Tartine Danish Rye
After a long absence it was time to get back to baking. My starter stoically withstood the deep chill of neglect in my fridge and as is always a surprise to me came back to life with great vigour after a few feedings. I liked the look of Tartine's Danish Rye and gave it a try. Dark seeded rye breads have always intrigued me. The recipe called for sprouted rye kernels but my lack of good timing and impatience had me use them just after a single night's full soak rather than fully sprouted. The other difference from the recipe was that it calls for buttermilk and dark ale, and I replaced the buttermilk with more dark ale - I used Guinness. I also had a hard time finding a dark malt syrup at the grocery store and ended up going to a home beer making supply store and bought some there. I baked them this morning and cut into them tonight. Wow.
All wet ingredients..
A bowl full of seeds..
When combined it was pretty wet and liquid. Within an hour it began to "set" as the seeds started to absorb the liquid. The recipe calls for several stretch and folds. That's not possible with this dough as it's too wet. And as we're not after gluten development I think it was more just to help all the liquid get absorbed.
Over three hours I mixed the dough three times and kept the dough warm in a proof box at 83 degrees. Then they went into the pans for another hour at 73 degrees. I then covered them with a dish town and placed them in the fridge for the night.
In the morning I baked them for about 1 hour and 45 minutes to get the loaves to an internal temp of 208 degrees.
In the picture above you can see the loaf top looks a bit pale. As called for in the recipe I brushed the loaves with a bit of water before placing them in the oven - maybe I didn't brush them enough? I'm not sure how to fix that.
I'm very happy with the bread! It's moist but not wet. It has a great firm mouth feel but isn't hard to chew.
I have two questions if anyone knows:
#1 how do I get a nicer looking top crust? and;
#2 I didn't use it but what's the purpose of using buttermilk in a recipe like this?
Thanks - frank!
Comments
Hi Bread:
I just saw your post on your Danish rye! I make this style of bread weekly! My recipe is converted from an old Danish family cookbook my Grandmother had. I never use buttermilk with it since it changes the flavor of the sour and I personally love the natural sour flavor rather than the addition of buttermilk.
I use pumpkin, sunflower and cracked rye grain in my soaker and leave it at room temperature for a full 24 hrs. As for the top crust, all I do is put the loaf in a pullman style loaf pan and since the mash is quite wet to begin with I just tap the pan a few times and with a slightly moistened spatula pat down the top even. As this bakes, it comes out perfectly square every time.
I hope my experience with Danish rye baking helps you in some way!
Cheers!
Thank you Cinnabon
I'm just eating some for breakfast while reading your post - thank you. I think soaking for 24 hours is good as the seeds have a bit more chew. As to the top - I'm fine that it's not square. It's more about the pale colour on the top of the loaf - it's not as attractive as it would be if the top looked liked the sides. Any ideas? Have you made your bread without the lid and did your top turn out like mine? That's what I'm after. Buttermilk - good to know. My wife actually just commented that her only concern was that it didn't have enough sweetness, so I'm glad I didn't use the buttermilk! Thank you again. frank!
Good Morning Bread:
Yes, of course, sometimes I make the Rye into a boule, other times its a rounded loaf and if I want to impress well the Pullman comes out! If its a pale color, honestly I add some diastalic barley malt syrup that gives it a great flavor and also darkens the loaf. I don't like adding molasses, which some do! you can always add a 20 grams of sweetened condensed milk to the soaker if you like it a bit sweeter, I have and it sure tastes great!
I would tap the mash down and lightly with a flat spatula firm the top down to smooth!
Have a wonderful Day!
Cheers!
Ok. Thank you !
I've never made this type of loaf. Yours looks outstanding! Well done.
What amazes me about this bread is how simple it is compared to "regular" breads.
And a few days into the bake I'd say the following:
- I'm keeping it in a plastic bag (which I know sounds wrong) but helps keep the moisture in the bread and it's not getting soggy or soft in any way;
- the grains are a bit harder than I'd like; I'm going to make this again and soak the sunflower and pumpkin seeds for 24 hours. I'm also going to experiment with one loaf having the rye grains soaked for a full 24 hours in one loaf and sprouted for three days in the other so see if that helps soften them up. There are a ton of flax seeds in the loaf and I'm tempted to soak them too, but they turn into this gooey mess which will mean I'm adding much more water to the bread than I think I should - so I'll think about that one.
