The Fresh Loaf

A Community of Amateur Bakers and Artisan Bread Enthusiasts.

Black Rye Bread (Lithuanian) -- My Bake

WatertownNewbie's picture
WatertownNewbie

Black Rye Bread (Lithuanian) -- My Bake

Having found a good source for solod (the fermented red rye malt), I have been baking several different rye loaves recently.  This one is a Lithuanian bread based on a recipe from Stanley Ginsberg (http://theryebaker.com/black-rye-breadjuoda-rugine-duona-lithuania/).

As I described in another post, this dough did not behave well for me when I tried mixing it with a stand mixer (per Stan's recipe), but mixing by hand works perfectly fine (along the lines of what Rus Brot does with a Borodinsky dough).  So far I have used a mix of medium rye and dark rye flour, but the next time I might go with all dark rye flour.

Here is a top view of today's bake.

This loaf is going to a friend, so I will not have a photo of the crumb, but here is one from my preceding bake of this bread.

Comments

happycat's picture
happycat

I baked this one too. Mine spread more (I used fresh milled spelt instead of bread flour). For me, it was a bit too much of a pickle sour flavour. It was good with gouda + prosciutto. Did yours turn out more balanced? How did you feel about the density of your crumb?

WatertownNewbie's picture
WatertownNewbie

Not sure that 50 grams of bread flour really makes much difference with this recipe, given all the rye.  For shaping, I first made the dough into a round and then rolled it gently into a cylindrical shape and then a bit into a batard-like torpedo.  Then I put the shaped dough into a cloth-lined loaf pan.  That kept the dough from spreading.  Baked on a stone.

As for the flavor, all of these rye loaves have a distinctive flavor, which I suspect comes from the scald.  I have eaten slices plain, toasted, with cream cheese, and with butter.  I will have to try some cheddar or gouda as well as a meat or fish (I got some salmon for the next bake).  It is a versatile bread in that respect.

happycat's picture
happycat

I saw the pan edge on the crumb shot. Smart.

FYI As for salmon, the bread spices in the Franconia rye baker loaf seemed to work well with smoked salmon. It wasn't so sour.

WatertownNewbie's picture
WatertownNewbie

Forgot to answer your question about the density of the crumb.  Although dense in a visual sense, this crumb is springy and not at all difficult to bite through.

Ilya Flyamer's picture
Ilya Flyamer

Spreading is mostly about hydration. The dough shouldn't be too soft. Also the first few minutes of baking should be very hot, and dough should spring quickly, and the outside needs to set, so it also prevent spreading.

So depending on the flour, you need to adjust the hydration in the final dough. If you realize you missed the mark, you can knead in some flour when shaping to stiffen it up a little.

WatertownNewbie's picture
WatertownNewbie

Ilya, as you correctly point out, this bread benefits from an initial period of high temperature.  The recipe calls for fifteen minutes at 445 F followed by a reduction to 390 F for the remainder of the bake.

Ilya Flyamer's picture
Ilya Flyamer

Looks good, must be very tasty!

WatertownNewbie's picture
WatertownNewbie

It smells nice, and I will eventually find out from my friend what the reaction is to the bread (including the taste).  These rye breads are pretty neat to make and eat.

Benito's picture
Benito

That’s a beautiful well baked loaf that your friend will really appreciate Ted.  Really beautiful sheen to the crust.

Benny

WatertownNewbie's picture
WatertownNewbie

You need to put one of these rye breads on your to-do list, Benny.  As for the sheen, I can thank Ilya and Lance (aka Albacore) for their suggestions.  I am still working on getting the cornstarch gelatin to the thickness that I am after.

Mini Oven's picture
Mini Oven

A beautiful wonderful crumb!

Would be excellent open faced with "potato cheese" or egg salad spread decorated with chive ringlets or ground sweet paprika.

WatertownNewbie's picture
WatertownNewbie

Thanks, Mini Oven.  This is a versatile bread and really does pair well with a variety of toppings (and is perfectly fine by itself too).

squattercity's picture
squattercity

that's one mammoth, marvelous bread to give away to a lucky friend. Beautiful & inspirational bake.

WatertownNewbie's picture
WatertownNewbie

The loaf weighed 899 grams, so perhaps it looks bigger in the photo.  Thanks for your compliments (and perhaps you will be inspired to have a go at this bread).

Abe's picture
Abe

I speak for everyone when I say we'd love to see this featured on the community bake. Please feel free to post it on there as well. What a perfect looking rye crumb. Bet it tastes every bit as delicious as it looks. 

WatertownNewbie's picture
WatertownNewbie

Thanks, Abe.  A couple of weeks before you posted for the Community Bake two of our neighbors gave me a commercial loaf of Lithuanian bread (i.e., they purchased it rather than baked it).  I liked the flavor so much that I hunted down a recipe for Lithuanian bread, which eventually led me to read Ilya's post on the Borodinsky bread, and of course I had to make that too (see a separate blog post by me for the 1940 version and another blog post for the Borodinsky Supreme).  Now I have three bags of solod waiting to be used for future bakes of these wonderful breads

If you want to reference other rye bakes (including mine but others too) rather than re-posting there, perhaps that would work as well.  Those CB threads get really long.