Every couple weeks or so, we send out a little roundup of new recipes, techniques, and tutorials that we’ve recently posted on the site. Occasionally we announce exclusive giveaways to newsletter subscribers as well. We won’t spam you with ads or share or sell your email address. Every email we send has a 1-click unsubscribe link if you decide it’s not for you.
German Souls Bread (Schwäbische Seelen)
As a graduate student in mathematics, I traveled to Europe in the 1970s to practice the languages of my area of study. I stayed at pensions (inexpensive boarding houses) not frequented by Americans and tried to blend into the local culture. At one pension in Freiburg, Germany, I was given a fresh-baked basket of bread with breakfast each morning. There was one unique bread I’d never tasted before and the family explained that the Seelen or “souls” were from their hometown in Swabia and made by hand with a variety of flours—spelt, rye and wheat.
Decades later and deep in my avocation of bread baking, I began to research these Schwäbische Seelen or Swabian souls. I learned that in 2018, the Ark of Taste from Slow Food Germany recognized this bread as the 67th addition to the ark because of its singular artisan nature that doesn’t lend itself to industrialization. The traditional production method can take up to 24 hours, involves multiple rounds of handling the dough, and the final shaping is done by hand. In my recipes below, I adhered to these traditions but I baked the bread on an upside-down baking sheet, rather than directly on the oven floor.
I explained the shaping technique to Breadtopia, and Melissa Johnson made this video to show the technique of dividing the dough with the side of your hand, and the importance of wetting your hands, dough, and work surface.
Roll up your sleeves and bake this unique bread. The hands-on process is fun and the final results are wonderful: a hard thin crust and a flavorful, moist and open crumb.
Seelen or souls bread from Swabia, a region of Germany
Here are three recipes—the first is the traditional spelt, the second is a variation with halloumi cheese and mint, and the third “pension” variation has a rye levain and tastes close to the souls bread you might find in Freiburg, Germany today.
Crumb of the pension variation
A Note on the Variations
Souls are now the rage in Germany and there are a lot of variations. The second recipe with white sonora flour and all purpose flour is the easiest to work with due to its lower hydration and stronger gluten. Of course one can substitute other whole wheats and use different cheeses too. The third “pension” recipe has the most robust flavor with a rye levain, and certainly more rye flour could be used in the final dough or even buckwheat or barley flours. Historically rye and spelt were predominant grains in Swabia even in the Middle Ages and were grown together in fields, and bakers used the mixed grains from the harvest. Many variations will work and give different flavors for the baker, but the first is close to traditional souls bread and the third is close to the many popular souls in Germany today.
Traditional spelt variation, clockwise from top: spelt, sourdough starter, red fife wheat, salt, caraway seeds, and water.
Sourdough German Souls Bread (Schwäbische Seelen)
From the Swabian region of Germany, seelen or "souls" bread was recently added to Slow Food's Ark of Taste. Hand mixed and rough shaped, sprinkled with coarse salt and caraway seeds, and thrown into a hot oven, they emerge with a hard thin crust and moist interior. Perfect for serving with tomatoes and arugula, enjoying with cheese or an herbed butter, making into sandwiches, or tearing and dipping into hearty soups.
Ingredients
Volume measurements are approximations
WHOLE GRAIN SPELT SOULS
Spelt Levain
Main Dough
WHITE SONORA SOULS WITH HALLOUMI AND MINT
All Purpose Flour Levain
Main Dough
PENSION SOULS
Rye Levain
Main Dough
Instructions
Shopping List
Spelt Whole Grain Flour
Spelt Berries
White Sonora Whole Grain Flour
$11.75 – $102.70White Sonora Wheat Berries
All Purpose Flour
Rye Whole Grain Flour
Rye Berries
Mockmill 100 Grain Mill
Sourdough Starter (Live)
Danish Dough Whisk — Large
Dough and Storage Bucket w/Lid – 2 qt. Square
FibraMent Oven Baking Stones
USA Pan Half Sheet Pan
$23.00USA Pan Cookie Sheet
Tiered Cooling Rack
German Souls Bread (Schwäbische Seelen)