Rye Bread

Levain Bread

August 9, 2014Bread, Breakfast, BrunchTove Balle-Pedersen2 Comments

Levain means wild yeast in French, but is also covers the use of sourdough. A bread kan be called a Levain if the amount of compressed yeast (live yeast) doesn't exceeds 0.2%

This Levain is more sour than the breads I normally bake, but I really like the sourness with the rye flour. This bread is a good bread for artisan cheeses or as a side for dinner.

This bread came about by mistake. I was making the leaven for the basic country bread a la Tartine, but I used rye flour instead of whole wheat flour by mistake. So instead of discarding the leaven, I came up with this bread.

Makes 2 breads

Ingredients:

Leaven:

about 2 tablespoons sourdough (the starter you keep in the refrigerator and feed every other week)
200 g water (78℉)
70 g all-purpose flour
65 g rye flour

Bread:

600 g water
10 g live yeast (¾ teaspoon dry yeast)
3½ dl (275 g) leaven
3 dl (200 g) rye flour
12 dl (840 g )all-purpose flour
1½ tablespoons salt

Directions:

Leaven:

Make the leaven the night before you want to bake the bread. If you like a more sour note to your bread, make the leaven in the morning, and after about 8 hours fermentation, put the leaven in the refrigerator until next morning.

Mix all the ingredients well in a bowl, and let the leaven rest covered on the counter for 8-10 hours. To test leaven's readiness, drop a spoonful into a bowl of room-temperature water. If it sinks, it is not ready and needs more time to ferment and ripen. If it floats, it's ready to use. As it develops, the smell will change from ripe and sour to sweet and pleasantly fermented.

This time I just used 275 g of the sourdough 8 hours after the feeding instead of making the leaven.

Bread:

Next morning:

In a large bowl, pour in the water, yeast, sourdough, and rye flour, mix it well. Add salt and the all-purpose flour a little at a time, until you have a firm but slightly sticky dough. You might not need all the flour.

I always knead my doughs in my stand mixer, and I knead the dough for about 8-10 minutes until the dough is a bit shiny and elastic.

Cover the bowl with a clean kitchen towel and let the dough rise for about 4 hours.

Pour the dough out on a non-floured kitchen table, divide the dough in 2 and shape them into rounds.

Line 2 baskets with clean kitchen towels, generously dusted with flour. Transfer each round to a basket, smooth side down and let to rest, covered, at room temperature, about 3 hours before baking.

Baking the Bread:

Twenty minutes before you are ready to bake the bread, preheat oven and dutch/french oven to 500 degrees, with rack in lowest position.

Gently flip one bread into heated dutch/french oven. Score top twice using a razor blade matfer lame. Cover with lid. Return to oven, and reduce oven temperature to 450℉. Bake for 20 minutes.

Remove lid and continue to bake until crust is deep golden brown, 20 to 25 minutes more.

Transfer loaf to a wire rack, and let it cool completely.

To bake the second loaf, raise oven temperature to 500 degrees, wipe out dutch/french oven with a dry kitchen towel, and reheat with lid for 10 minutes.

Enjoy!

This post has been submitted to the Yeast Spotting Site.

Danish Rye Bread revisited

July 9, 2014Bread, Breakfast, Brunch, Dinner, LunchTove Balle-Pedersen3 Comments

I really like my other recipe for the rye bread, I think It is close to perfect to my taste. But I needed to make the process easier. I love using a scale for baking, but just adding the flour in deciliters makes it so much easier, when baking 2 breads at the time.

Makes 2 big loafs

Ingredients:

Sourdough Leaven: (You are not using it all in the recipe, you need to save some for next bake)

200 g sourdough/starter (the starter you keep in the refrigerator and feed every other week)
400 g water
2 dl (110 g) rye flour
2 dl (120 g) all-purpose flour

Berries and seeds:

2 dl (135 g) flaxseeds
2 dl (135 g) sunflower seeds
2 dl (140 g) cracked rye
2 dl (180 g) rye berries
2 dl (160 g) bulgur (100% whole grain quick cooking bulgur wheat)
2 dl (190 g) wheat berries (hard red spring wheat berries)

Dough:

1500 g water (use this to soak the berries and seeds)
600 g sourdough leaven
3 tablespoons salt
1 splash food coloring (kulør) - optional
2 teaspoons malted barley flour
8 dl (440 g) rye flour (dark rye flour)
4 dl (240 g) all-purpose flour

Sprinkles:

sunflower seeds, pumpkin seeds, sesame seeds or poppy seeds.

