Vinschger Paarl from South Tyrol

Vinschgerl Paarl (aka Vinschgauer Paarl or monastery bread), first invented in the Benedictine abbey of Marienberg in the 13th century, is a typical Tyrolean flatbread that is about palm-sized, 2-3cm thick and baked in pairs with fresh spices such as fennel, coriander and caraway. They are hearty and have a very distinctive flavour due to the use a high proportion of rye flour, sourdough and bread spices like blue fenugreek, cumin, fennel and coriander. The flour for the Vinschger is 70% rye flour: dark or light or wholemeal. The sourdough makes them easy to digest and they stay fresh for a long time. If you are a fan of well spiced wholesome bread, this recipe is just right for you!
These rye flatbreads taste particularly good with strong mountain cheeses made from raw milk, like Allgäu mountain cheese, and hearty sausage / ham and South Tyrolean red wine. The Paarl bread is often served at weddings: its shape is supposed to symbolise the union of the bride and groom.

Vinschger Paarl from South Tyrol

adapted from Marcel Paa

Preferment	Final Dough
15 g Rye sourdough starter 100 g Lukewarm water 100 g Organic wholemeal rye flour	3/4 tsp Koriander seeds 1 tsp Caraway seeds 1 tsp Fennel seeds 1 tsp Blue fenugreek All of the preferment 200 g Lukewarm water 140 g Organic wholemeal rye flour 100 g Organic plain flour #550 6 g Salt 3 g Fresh yeast

Add the sourdough to the water in a bowl and mix together. Then add the mixture to the rye flour and mix everything together without lumps. Cover the mixture with a tea towel and leave to ferment at room temperature for about 6 hours.
Place all spices in the mortar and use the pestle to smash them up until they're finely ground.
Put all the ingredients of the main dough together with the spices into your food processor and mix well for about 5-8 minutes.
Place the dough in a greased bowl, cover with a tea towel and leave to proof for 90-120 minutes at room temperature.
After the proofing time, turn the dough out onto a well-floured work surface and dust the dough with rye flour. Divide the dough into 4 even portions and shape each into a smooth round ball. Place two dough balls directly next to each other on a lightly greased or parchment lined baking tray with the seam side down. Dust the dough balls with rye flour and cover with a towel. Set aside at room-temperature for about an hour until cracks form on the surface.
Meanwhile preheat the oven to 250C/480F with a bread baking stone and an ovenproof dish in the bottom half of the oven.
Transfer the dough onto the baking stone. Pour a cup of water into the baking tray at the bottom half of the oven. Close the door immediately and bake for 15 minutes. Lower the oven temperature to 200C/400F and bake 20-30 minutes more until it's richly brown and crisp. Place the loaves to cool well on a wire rack.

29 comments:

Brian's Home Blog 15/6/22 00:45: That looks very, very tasty!
Tom 15/6/22 01:27: ...it looks like a wonderful hardy bread!
Mbul Kecil 15/6/22 02:58: Great! It sounds a unique bread because has a coriander's seasoning. For me, as i know coriander is an herb that's commonly used to flavor savory dishes. Have a nice day Angie ^^
J.P. Alexander 15/6/22 03:28: Gracias por la receta, te mando un beso.
kathyinozarks 15/6/22 04:44: Hi Angie, your breads are bakery worthy-they always look so delicious
Margaret D 15/6/22 08:01: That does look good and bet it's nice.
I don't see that many bread varieties down this end of the world. Probably more populated areas such as Sydney might have more.
Lola Martínez 15/6/22 08:53: Que rico lo presentas, no solo por el aspecto del pan, sino por los distintos rellenos que se le pueden poner, lo hacen más rico aún.
Un beso.
Anonymous 15/6/22 11:34: What a beautiful, hearty bread, Angie! I’d love a thick slice served warm with some sweet butter melting on top!
Anonymous 15/6/22 11:59: Hi Angie, Bernadette here. Your breads look so good. I can imagine a nice ham and cheese sandwich.
DEZMOND 15/6/22 13:15: Vinschgerl Paarl does look frisch und lecker. Are DM food products as expensive in Deutchland as they are in my country?
Angie's Recipes 15/6/22 13:38: @DEZMOND Not as expensive as directly ordering from the farmers. I used to order 5-kg package of rye directly from the farmer and they cost twice as much, but the farmers have some really quality grains. Just bought some real ancient spelt, (modern spelt again is cultivated with wheat), emmer, einkorn and kamut. Everything is expensive this year...I just bought a whole case of blueberries and they cost twice more than last year. I don't care about vegetables, salad or fruit, but my husband loves the berries.
Whats Cookin Italian Style Cuisine 15/6/22 13:57: This is beautiful and a delicious work of art!
Maria Grazia Ferrarazzo Maineri 15/6/22 15:13: I love South Tyrol, it' a beautiful land where I wish I could live. This bread is absolutely perfect, Angie!
thepaintedapron.com 15/6/22 15:14: Wow, more amazing breads!
Kitchen Riffs 15/6/22 15:42: Sigh, another great bread recipe. Really, really good stuff -- thanks.
Pedro 15/6/22 17:02: Its curious that as I read the recipe I imagined it with a good piece of cream cheese spread on top. Great!
Velva 15/6/22 17:05: Love a really hearty bread full of good things.
Bill 15/6/22 17:56: A great looking bread, would love to try it.
H.R. Bennett 15/6/22 18:13: Oooh~ That sounds really good. Do that with some fresh herb butter.
Pam 15/6/22 18:49: Beautiful loaves full of lots of flavor!
Cooking Julia 15/6/22 22:42: Dark bread like this is exactly what I like!
Abbe@This is How I Cook 16/6/22 04:58: Angie, this is one gorgeous loaf!
speedy70 16/6/22 09:26: Un altro pane fantastico, bravissima!!!
Nancy Chan 16/6/22 10:23: This is another beautiful bread. Makes me think of butter and jam and coffee!
foodtravelandwine 16/6/22 16:10: another bread for my Angie's-recipe-to-do-list!!....it looks the perfect bread with those seeds!!.......Abrazotes, Marcela
Ben | Havocinthekitchen 16/6/22 19:49: I've never heard / had Vinschgerl Paarl, but it looks terrific (Great texture and exterior!) Loving all the aromatics, too.
Sherry's Pickings 17/6/22 10:26: lovely baking here again angie.!
My name is Erika. 17/6/22 14:27: I haven't made bread since early spring. Shame on me. Your loaves look absolutely delicious. I love how you are such a creative baker. hugs-Erika
Valentina 21/6/22 23:05: I love learning the history of this bread. The size and spices both do it for me. I love it! :-) ~Valentina