Korn bread from Artisan Baking Across America
Hi all,
I've made a few attempts at the korn bread (basically an ultrahearty vollkornbrot) in Maggie Glazer's Artisan Baking Across America, and I consistently run into a handful of problems. For reference, this is an unusual dough (if you can even call it dough): 86% cracked rye, 10% whole rye berries, 4% dark rye flour, plus some sunflower seeds. Mixed wild and commercial yeast. It starts out as a granular mess and is mixed until the pentosans develop and it becomes sticky and cohesive, then given a three hour bake at 300 F (150 C).
My problems are twofold:
- Even after a 24-hour post-bake rest, the bread is unstable. I have an excellent bread knife that is able to handle crusty whole wheat hearth breads without complaint, and yet I cannot cut this loaf without tearing some part of it.
- The crumb is slightly gummy, and after a few slices the knife is covered with a layer of thick rye paste. This increases friction with the blade and makes the cutting process even worse.
If it were in another book I would just write it off as a bad formula with too many very coarse ingredients, but this is supposed to be a downscaled version of a bread made by a professional bakery in Dallas, and I can't see them making much money off of what I've been baking. Any advice for fixing this?
Thanks!
210 F on the inside and letting it sit wrapped in linen for 48 hours after it cools? It sounds under baked and under rested. so no worries with the recipe.
I also like to let these breads come out of the pan for the last 15 minutes of baking and cool down on the oven rack with the oven off and door closed.
Happy baking
I didn't use a probe thermometer because I assumed there would be no issue with it reaching the appropriate temperature after such a long time in the oven. I'll try that next time. As for resting, I gave it about 30 hours, which is longer than the recipe indicates (it says "overnight"). I kept it wrapped in a kitchen towel, which also contradicts the recipe (it says to put it in a plastic bag). Any thoughts?
Also, can you or someone else explain to me what the resting period for rye bread actually does?
Thanks!
moisture and the towel,as you noticed also sucks up some of the surface moisture. This allows the bread to be sliced very thin without it falling apart. I usually can only wait 32 hours after the bread cools.