Malt bread (Mallasleipä)

I like to bake most of my dark bread with a sourdough without any added yeast. In Finland we call the sourdough juuri which translates root. I find the Finnish name perfect because that's what it is: a root of a bread. In Finland the root traditionally is/was passed from mother to daughter and therefore in some old families the root can be some hundreds of years old. We use the root mainly for making dark, specially ryebread and using it for whiter bread is not so well know. 

The best way to store the root would be to use a wooden bowl (the traditional bowl in Finland: taikinatiinu) and after taking the dough out leave some of it around the edges to dry out. As dried the root can be kept good even years. I don't have a family root (should ask my granny, if she has one) so I started my own root some years ago. I keep my root always in a fridge. It would also be possible to freeze the root. I did that once but didn't like it, because then the root always needs a bit time to wake up. Couple of times I almost forgot to take a piece of the dough and my root was almost lost but luckily I remembered it when putting the bread into the oven and could still snatch a piece.

The spread on the bread is the rest of filling for the nettle raviolis

1 l water

2 tbsp sour dough

3 dl rye flour (Roggenschrotmehl)

2 dl (rye)malt (mämmi- ja leipämallas)

...

1 dl molasses (Melasse)

100 g butter

1 tbsp anis seeds

1 tbsp fenchel seeds

salt

about 9 dl wheat flour

Mix the ingredients of the first part and let the dough sour over night (or as long as needed) in warm place until it clearly makes bubbles and has a sour taste. I usually place the bowl on to a bath room floor due to floor heating. Add the molasses, melted butter and spices (crushed with mortar). At this point place the bowl to the stand mixer and add the flour while mixing. The dough won't get super thick and you can't form it with your hands. Place the dough in two forms and let rise. Bake in 175 C for about 1 hour.