Norwegian Kneipp bread recipe

Ahh…the Kneipp bread. Invented by the German Catholic priest and MD Dr. Sebastian Kneipp in an effort to prevent masturbation. Read on to learn more about Norway’s most popular bread, and the recipe to bake your own.

Whether it is because of all the furious masturbation to beat off the cold up here in Norway, or because of its great flavor and nutritional value, it has become Norway’s most consumed bread.

And perhaps that is also why a morning glory is called morrabrød (morning bread) too? Regardless of reason, science have thankfully disproven any need to combat masturbation, and it is now considered one of the highest forms of self care.

The Kneipp bread made today is a semi coarse wheat full grain bread shaped like a batard, and is mostly made with commercial yeast. It has quite thin, but crisp crust, its interior soft, has a reasonably fine crumb without large holes, so it’s perfect for all kinds of jams and other spreads.

The main article pic is how I make it, while the below pic is a prime commercial example:

Either way, here’s the recipe to make your own Kneipp bread, so get ready for a real mouthgasm with this steaming hot bake!

Ingredients

• 50 g finely milled whole grain wheat (sammalt fin)
• 100 g coarsely milled whole grain wheat (sammalt grov)
• 400 g regular wheat flour
• 15 g fine sea salt
• 370 g room temp water
• 100 g sourdough starter (100% hydration)*

*If you don’t have a sourdough starter, simply add an additional 50 g wheat flour and 50 g water, and use 6 g dry yeast instead. The bread will then typically take 6 hours to rise at room temp. Use 12 g yeast if you’re in a hurry. It’ll be even better if you let it rise slowly in your fridge overnight.

Method

Personally I make all my bread my hand, so the method reflects this. I use the stretch and fold method to make the dough, but a good mixer with dough attachment at the very slowest speed will make a decent dough as well.

I make two loaves at the time, and I shape them as a batard, then score them before baking. But there’s nothing wrong with slapping them into a bread form instead. You are after a good, crunchy crust, and not too open crumb; this bread is perfect for all sorts of spreads, jams, and preserves!

Weigh and mix all ingredients well. Let sit for 20-30 minutes to fully hydrate, and let the gluten develop a bit. Stretch and fold (or mix for 3 minutes) for a total of 3 times.

Cover, and let rise until double in size. How long this takes depends on the yeast you use, and your room temperature.

Shape the bread into a batard, and put in a banneton. Or a buttered up bread form if that’s what you use. It is very important to create good surface tension to get a nice, even loaf.

The video below is reasonably close to how I shape my loaves, though it’s a little bit sloppy. And don’t do the fiddly bit at the end of the video.

• First I stretch the dough into a rectangle-ish.
• I then flip 1/3rd of each long side towards the center so they overlap eachother.
• I then roll the new rectangle in the other direction, and make sure to create nice, even tension on the dough.
• Transfer the dough to the banneton, seam up, then pinch the ends.
• …Or if you’re using a bread form, seam down.
• …I should probably make my own video about this.

Let the shaped loaf rise again until ready to bake.

Preheat your oven to 230C/450F. I use a pizza steel, so I preheat the oven for at least 30 minutes to make sure the steel is hot enough.

Once the loaves are in the oven, turn down the heat to 180C, and bake for 45-50 minutes. Use steam the first 10 minutes.

I generate steam by heating a small pot with water to a boil, and put that in the bottom of my oven. This will give much better oven rise, and nicer crust too.

When ready, transfer the loaves to a oven rack and let cool for 20-30 minutes before slowly and deliberately buttering it up and shoving it into your face 🙂