Directions:

Day 1, morning:

Feed the starter to make the leaven. The leaven will be ready to use when the leaven is bubbling and smells like beer, after about 8 hours at room temperature. Cover the leaven with a clean towel.

Soak the berries and seeds in water in a large bow (I use to bowl because of the big amount). Cover the bowls with large plates. Let them soak at room temperature until the leaven is ready.

Day 1, night:

Add the leaven to the soaked berries and seed. Cover the bowls with large plates. Let the mixture ferment overnight at room temperature .

Save the leftover leaven and put it in the refrigerator in a sealed container. This will be your sourdough starter for the next batch of bread. It will keep without feeding for about 14 days in the refrigerator. *

Day 2, morning:

Add the salt, coloring and the flours to the dough and mix thoroughly, to make sure all the flour is fully incorporated, let rise for about two hours.

Add the dough to two rye bread baking forms. (I use Eva Professionel Rye Bread Tin which holds 3,3 liters).

Let the bread rise for about an hour, covered with a clean towel. The longer you let it rise, the more sour the bread becomes.

Poke a few holes with a cake tester or a knitting needle, to prevent the crust to rise and crack.

Brush the bread with water and sprinkle with your favorite seeds.

Place the baking form in a preheated oven for 1 hour 15 minutes at 350°F (175℃).

Turn off the heat, remove the breads from the baking forms, spray with water on all sides and place them back in the oven directly on the rack for about an hour, while the oven cools.

Take the breads out and wrap them in an clean kitchen towel. This will help softening the crust. Let breads cool completely.

It's best to wait cutting the bread until the next day.

Enjoy the bread with your favorite deli meat or cheese.

* Feeding: Discard half of the sourdough/starter and add ½ cup rye flour, ½ cup all-purpose flour and 1 cup water. Mix well, and let ferment for about 8 hours at room temperature.

The Danish version:

Rugbrød

Ingredienser:

Surdej:

200 g surdej/starter (Den surdej du har i køleskabet og fodre hver 14. dag)
400 g vand
2 dl (110 g) rugmel
2 dl (120 g) hvedemel

Korn og frø:

2 dl (135 g) hørfrø
2 dl (135 g) solsikkefrø
2 dl (140 g) knækkede rugkerner
2 dl (180 g) hele rugkerner
2 dl (160 g) bulgur (grov bulgur)
2 dl (190 g) hele hvedekorn

Dej:

1500 g vand
600 g nyfodret surdej
3 spsk salt
1 slat kulør - valgfrit
2 tsk maltmel
8 dl (440 g) rugmel
4 dl (240 g) hvedemel

Drys:

solsikkefrø, græskarkerner, sesamfrø eller birkes.

Directions:

Dag 1, morgen:

Fodr surdejen for at gøre den klar til bagningen. Lad surdejen stå tildækket på køkkenbordet i ca 8 timer, indtil den bobler lystigt og lugter af øl.

Udblød frø og kerner i vandet i et par store skåle ved stuetemperatur. Dæk skålene med store tallerkener. Lad kernerne stå indtil surdejen også er klar til brug.

Dag 1, aften:

Kom de 600 g surdej over i de udblødte kerner. Dæk skålene med store tallernener igen og lad blandingen fermentere/gære natten over ved stuetemperatur.

Gem resterne af surdejen i en lufttæt beholder. Dette er surdejen du skal fodre inden næste bagning. Surdejen kan holde sig i ca. 14 dage i køleskabet imellem fodringer.*

Dag 2, morgen:

Tilsæt salt og kulør til kernerne. Tilsæt melet, bland det godt sammen, indtil der ikke er mellommer i dejen. Lad dejen hæve i ca 2. timer på køkkenbordet.

Fordel dejen i 2 rugbrødsforme. (Jeg bruger Eva Professionel Rye Bread Tin).

Lad brødene hæve tildækket på køkkenbordet i endnu 1 time. Jo længere brødene hæver jo mere surt bliver brødet.