- I think I'll brush much more water on the top next time to help improve the top colour; I'd like it to look like the sides.
Give it a try - it really is simple to make and amazing. Thanks again
Results in a big gelatinous mess. But toasting them ( put in medium oven 325F for 20 mins stirring occasionally) will make them not take up water so much. Plus crisped seeds taste better and chew easier.
i do think that the main hard to chew item is the rye, though. So soak those for 24 hrs. To sprout them, soak for about 12 hrs, then drain but keep moist for about 2 days. I put then in a bag with a wet paper towel. I think the sprouted grain will add sweetness, also. I find that if they are immersed much over 12 hrs, they will not sprout. And obviously you can’t sprout cracked grain.
I agree about the gelatinous mess which I've ended up with in the past. So are you saying toast and then soak and you'll have less of a gloopy mess? Or toast and throw in the batter?
As to the rye - they weren't so bad but had some chew. I ended up sprouting a handful and think that process makes them softer to chew as well, so will next time.
What I've found is that I think this bread is hard to digest as it gave me a bit of a sore stomach. I ended up slicing half of the loaf we kept into think slices and toasted it to be like crackers for cheese. I'll give this a try another time and see if all the soaking helps it digest easier.
I"m also thinking of adding some honey (maybe 5%) as my wife found it a bit sour - but I didn't.
Thanks for the feedback!
You can either soak or not soak the flax after toasting.
Sorry to hear that the bread caused some belly aches. It was probably too tasty and you overate it! I personally find flax tough to digest, btw- and i think it’s a common experience. You could leave it out or reduce the quantity. The crackers are a great idea to slowly consume this loaf- it will be great with cheese.
I think the sprouted grain will be more digestible, softer, and tastier. A worthwhile extra step.
Hello Bread:
I have been reading your post on the soaker grains being too hard. If you put the cracked rye grains along with whatever seeds your incorporating in a large bowl along with the water content needed for the soaker of your recipe , with the starter, salt, barley malt syrup and leave covered at room temperature for a full 24 hrs the grains will soften considerably.
I am including my recipe and instructions for Rugbrod bread for you.
The soaker:
340 g tepid water
60 g raw pumpkin seeds
140 g raw sunflower seeds
140 g cracked rye grains
70 g 100% rye sourdough starter
Cover with plastic wrap and leave at room temperature for a full 24 hrs.
Next day:
Add to the soaker:
70 g tepid water
285 g Rye sourdough starter
32 g Barley Malt Syrup or Honey for sweetness
260 g stone ground rye flour
15 g sea salt
Mix all ingredients with a wooden spoon or use your hands to mix together until well incorporated. This recipe makes 2 loaves so scale it in half. The mixture will be like a thickened oatmeal consistency. Pat down into greased 1 lb loaf tins, I use 2 pullman style without the lids. A wet spatula will flatten tops down nicely.
Cover the tins with plastic wrap and let them rest for 2.5-3 hrs. Depending on your room temperature can be more or less, the best way to tell is the mash will rise to the top of the tins and tiny bubbles will break the surface, almost like a vigorous starter look. Preheat your oven to 400F with a baking sheet on the bottom rack.. Put the loaves in the oven on the middle rack. Drop a cup of ice cubes on the bottom baking pan and close the oven door.
Bake for 25 minutes, open oven door and check if all the ice has evaporated, if not, remove the baking pan carefully from the oven, usually a cup of ice is the perfect amount to give the bread the steam it needs for the 25 minutes of baking. Rotate the pans and bake an additional 15-20 minutes until the loaves are firm and a dark caramel color. let rest 10 minutes in tins, then lightly run a dull knife around each loaf in tin to ensure it can be removed easily. Pop loaf out of tin and leave it be on a wire rack to totally cool down. Don't cut into it until its thoroughly cool.
This recipe is full proof! made by my family for many years.
I hope you enjoy it!
Cindy
Cheers!