Ötzi, also called the Iceman, is the natural mummy of a man who lived some time between 3350 and 3105 BC, discovered in September 1991 in the Ötztal Alps (hence the nickname “Ötzi”) on the border between Austria and Italy (source: wikipedia)

They found einkorn with his belongings, and my ancient grains dealer has a baking mix for a loaf with einkorn, emmer and spelt called Ötzi. I nicknamed my siberian rye and einkorn starter Ötzi, and developed a bread that comes close to the baking mix, but uses sourdough. Hence the name. Who knows, he might have liked it.

I already told you how to transform your lievito madre into an einkorn based starter yesterday. Today, we bake bread.

The dough is straight forward: no soaker, no scalder, just mixing. We definitely need a loaf pan for this one. Emmer can’t hold its shape and spelt needs more water so it won’t bake dry. The dough is super soft and sticky, don’t even attempt to shape it or bake it freeform. It won’t work.

For a 1-kilo-loaf (or 2 small ones) you need:

• 300g Ötzi (einkorn and medium rye starter)
• 200g emmer wholegrain flour
• 200g spelt wholegrain flour
• 100g flaked grains (I used a mix of ancient grains)
• 14g salt
• 2 tsp psyllium husks
• 15g olive oil
• 2 tsp non-diastatic malt (for color and flavor, you can sub molasses)

There isn’t much kneading going on this time. Just throw everything together into the bowl and mix until you have a smooth dough. Let it rest for 15-20 minutes so the psyllium husks and all the bran can swell and make the dough less soupy.

On a wet surface, use wet hands to give the dough a bit of a knead, then fold it together and flop it into a prepped baking pan.

I lined mine with a re-useable parchment (superthin fiberglass mat).

With wet hands, press the dough flat, so it’s even in the pan. You can add some seeds if you want, or leave it plain. I used a mix of sesame, linseed, sunflower and some flaked grains. Press your topping to the dough.

Cover the pan and leave it at room temperature overnight (about 8 hours) until doubled in size. You can also leave it out for a few hours and then place it in the fridge depending on your schedule.

Once it’s risen, pre-heat the oven including a baking steel to 230°C / 445F, place the pan directly on the steel, add steam, close the door, and turn the oven down to 200°C / 380F immediately.

Bake for about 50 minutes total, core temp should be at least 94°C / 200F.

Let the bread cool and enjoy!