The Fresh Loaf

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Schnaitsee Rye

wassisname's picture
wassisname

Schnaitsee Rye

This bread is based on a recipe simply titled Roggenbrot (rye bread) from a cookbook called "Was kocht ma Guats in Schnaitsee".  I can't come up with an English translation for this phrase that has quite the same ring to it as the original Bavarian, but the gist is, "Good things we’re cooking in Schnaitsee."  The entire book is handwritten, accompanied by sketched artwork and favorite food-related sayings of the various recipe authors.   

The highlight of the too short bread chapter is this rye.  Based on how the recipe is written it's pretty clear that the author has made this bread many, many times.  The details that are missing are the same one's I might leave out if I was to write up one of my regular breads.  Even with a few blanks to fill in I felt I was in good hands.  The recipe features a two stage sourdough build, a bake at receding temperatures, and a reminder to have a bowl of water handy during kneading.  I like where this baker is coming from. 

With a lot of help from Mom, I got the recipe translated into a formula.  The first problem was the hydration.  It came out at 51%.  I checked the math again and again, but that’s how it came out.  I had to assume that something was lost in translation so I bumped it up to 70%. 

Next was the problem of sheer size – about 5.2 kg divided into two loaves.  I scaled it down to a single, still really large, loaf of around 2.3 kg.

I made two changes to suit my taste:  I left out the yeast, and substituted freshly ground coriander for the packaged breadspice called for in the original.

Otherwise, the formula that follows is as close as I could get to the original.

The result is a flavorful loaf with a sturdy crust and soft, fragrant crumb.  Very nice!  

Marcus

Comments

Elagins's picture
Elagins

Where was the book published? Never mind: found it east of Munich, so Bavarian...

Stan Ginsberg
www.nybakers.com

wassisname's picture
wassisname

Yes, very Bavarian.  Most of it is written in a dialect that would make my high school German teacher weep... and I don't mean tears of joy!  Gotta love it. 

Marcus

varda's picture
varda

Marcus,  How did you happen on this book?   Caraway, coriander, and flax seeds - that bread must be packed with flavor.   It came out so nicely which is impressive given that you were filling in the blanks.   I would have been tempted to raise the hydration even higher with all that rye, but looks like it wasn't necessary.  -Varda

wassisname's picture
wassisname

Thanks Varda!  I borrowed it from Mom, who originally hails from the area.  The flavor is great.  In these particular proportions the coriander was what stood out, but there was a lot going on behind it as well.  The bread doesn’t have much sour flavor, which surprised me – it’s very smooth in that regard.

The hydration was a shot in the dark that turned out OK.  I added a little water as I was kneading so it’s a bit wetter than 70% but not much.  It could probably handle a few more percent.  Maybe next time.

Marcus

PiPs's picture
PiPs

Hi Marcus,

The crumb photo really caught my attention ... looks really pleasing ... thinks its the contrast between the crust and the crumb, lovely colours.

At 2.3kg that loaf must have been a monster ... will keep you fed for weeks :) - give all th0se miches a run for their money.

Thanks for sharing the formula

Cheers,
Phil 

wassisname's picture
wassisname

Thanks so much Phil!  Yeah, it’s quite a loaf.  My first instinct was to scale it down into my usual 1 kg range, and I may split it in two next time but I’m glad I didn’t this time.  I think the size is part of the character of this loaf.  It would have been a shame not to have experienced that at least once.

Marcus

Franko's picture
Franko

Great stuff Marcus for discovering this old formula and reviving it with your own baking knowledge to produce such a fine result. The formula says all kinds of flavour to me, but surprised to hear it doesn't have that much sour flavour to it. Not that that's necessarily a bad thing, but you'd think it would with the % of pre-fermented flour in it. Very interesting post and good baking as usual.

Best Wishes,

Franko

wassisname's picture
wassisname

Thanks Franko, this was a just enough of an adventure to get me out of my rut - always a good thing.  I have to say, the more I eat of this one the more the flavor grows on me.  The nuttiness of the flax, the spices, the hint of sour, the mellowing flavor of the oats, and of course the whole rye all pull together in a way I wouldn’t have expected.  I think I’ll be toying with this combination more in breads to come.

Marcus

rossnroller's picture
rossnroller

Takes me back to my time in Germany. I never understood how good bread could be until then. And I recall slicing into loaves that looked very like yours.

Great work!

Cheers
Ross

wassisname's picture
wassisname

That is high praise, thank you so much Ross!

Marcus

Mebake's picture
Mebake

Yum, Marcus! very inspiring Miche! I love the crust and crumb contrast too, as does Phil.

Nice work!

wassisname's picture
wassisname

You're kind words are much appreciated Khalid, thank you!  Lucky for me it tastes as good as it looks.

Marcus

Mini Oven's picture
Mini Oven

Yummmm!  The bigger the better!

or   "Here's what's cooking up good in Schnaitsee"

wassisname's picture
wassisname

Well said, Mini.  Thanks!

Marcus

dabrownman's picture
dabrownman

Mom should be proud!  I like that you are re-discovering and re-producing old rye recipes.  Nothing wrong with history in my book....or......bread.  Now they aren't just cooking good things in Schnaitsee are they?

wassisname's picture
wassisname

Thanks dabrownman!  Even with a shelf full of bread books I can’t help but get excited about a new find. 

Marcus

BjornErik's picture
BjornErik

and had all I could do to wait until this morning to cut into it.  This morning's breakfast consisted of bread and cheese... most satisfying.  The crumb looked much like yours with a delightfully light sour tang, but the crust was crunchy and chewy.  Took a bit of effort to cut through it and to keep the blade going straight.  It will probably soften slightly as it sits wrapped in the breadbox until dinner.  The only change I made was to use "bread spice" that you said the original called for, in addition to the caraway seed.  I mixed it and did half the kneading in the mixer (Bosch Universal) then turned it out onto the counter to let it rest for a few minutes and finished the kneading by hand so I could get a feel for it.  I shaped it into the round loaf after toying with the idea of baking it in a pan.  The next time I make it I'm going to try it in a pullman pan.  I have one in which I bake a pumpernickel loaf that is a little over 4.5 pounds, so it should hold this bread.  Since there was sufficient water I also thought of doing an overnight cold soak of the rye and the oatmeal but decided to follow the recipe now and experiment after I tasted it.

I certainly will be making this again.  Rye bread has always been my favorite bread, but nobody else in the house cares for it. When I was in high school I used to beg my mother to stop at the Danish Bakery and get a loaf of rye bread.  One day she came home with the bread and a bag of rye meal that the baker sold her and told me to make my own.  At that time I had already been making white bread so it was time to branch out and try something different.  She turns 90 next month and she still complains when I serve her rye bread with her meal, so I still make some white bread to keep her satisfied.

wassisname's picture
wassisname

Great to hear that the recipe worked for you, BjornErik.  Thank you for sharing the results.  I can relate to a family divided on the subject of rye bread, my daughter wants nothing to do with it – maybe it skips a generation? 

The crust was pretty sturdy on my loaf too, but I like having something to gnaw on.  That’s another reason I would recommend keeping this loaf large, to keep the crumb to crust ratio up.  After the overnight rest I cut up the loaf and put the chunks in plastic bags which softened the crust pretty quickly.  I can see this bread working well in a Pullman pan, as you suggest, which would make for a less crusty result.  I would love to see that loaf.  I’ve been checking out Pullman pans for a long time but keep putting off the purchase. 

This formula really does beg for a soaker.  It was hard not to make that change but, like you, I wanted to try it as written first.  I’ll be soaking the oats and flaxseeds next time.

Marcus