Serendipitous Danish Inspired Rye
I am not sure if things happen for a reason or not, but sometimes pleasant surprises occur and push you in directions different from what you had in mind. These events can be small or epic, but I am sure they are all important in the making of ones life. What I do believe however, is that if you put out a question or an idea to the world and keep it close to your heart it will be answered … one way or another :)
Two weeks ago I really hadn't been giving rye breads much thought apart from reading a couple of articles relating to Chad Robertson’s latest experimentation with rye bread formulas … oh, and I may have been more than a bit obsessed with Lisbeth Salander and the amount of open faced sandwiches she consumed :)
This all changed however on a dreary Saturday afternoon when by chance we stopped by our favourite antique store. To be honest it is more than a store. It’s a warehouse that floods your senses. I can only take it in small doses as there is only so much visual clutter, weird aromas, dust and awful music playing that I can take.
I couldn’t believe it! Sitting on a shelf near the front door was a Danish rye bread slicer. My heart skipped a beat. I had read about them some time ago and even remember sending Nat an email with a picture of one exclaiming something along the lines of, “how cool is this!” It was in lovely condition possessing a blade so sharp that my blood turned cold with the thought of the possible injuries. Needless to say it now lives in our home tucked up on a very high shelf, far from small curious fingers.
In an instant my brain flicked into rye mode, and accompanied by endless cups of tea I spent the next few days obsessively researching and putting together a formula for a Danish inspired rye bread. It seems to me that there is no ‘correct’ way to make a Danish rye so I took elements and methods that appealed most to me and made my own.
The basic idea I had was this: 80% rye flour, lots of grains and seeds, dark beer, malt and the use of a pre-dough that fermented all of this the day before baking. I also wondered whether fermenting the cooked grains and seeds would reduce the amount of phytic acid? Any thoughts?
Danish Inspired Rye (2 x 1650g)
Overview | Weight | % of total flour |
Total flour | 988g | 100% |
Total liquid | 1289g | 131% |
Prefermented flour | 295g | 20% |
Desired dough temperature 24°C |
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1. Rye sour – 12 hrs 24°C |
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Starter (Not used in final dough) | 10g | 1% |
Freshly milled coarse rye flour | 43g | 4.3% |
T130 rye flour | 44g | 4.3% |
Water | 144g | 14.5% |
Total | 231g |
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2. Pre-dough 16hrs 22-24°C |
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Ryesour (1.) | 231g | 23% |
Freshly milled coarse rye flour | 104g | 10.5% |
T130 rye flour | 104g | 10.5% |
Cooked, soaked and drained rye grains | 600g | 61% |
Flax seeds | 200g | 20% |
Pumpkin Seeds | 100g | 10% |
Sunflower seeds | 100g | 10% |
Water | 475g | 48% |
Stout (or dark beer) | 170g | 17% |
Barley malt extract | 15g | 1.5% |
Salt | 15g | 1.5% |
Total | 2099g |
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Final paste @ 24°C |
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Pre-dough (2.) | 2114g | 213% |
Bakers flour | 198g | 20% |
Freshly milled coarse rye flour | 248g | 25% |
T130 rye flour | 248g | 25% |
Water | 500g | 50% |
Salt | 15g | 1.5% |
Total | 3323g |
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Method
- The day before, prepare the rye sour (1.) in morning
- Also in the morning boil 200-300g of rye grains for 30mins then soak for the remainder of the day. (You want to end up with 600g drained weight – I had leftovers which I use in cooking)
- In the afternoon/evening prepare the pre-dough. Drain soaked grains and combine with rye sour, water and remaining pre-dough ingredients. Stir to combine and then ferment for 16hrs.
- The next day combine pre-dough with final paste ingredients and mix thoroughly with a wooden spoon for 20-30 minutes (basically stir/mix until tired. Rest then begin stirring again)
- Scoop into greased and lined tins (mine are 8 x 4 x 4 pullman) and smooth top.
- I proved them for one and a half hours before covering with lids and placing on a baking stone in an oven preheated to 270°C.
I immediately dropped the temperature to 200°C and baked them for one hour and 45mins. I removed the breads from the tins and baked them a further 15mins directly on the stone before removing them from the oven.
When the loafs were only slightly warm they were wrapped in plastic then placed in the fridge for what seemed like an eternity. This gave me plenty of time to start delving into the world of Danish open faced sandwiches … Smørrebrød.
Hot spring weather in Australia seems an enormous distance from Denmark but I am now hooked on these flavours. I love dark rye breads. I love butter. And I love the emphasis placed on combining ingredients/decorations that create both visual and culinary pleasures. The bread is a canvas on which to experiment!
The bread I baked is not bitter or sour, but has an assertive flavour that can best be described as meaty, and when topped heavily with simple butter it is a treat unto itself. When I finally emerged from the seemingly endless world of Smørrebrød research I finally settled upon two combinations for my first Smørrebrød—and both began with a layer of butter.
The first had a layer of blue cheese, then a thin slices of crisp green apple rubbed with lemon. It was topped with bacon and dressed with chives. The second was a simpler affair of herrings (unfortunately I could not find pickled herrings so used Dutch ones instead) which was topped with thin slices of red onion and a sprig of dill.
… they were eaten with a knife and fork …
Cheers,
Phil