Prik små huller med en nål eller strikkepind, for at undgå at skorpen hæver og knækker under bagningen.

Pensl brødene med vand og drys med frø på toppen.

Bag brødene 1 time og 15 minuttewr ved 180℃.

Sluk for ovnen, og tag brødene ud af formene. Dryp vand på brødene og sæt dem tilbage i ovnen på eftervarmen i omkring 1 time.

Tag brødene ud og pak dem ind i et rent viskestykke, og lad dem køle helt af.

Brødene er letteste at skære dagen efter de er bagt.

Nyd brødet med dit yndlings pålæg.

Velbekomme!

* en fodring er: smid halvdelen af surdejen ud og tilsæt 1 dl hvedemel, 1 dl rugmel og 2 dl vand. Rør det sammen og lad det fermentere/gære på køkkenbordet i ca 8 timer.

This post has been submitted to the Yeast Spotting Site.

Rye Bread made with Beer and Sourdough

June 5, 2014Bread, Brunch, BreakfastTove Balle-Pedersen3 Comments

I wanted to try another way to make rye bread. Maybe adding beer and having less all-purpose flour could make a great bread fantastic?

Ingredients:

Sourdough Leaven:

200 g sourdough/starter (the starter you keep in the refrigerator and feed every other week)
400 g water
125 g rye flour
135 g all-purpose flour

Dough:

7 dl water
3 dl sourdough leaven
3 dl dark malted beer
2 tablespoons salt
1 tablespoon syrup
a splash coloring/kulør - optional
175 g cracked rye berries
175 g rye berries
50 g flax seeds
50 g sunflower seeds
500 g dark rye flour
100 g all-purpose flour

Sprinkles:

sunflower, sesame or pumpkin seeds

Directions:

Day 1, morning:

Feed the starter to make the leaven. The leaven is ready to use when the leaven is bubbling and smells like beer - after about 8 hours at room temperature. Cover the leaven with a clean towel.

The leaven is ready to use when a tablespoon of the leaven floats in a cup of warm water.

Day 1, night:

Soak the berries and seeds in 5 dl hot water, and let it sit for about 30 minutes, until it becomes finger warm

Save about 200 g leaven and put it aside in a sealed container. This will be your sourdough starter for the next batch of bread. It will keep without feeding for about 14 days in the refrigerator.

Add leaven, water and beer to the soaked berries and seed. Add the salt, coloring and the flour to the dough and mix thoroughly, to make sure all the flour is fully incorporated. Cover the bowl with a large plate. Let the mixture ferment overnight at room temperature.

Day 2, morning:

Pour the dough into two rye bread baking pans. (I use Eva Professionel Rye Bread Tin which holds 3,3 liters).

Let the bread rise for about an hour, covered with a clean towel. The longer you let it rise, the more sour the bread becomes.

Poke a few holes with a cake tester or knitting needle, to prevent the crust from rising and cracking.

Brush the bread with water and sprinkle with your choice of seeds.

Place the baking form in a preheated oven for 1 hour 15 minutes at 350°F.

Turn off the heat, remove the breads from the baking forms, spray with water on all sides and put them back in the oven, directly on the rack, for about an hour while the oven cools.

Take the breads out and wrap them in a clean kitchen towel. This will help softening the crust. Let breads cool completely.

It's best to wait cutting the bread until the next day.

Enjoy the bread with your favorite deli meat or cheese.

Meyers seedless rye bread

January 9, 2014Bread, LunchTove Balle-PedersenComment

I've made rye bread before, but this time I wanted to try the seedless kind. My dad didn't like to many seeds in his bread. And if you have a child who just started getting solid foods, you want to start off with a softer version of the traditional rye bread.

The bread is soft and light with a mild rye bread taste.

This recipe is from Claus Meyers Bagebog

Ingredients:

1100 g water - finger-warm
30 g yeast (live yeast)
1 dl sourdough
500 g all-purpose flour
1100 g rye flour
30 g sea salt

Directions:

Pour the water into a big bowl, and mix in the sourdough and the yeast. Add the all-purpose flour, rye flour and salt, mix it well. If you do it by hand, kneed the dough for about 10 minutes. If you kneed it in a stand mixer, mix it 3 minutes on low and then 5 minutes on high. Cover the bowl with a kitchen towel an let it rise/ferment for about 3 hours.

