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 Submitted by holds99 on October 8, 2008 - 7:37pm Michel Suas' Mountain Bread (Switzerland) - Advanced Bread and PastryThe following is taken from Michel Suas' description of mountain bread (page 223, Advanced Bread and Pastry): "Combining rye levain and white flour this bread began as a staple in the mountainous regions of Switzerland. The long shelf life created by the sourdough process was an adantage in a time and place when bread was baked only once a week. The hole in the middle of the crown [I didn't make a hole in the middle of the crown because I don't have a clue as to how to do that--will research the issue later] was used to hang the mountain bread to a pole fixed high on the wall to store the bread safely." Hmmm. Maybe hanging it from the pole is to keep it away from the kids until breakfast is ready. Anyway, I doubled Mr. Suas' "test" formula and made 4 lbs of dough (2 X two pound boules). As can be seen in the photo below I used linen lined bannetons, generously dusted with a mixture of 50% AP flour and 50% rice flour. This bread tastes great, with a hint of sourness and terrific flavor. Howard
Michel Suas Mountain Bread (Switzerland) - Advanced Bread and Pastry
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Fantastic
Those are beautiful and a great crumb!!
Great Howard!
They look good Howard!
Beautiful breads!
Hi, Howard.
Those look really good. Another rye bread to check out.
David
Thank you very much
Eli, Eric and David
Thanks for your kind words. This formula is rather wet but produces a great tasting loaf with good crust and crumb.
After mixing the levain and setting it aside for overnight fermentation, I mixed the whole wheat and the bread flour (for the final dough) with the water (for the final dough) and let it sit overnight at room temp. then the following morning used my KA to mix the levain and the final dough mixture, along with yeast and salt, until the levain had been thoroughly incorporated into the final dough. Then continued mixing by hand using Bertinet's "slap and fold". Suas calls for 1 fold during a 2 hour bulk fermentation. I did 3 stretch and folds during the the first hour (@ 20 minute intervals) for the 2 hour bulk fermentation. His times (fermentation and baking) are right on, at least for my oven.
David, FYI it's not really a rye bread per se. He uses rye in the levain (a small amount of rye starter and med. rye flour). However, for the final dough mixture he calls for a small amount of whole wheat flour (approx. 15%) mixed with bread flour (approx. 85%).
Hope this helps.
Howard
Mountain Bread - Graubunden
I did some searching and found a site: Breads From Switzerland where they described this bread. It's called Graubunden. Interesting. Now to figure out where to get a banneton or learn the method for making the hole in the center. Guess if you get snowed in at that cabin in the Alps it's always good to have a couple of loaves of Graubunden stashed away :>)
Graubünden A ring-shaped bread, known locally as Brascidela or Bracciadella, made of a mixture of rye and wheat flour. There's a good reason for the shape: it made them easier to hang up. Traditionally the loaves were left under the eaves to dry for days or even weeks, and were then edible for months to come.
Howard
Shaping a ring
I know of two methods for making a ring or "couronne" shaped loaf: The first is to punch a hole in the middle of the fermented dough. Flatten tbe dough somewhat on the bench, then punch a home in the middle. (One traditional method is to do this with your elbow.) Then stretch the dough by holding it up and rotating it in your hands, letting gravity stretch it, not unlike you might stretch pizza dough. The second method is to roll the dough into a long cylinder, as you might do for a piece you are going to braid, then bring the ends together and seal them.
There are bannetons made for proofing couronnes. They are round with a raised middle of the bottom. I have raised couronnes just on a linen couche.
David
And why up under the eaves?
Could be that the style of house designed the bread shape? Let me expound. The houses are built using solid stone walls and wooden beams. At the end of each beam, a hole is made (to the outside) in the masonry so the ends of the wooden beams can air and not rot. (They built to last at least a few hundred years -- massive building 101.) This handy square hole can easily be used to hold a round peg and still allow air to circulate to the wood. These holes and baseball bat sized pegs are used to hang ladders (and other tools all through the alpine regions) as well and appear on the outside of houses corresponding to inside floors and ceilings, a row of holes just under the eaves. If you know that many of the old mountain houses used to have the stall and animals under them, you might think the bread was hung outside just under the eaves to keep it out of harms way and to keep it fresh. Mooooo! Up to youuu.
The bread no longer has to be made this way but it has become a traditional shape for the Alpine areas.
Mini O
Mini, Great Information, thank you.
What interesting information. This is the type of information I was looking for yesterday when I found www.swissworld.org and the writeup on the various breads of Switzerland. You should be a writer for their site...I'm serious.
I remember seeing some of those mountain houses. As I recall some of them had stones on the roof to hold the shingles in place???
Thanks much for your explanation (and humor "Moooo...") and for sharing.
Howard
David, Thanks for your thoughts
The dough for this bread, at least the way mine turned out, is really wet, similar to ciabatta. But I plan to make it again in the near future and will try punching a hole in the middle, as you suggested, with heavily floured hands and see how that works. I like the idea of the elbow technique but I'm afraid I would end up looking like the Pillsbury dough boy. The couronne shaped bannetons sound like the ideal way to go but they're expensive. I let you know how it goes next time round.
Howard
Couronne banneton
Hi Howard,
Susan from Wild Yeast shows a makeshift model that you can try before investing in a true couronne banneton. Although I know you love those kitchen toys! Your loaves look great!
http://www.wildyeastblog.com/2008/01/31/shape-crown-couronne/
Betty
Thanks Betty
Thanks for your kind words on the loaves.
You're right, I'm a kitchen toy addict. Do you think there's a 12 step program to help beat this addiction? Secretly I really don't want to kick the habit. I'm thinking about investing in a couronne banneton. I just need to make up some lie about all the things I'm going to bake when I get my hands on it. :>)
Thanks for sending the link to Susan's Wild Yeast site. I'll check it out. Actually, Charlene and I were having a discussion this morning about how I could rig up something that would create a hole in the center. I was thinking about a can with parchement rolled around the outside inserted into the middle of the dough. Hey, on second thought, that couronne banneton is looking better and better.
Howard
Susanfnp's couronne
Howard, I hope you will check out Susan's site because she gives directions for a lovely couronne as well as showing how to create the pseudo banneton - she has the real thing and says there is no difference in the result. I found a suitable basket in a thrift store but haven't tried it yet - I'm betting you could do it! A.
Annie, I'll do it!
Annie,
I did check out Susan's site and copied the instructions for creating a "psuedo banneton". It looks pretty easy and it's sure a lot cheaper than buying a linen lined couronne banneton. Next time I make the mountain bread I use Susan's technique and post some photos. Thanks for your note. Hope all is well with you and your cat.
Howard