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Latest on The Rye Baker blog: Auerman Borodinsky

Elagins's picture
Elagins

Latest on The Rye Baker blog: Auerman Borodinsky

There are many versions of Borodinsky Rye: this one first appeared in the 1935 edition of Tekhnologiya Khlebopyekarnogo Proyzvodstva (Bakery Production Technology) by the legendary Russian process engineer Lev Auerman. Unlike most Borodinsky variations, which contain wheat flour, this one is made of 100% rye.

See the full post here.

dabrownman's picture
dabrownman

Happy Baking Stan

webaldo's picture
webaldo

Hi,

it is wonderfull your blog, just saw. Also me made any tests with rye flour, my best result is this

http://fysis.it/3405/panificazione/pane-100-farina-di-segale

 

pmccool's picture
pmccool

This might be the first Borodinsky formula I've seen that calls for caraway, instead of coriander.

Paul

Elagins's picture
Elagins

in Russian and Baltic rye breads; coriander less so and cumin generally shows up in southern Polish and Ukrainian breads. I've encountered the sweet aromatics -- fennel, anise and dill seed -- mainly in German and Scandinavian rye breads.

Stan Ginsberg
www.nybakers.com
theryebaker.com

suave's picture
suave

If I may - a few comments.

1.  Your dough was far too dry - you can see that from the telltale vertical crack.

2.  The dough was far too dry for several reasons.  While the recipe you are ostensibly referring to indeed specifies 65-67% hydration, it was written for 50/50 mixture of whole and medium rye (in my own bake 66% was too dry for 50/50 mixture).  Second reason - the recipe was written for a hearth bread, which tolerates very narrow hydration range.  Pan breads are much more manageable and in Russian tradiotion are typically done at higher hydration, that is for the same recipe you will be given two hydrations, one for hearth and another, usually ~3-4% higher, for pan version.  Third, it is my observation that in more than one recipe of that period hydrations are sometimes just off, and need to be adjusted, for the whole rye breads - always up.

3. There is no yeast in this recipe.  There just isn't.  I have no idea how it has found its way in.

4. Properly scalded and fermented caraway acquires a particular fruity flavor with no harshness raw seed is known for.  Interestingly enough anise, also an option here, behaves the same and end result is very similar.  This flavor is one of the keys to  this bread, and covering it up by throwing caraway on top is sacriledge, in my opinion.

5.  Fairly harsh bake was stipulated with 5 lb hearth bread in mind.  I feel that for smaller sized pan breads slow and steady 400 F works much better.  But that's just personal opinion.

6. Auerman copied this recipe, with proper reference and minor modifications, from a work of a different author, who, in turn, relied on several existing recipes used in operating bakeries.

Elagins's picture
Elagins

As always, your comments are spot-on and I intend to make your recommended changes in my next bake. As for the caraway on top, this appeared in the recipe I found (a Russian blog - not yours - that gave the Auerman reference.) I agree with you on the fruitiness of the scalded caraway, and in fact the original recipe specifies anise as an alternative.

As for the yeast, that was my own addition. With only about 28.5% of the total flour prefermented, as well as the shortness of the scald-sour fermentation, I felt that adding a small amount of yeast might open the crumb a bit; clearly, insufficient hydration is the culprit here, and I intend to incorporate that change as well in future iterations.

Thanks again for your incisive and valuable feedback.

SG

suave's picture
suave

I don't think that 28.5% is a low prefermented flour ratio, after all basic Russian rye is done at 33% with whole rye, and 25% with medium, but you do need to ferment your sour scald vigorously.  Keep in mind, that scald was used at least the ambient temperature of the bakery - probably at least 30 °C, the temperature of sour was 28-90, and it was used by the tens if not hundreds of pound, which means that it probably fermented at a temperature higher than we would call a comfortable room temperature.

Last note - if you decide to repeat it with mixed flours, scald should be done with medium rye.  Original work insists that it needs better quality flour, it actually looks like the original bakers were using white rye.

Well, very last note - some old books make a big deal of the notion that all water in the recipe should be introduced prior to mixing the final dough.  This is might true if your hydration is fairly low, and your preliminary fermentation is done so well, that you spend less than hour between mixing the final dough and baking it - here they talk about 50 minutes tops although one has to consider that mixing, scaling, shaping and so times can accumulate to a significant number.  However, I've always felt that if the early stages have right amount of water and you still need more, then the final dough it is.

Elagins's picture
Elagins

Agreed that 28.5% is not "low", but it's marginally lower than the 30% prefermentation percentage that German bakers consider the minimum amount needed to leaven without spiking. That, and the short room-temperature bulk fermentation time (which you apparently also find inadequate), motivated me to add the yeast to the recipe.

I think your comments on adding water are interesting, especially since increasing the hydration in the traditional way would lead to a very soupy scald, and I'm not sure what the effects of that would be. I think next go-round I'll probably ripen the scald at 60C or so and ferment both the scald-sponge and final dough at around 27C. I also think your comments on the flour are worth pursuing and will do so.

Again, your knowledge and experience are incredibly valuable, and I learn from you (both here and on your blog), continually. I'll certainly take your thoughts and suggestions into account on subsequent bakes. Thanks so much.

SG

suave's picture
suave

I do not have an extensive knowledge of German ryes, but my understanding is that their typical approach involves skipping bulk fermentation altogher - it's mix, and proceed with scaling and shaping right away.  Also, their doughs are quite different - remember, proper scalding will convert as much as 35-40% of the flour, so on sour scald stage your yeasts and LABs are awash with available sugars, all in warm and very soft dough.  I would not presume to know what multiplication rates at this point are, but my experience that the end result is very robust.  And again, I want to emphasize the importance of understanding of the processing times.  There's every reason to believe that the original recipe describes fully manual process, and contemporary sources consistently talk about 500 kilo batches and mixing times of at least 30 minutes and up to an hour.  Now factor in dividing and shaping, and your 30 minute bulk fermentation can easily turn into an hour, if not more.  Same with proof, the recipe may mention 15-20 minute proof, but it is also very specific about what the dough is supposed to look like: "with a smooth surface covered with small holes, as if pricked with a pin". 

Well, it looks like I just talked myself into redoing yet another bread :)

Elagins's picture
Elagins

German rye breads use a wide range of approaches, including long bulk ferment/short proof, short bulk/long proof, proof only, bulk only.

I think that, like you, a re-bake is indicated. Your understanding of Russian baking never fails to impress!