You will need: Fireclay stones
Fireclay brick: approx. 160-180°C
Top heat: approx. 300-350°C
Preheating: approx. 30 minutes
Working hours: 35 minutes
Baking: ca. 30-35 minutes

Ingredients (for 4 loaves)

The evening before:

For the starter dough:

• 300 g wheat flour type 550
• 300 ml water (27°C)
• 3 g yeast (room temperature)

On baking day:

For the main dough:

• 150 g walnuts, roughly chopped
• 200 ml water (60°C)
• 5 g yeast (room temperature)
• Pre-dough
• 300 g ajvar
• 700 g wheat flour type 550
• 20 g salt

In addition:

• 200 g pickled grill peppers, cut into strips
• a little olive oil

The evening before:
For the starter dough:

Place the flour, water and yeast in a large bowl and mix well with a whisk. Cover and leave to stand at room temperature for 12-18 hours.

On baking day:
For the main dough:

Place the walnuts in a small bowl and pour the water over them. Leave to stand for at least 1 hour. Then pour the walnuts into a sieve and leave to drain. ATTENTION: Collect the drained water.
Pour 70 ml of the walnut water into the mixing bowl of the food processor and dissolve the yeast in it.

Add the starter dough, ajvar, flour and salt and knead into a smooth dough.

Add the grill peppers and knead in briefly.

Place the dough in an oiled bowl or dough pan, cover and leave to rise at room temperature for 2.5-3 hours.

Then transfer to the floured work surface. Roughly stretch the dough into a rectangle and divide into 4 equal strips. Twist these 2-3 times around their own axis to form a "root loaf".

Cover and leave to rise for a further 30-40 minutes at room temperature.

During this time, heat the Merklinger to approx. 300-350 °C.

Pick up the root loaves with the floured slide, place in the hot Merklinger and bake for 30-35 minutes until golden brown and crispy.