The Fresh Loaf

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My favorite doorstop

nicodvb's picture
nicodvb

My favorite doorstop

For a lot of time I've been trying to replicate the vollkornbrot that made me fall in love with rye bread (produced by the german company Pema), but I never succeeded. Since I had some old rye to finish waiting for the new lot to arrive I decided to make one more try.

I mixed together 500 gr of ground rye middlings (it was a mix of  rough pieces of kernel, gross flour and something resembling sawdust), 300 grams of yogurth whey (pH 3.9 according to my cheap pH-meter), 100 gr of milk and 10 gr of salt. No starter whatsoever. I let the dough ferment all alone, just giving a short mix after 1 day. After 48 hours the dough had risen somewhat (~30%) and I decided that it was ready it bake because it smelled heavenly.

I added a couple of tablespoons of rye flour to the dough because it had become too slack to handle, then I inserted it in a 20cm pullman pan and levelled the top with wet hands. After 2 hours I baked it in a gas oven at 130° (measured with a thermometer) after covering the top with aluminum foil until it began to be ready, that is to smell heavenly of malt (3 hours). At that  point I removed the foil and continued baking until the smell became very intense (1.5 more hours).

 

After 24 hours of rest I could slice it without crumbling. The aroma is extremely intense, the taste is very sweet, malted and fermented, without the slightest note of acidity. It's the most tasty and aromatic rye bread that ever came out of my oven. Yes, it's a doorstop that would break your foot, but if you handle with care it won't disappoint you :-)

The only downside is the lack of coarser rye chops, but they can still be added. For the time being I'm very satisfied.

 

wassisname's picture
wassisname

So, you're raising this primarily with bacterial fermentation, rather than relying on yeast...?  Or, no?  I've read about that but never thought I'd see it. 

Marcus

nicodvb's picture
nicodvb

a starter from scratch, but in solid form. The acidity of the dough (due to whey) prevents the development of bad bacteria and favors the development of the good wild yeasts and bacteria we all know.

wassisname's picture
wassisname

Very interesting approach.  Sounds intensely tasty!

nicodvb's picture
nicodvb

thanks :-)

ananda's picture
ananda

Hi Nico,

When you first posted the formula for this I remember wondering how any real fermentation could take place.

Now, I get the picture; I'm sure your kitchen is a wonderful place to be when the loaf is in the oven baking.

Personally, I cannot ever imagine baking high rye loaves without using my rye sour culture; must be too ingrained im my "baker's make up"!

Very best wishes

Andy

 

 

nicodvb's picture
nicodvb

considering that in a triangle of less than 6 square meters the aroma concentrates very well :-)

Thanks Andy, always nice to hear from you, especially when talking about rye.

After 5 or 6 days there's not the slightest trace of mold and the crumb remained perfectly moist. Many of my previous attempts ended up being too moist -almost wet- but only now I can appreciate how much better this baking came out. It still slices thinly without crumbling. Evidently the previous times I didn't let the grain absorb the water long enough. The aroma improved over the days, as usual. Next time I'll try with the dark R3 that is on its way, who knows it the bread will even come out a bit lighter.