Friday, November 7, 2008

Peasant Bread Too

The dough is very wet, and it is easiest to put it into the pan using a rubber scraper:

But it rose!


Unlike wheat bread, though, baking did not cause it to rise further:


Slicing into the bread (after resting 24 hours as recommended) revealed a slightly gooey crumb. I think that this is just a characteristic of rye, but I may try baking it slightly longer next time.
It has a decent flavor (especially if you like sourdough.)


Of course, I could increase medieval authenticity by using coarser flour
(and adding grit and maybe ergotism poisoning too but I'll skip those, thanks).
It will do very well for student demonstrations as it is,
which is what I'm after.

4 comments:

GStaples said...

Most rye recipes I have read on, (of course I'm no expert), say they usually have some kind of flour that contains the gluten for rising. Also I have read to bake a little longer because of the moisture content that rye absorbs. There is a whole rye recipe in the 'Local Breads' book, that sounds interesting, page 292. Your starter looks great. I tried some pumpernickel bread about a month ago and it was a disaster, it came out gooey. I guess we keep trying until we find the perfect recipe out there somewhere. Thanks for sharing.

Dr. Croc said...

If you are interested I can send you this whole rye recipe! I did try the one in Local Breads and it *was* a disaster for me- it had whole rye berries which I hadn't soaked for long enough and they were really crunchy and icky. Plus it turned out too gooey (didn't rise enough in the final proof). I think rye is generally more gooey, and if you want a bread that isn't gooey at all, you either have to wait several days after you've baked your rye bread (for all the moisture to redistribute) or add some wheat flour.

GStaples said...

Yes, the recipe would be a nice idea to try. Today I am going for the 'Polish Cottage Rye' on page 327. And again I am making the 'Whole Spelt Loaf', that one is tasty. Don't you just like the rye starter, it rises so fast. At first it smelled, but by day 3, it was mild and I liked it.
Will be waiting for your rye recipe.
Thanks.
Also, I did try a long time ago soaking wheat berries and putting them in bread, it too was a disaster. But I do enjoy when I add soaked flax seeds.

Birrd said...

Clever, clever Crocodile! I wish I could taste that bread.