Schüttelbrot · Pane di Segale Sudtirolese
Trentino-Alto Adige · bread · serves 10 · 360 min total · medium
South Tyrol's hard rye crispbread, baked twice a year in farmhouse ovens and hung to dry on wooden frames. The name means 'shaken bread' — the only way to flatten this hydrated rye dough is to jiggle it on a board. Spices vary by valley; fennel, caraway and trigonella are the Eisacktal trio.
Ingredients
- 400 g wholegrain rye flour
- 100 g wheat flour
- 350 ml warm water
- 100 g rye starter
- 3 g fresh yeast
- 12 g fine sea salt
- 1 tbsp fennel seeds, crushed
- 1 tsp caraway seeds, crushed
- 0.5 tsp cumin seeds, crushed
Method
- Combine flours, starter, yeast, salt and spices. Add water and mix to a sticky batter — wetter than normal bread dough.
- First rise 2 hours covered.
- Tip a handful of dough onto a heavily floured wooden board.
- Shake the board with both hands ('schütteln' = to shake) so the dough spreads into a flat, irregular 20 cm disc 1 cm thick. The shaking is the only shaping there is.
- Slide onto a peel; repeat. Final proof 30 minutes.
- Heat oven to 230°C (450°F).
- Bake 30–35 minutes until very crisp and dark.
- Cool fully — once dry, schüttelbrot keeps for months and is snapped apart with the hands. Eaten with speck and a glass of Lagrein.