands and stretch it into a roll about 25 cm long. Lay them on baking paper, brush or spray with water and scatter with the 1 tbsp coarse sea salt and 2 tsp caraway seeds.
10 minStep 5: Slide the paper onto the hot tray and bake for 18–20 minutes, until light golden and crisp. Seelen should stay quite pale; too dark means the crust gets hard. Eat the same day.
20 min
Nutrition per serving
- Calories
- 220 kcal
- Protein
- 8 g
- Carbs
- 45 g
- Fat
- 1 g
- Fibre
- 2 g
Nutrition values are estimates.
KrazyBadal
Good to know
- How long does schwäbische Seelen take?
- About 180 minutes in total: 160 minutes to prepare and 20 minutes to cook.
- How many people does it serve?
- 8 as written. Change the servings above the ingredients and every amount scales to match.
- Is it vegan?
- Yes. It has no meat, fish, dairy or eggs.
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