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squattercity

Over the past year, I've made lots of versions of Ilya's easy deli rye. This weekend, with only whole rye flour and bread flour on hand, I made a 45% rye version. It turned out lofty with a thin crispy crust and soft, lightly tangy interior and I wanted to share it and pay homage to a great, flexible formula.

Rob

squattercity's picture
squattercity

As I had rye malt on hand and half a bag of light rye, I decided to try my hand at this Lithuanian palanga rye, an interesting recipe that calls for a sourdough levain, a flour and malt scald, and a yeast levain. I made it with 1/3 light rye and 2/3 whole rye.

It's a fantastic bread. The light touch of caraway (just 2 g) allows the tart seeds to tickle your mouth beneath the mellow spice of the rye. The crumb is so juicy that my partner thought I might have added beer to the batter. And the star of the show is the caramelized crust that, despite being thick, is not hard but rather crisp and shattery and melt-in-your-mouth sweet.

 

Two weird things: First, the light rye I used -- Mąka żytnia chlebowa typ 720 -- is insanely thirsty. The scald, though it was 130% hydration, remained astoundingly firm. And, to get all the flour to absorb into the final mix, I had to add 125g of water, upping the full dough hydration from 64% to 77%. Then, after all that, the bulk and proof were more rapid than the recipe specified -- 2 hours total instead of 3.

 

But I'm not complaining. I'm enjoying. This is a strikingly different rye -- deep and super-subtle at the same time. It's interesting to make and great to eat.

 

Rob

 

 

squattercity's picture
squattercity

I've been eyeing this one for some time -- http://theryebaker.com/vitebsk-rye/. My partner doesn't like the heaviness of whole grain ryes, so I figured a 100% light rye might intrigue her. Also, in a different thread, where I foolishly argued that I could see no reason to use light or medium rye when you could use whole grain, Ilya recommended that I try a light rye to see how it showcases flavors like fennel and anise. What's more, Alcophile, Benny and WatertownNewbie all recently baked the Latgalian Rye ... and this one, calling for a pale rye malt scald as well, seemed like a not-so-distant cousin. Finally, another thing to recommend it: it's relatively quick -- 12 hours max from starting fermentation to pulling the finished loaf from the oven.

Still, assembling the ingredients took some time. First, had to I pick up rye malt at a brewing supply store (interestingly, the proprietor asked if I was growing mushrooms, as rye malt is apparently in demand as a medium for fungi.) Then, the quest for light rye was somewhat complicated: my relatively local Polish grocery has gone out of business and the three other places nearby had no rye flour at all. I was about to give up, but checked one last store and discovered two fornlorn bags of mąka żytnia typ 720 on the shelf. Success!

As usual, I wasn't totally on the mark with the temperatures. I don't have an oven thermometer (or indeed, any cooking thermometer at all) -- so I just winged it. To approximate an 85F/30C environment, I just preheated my oven on low for a bit and then turned it off. I did this every 2 or 3 hours.

I knead all the breads I make by hand and, when the final dough didn't seem to be moistening all the flour quickly enough, I dipped my hands in water to help. This turned out to be a mistake, because it transformed the dough into a ferociously sticky mass. Perhaps because of this, I didn't achieve the milestones that the Rye Baker blog describes in terms of dough growth and holes. But I plowed ahead.

I baked it in a dutch oven, 5 minutes covered at 500F/260C, 33 minutes uncovered at 450F/232C.

With a lovely anise-infused flavor, a wonderful shattery crust, and a moist, light crumb -- incredible given that we cut into it half an hour after pulling it from the oven -- this is a bread to be savored. My partner has finally endorsed a 100% rye, calling the flavor "amazing." I concur.

Come to think of it, I'm sure we're not going to savor it. We're going to gobble it up.

Rob

 

squattercity's picture
squattercity

so I've baked this Chocolate Rye from Lutz Geißler's ploetzblog -- https://www-ploetzblog-de.translate.goog/2015/09/05/im-schoko-rausch-schokoladenbrot-sechzig-prozent-roggenbrot/?_x_tr_sl=de&_x_tr_tl=en&_x_tr_hl=en&_... -- twice now. It's got extraordinary flavor and, though I got two completely different looking results, I wanted to share it here.

About a month ago, when the weather was cooler and drier in NYC, the boule was serious, sleek, dark, and delicious (sorry no crumb shot; I gave the loaf to a friend).

Last night, after a day that was super-steamy and hot, the bread came out a bit more tortured.

The flavor's super complex, with a spicy combo of char from the crust, undertones of deep chocolate and an aromatic base of sour rye.

 

squattercity's picture
squattercity

As a New Yorker, I tend to give the side-eye to distant takes on my heritage -- but I have to say this is better than the original. Nice but not overpowering sour flavor. Just enough caraway seeds (sorry, Benny, this is a Big Apple bread -- but you're free to make a Toronto version with different seeds.) Great aroma. Fantastic texture. Crumb that won't drip mustard. Crunchy but not rock hard crust. It makes me want to pick up some Katz's pastrami and full sour pickles and gorge.

I didn't have a proofing basket, so just rolled it up in parchment and left it for six hours -- and it spread more than I wanted. But the true proof is in the eating & I'm happy.

Many NY-style ryes call for added sugar. This one doesn't -- and for good reason: the rye's got sweetness to it just as it is.

Recipe:

Rob

 

 

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