Divide the dough in three and form loafs. Put the loafs into baking pans. Cover the pans and let the dough rise/ferment for another 3 hours.

Preheat the oven for 350℉ and put the breads in the oven and bake them for about 45-50 minutes.

Take the breads out of the baking pans and brusk the tops with melted butter. Let the breads cool completely.

Danish Rye Bread

October 26, 2013BreadTove Balle-Pedersen8 Comments

Growing up in Denmark we had open-faced sandwiches for lunch every day. Like this Roast beef with horseradish, remoulade and pickles cucumber. OK this was not an everyday dish. Normally the sandwich was more simple, like liver pate with pickled beets or egg with mayo.

Moving outside Scandinavia I was forced to figure out how I could get the Rye bread (Rugbrød).

The easy way out was going to IKEA to get their Shake 'n Bake Rye Bread, and this was the route I went for the first years.

Baking the Tartine Bread gave me an introduction to baking with sourdough, and it was a segway into baking Rye Bread from scratch.

I didn't want to make the same bread as my mom made back in the days. It was way too white, and looked more like a wheat bread than a rye bread.

My inspiration came from Kvalimads Best Rye Bread. I made some changes to his recipes. This is how I make the bread:

Sourdough starter:

Allmost all bakers of the danish rye bread has their own sourdough starter. Many people get the starter from a friend or relative. A starter can last for decades if treated right.

I opted for the easy way out, buying a starter from King Arthur Flour, and fed it with half rye and wheat flour. By now my starter is a year old, and some of my friends got some of it. It takes a couple of bakes to get the right acidity and taste if you start your own starter from scratch.

This recipe makes 2 big rye bread.

Sourdough leaven:

200 g sourdough/starter (the starter you keep in the refrigerator and feed every other week)
400 g water
125 g rye flour
135 g all-purpose flour

Dough:

1600 g water
600 g sourdough leaven
265 g rye berries (hele rugkerner)
150 g cracked rye (knækkede rygkerner)
75 g flax seeds
75 g sunflower seeds
275 g wheat berries (hard red spring wheat berries) (hele hvedekerner)
170 g bulgur (100% whole grain quick cooking bulgur wheat)
375 g rye flour (dark rye flour)
400 g all-purpose flour
3 tablespoon (57 g) salt
a splash coloring/kulør - optional
Topping pumpin seeds,

Directions:

Day 1, morning:

Feed the starter to make the leaven. The leaven is ready to use when the leaven is bubbleing and smells like beer - after about 8 hours at room temperature. Cover the leaven with a clean towel.

Soak the rye- and wheat-berries and seed in water in a large bow (I use to bowl because of the big amount). Cover the bowl with a large plate. Let them soak at room temperature until the leaven is ready.

Day 1,

night:

Save about 200g leaven and put it aside in a sealed container. This will be your sourdough starter for the next batch of bread. It will keep without feeding for about 14 days in the refrigerator.

Add the leaven to the soaked berries and seed. Cover the bowl with a large plate. Let the mixture ferment overnight at room temperature .

Day 2, morning:

Add the salt, coloring and the flour to the dough and mix thoroughly, to make sure all the flour is fully incorporated, let rise for about two hours.

Add the dough to two rye bread baking forms. (I use Eva Professionel Rye Bread Tin which holds 3,3 liters).

Let the bread rise for about an hour, covered with a clean towel. The longer you let it rise, the more sour the bread becomes.

Poke a few holes with a cake tester or knitting needle, to prevent the crust to rise and crack.

Brush the bread with water and sprinkle with pumpkin or sesame seeds.

Place the baking form in a preheated oven for 1 hour 15 minutes at 350°F.

Turn off the heat, remove the breads from the baking forms, spray with water on all sides and place them back in the oven directly on the rack for about an hour while the oven cools.

Take the breads out and wrap them in an clean kitchen towel. This will help softening the crust. Let breads cool completely.

It's best to wait cutting the bread until the next day.

Enjoy the bread with your favorite deli meat or cheese.

Testing the leaven the man in the cup showed up.