Ukrainian Black Bread from Laurel's
I've had the Laurel's Kitchen Bread Book for a while, but never actually tried any of the recipes until this one. The only major change I made was to incorporate a sourdough starter and leave out the yeast.
The result? A flavor explosion! Nothing subtle about this one. But then, I suppose a bread based on whole rye, buckwheat, coffee and molasses isn't going to need much coaxing in terms of flavor!
The texture I think I need to work on. No pictures in the book for reference, but my version would make a very effective club if I were required to defend myself against, say, a pack of wolves - and that doesn't seem right. I'm pretty sure it was under-proofed, over-steamed and over-baked.
Even so, the flavor wins out. Here I sit happily hacking off pieces and gnawing away. I'm looking forward to seeing how this one ages, and definitely looking forward to baking it again!
-Marcus
The crust is nearly ¼ inch thick and hard as a rock! Tough to even get a knife into it.