Hanne Risgaard's Danish Spelt Rye
Hello everyone,
It’s been a summer of so much sun here in the Pacific Northwest – have tried to capture the season with some pictures – flowers, light and beautiful sunshine.
the center of this flower seemed like the sun's rays...
I’ve been enjoying reading Hanne Risgaard’s book, Home Baked. Ms. Risgaard’s breads and baking are as lovely to look at her writing is to read; the story of Skærtoft Mølle and Mr. Hamelman’s beautiful foreword adding to this beautiful book of breads.
The photos of the Danish summer landscapes are evocative and so pretty, the gorgeous light-filled images capturing the beauty of the grain, the fields and landscapes, and the flowers…
There are so many lighter foods to enjoy in summertime, but the temperatures in the kitchen here have been in the low 80’s, with some humidity too – rye time! Looking at this book again, I really wanted to bake some of Hanne’s Danish bread …this is her Spelt Rye Bread.
The Spelt Rye, in Ms. Risgaard’s method, is raised with old dough. The first time I made this bread, I re-worked the formula to use a liquid rye levain (trying to keep the total amounts of each ingredient in line with the original formula) - and made extra dough, so I’d have ‘old dough’ for a second bake.
First bake with liquid rye levain Second bake with old dough
400F oven reducing to 355F 500F oven reducing to 355F 
Here are the ingredients, and quantities used:
(Reprinted from Home Baked, copyright 2012 by Hanne Risgaard, used with permission from Chelsea Green Publishing (www.chelseagreen.com))
First bake with rye levain (1750g dough for 9x4x4 pan, 400g dough reserved as old dough for next bake):
The 400g of old dough was based on the recipe in Hanne’s book, which makes a larger bread.
Here’s the formula re-sized (1750g dough for 9x4x4 pan + 339g old dough):
Second bake with old dough:
Crumb, from first bake:
With the second bake, I was delighted with the oven spring – 
not sure if it was due to the hotter start in the oven, or a really happy dough using old dough!
(no crumb shot for this one, this loaf was a gift)
The flavor was really robust and very complex in the version using old dough, but the first version using liquid rye levain tasted pretty good, too :^) Both were very hearty, and delicious with the seeds.
Have baked Ms. Risgaard’s Pumpkinseed Buttermilk Rye a couple of times, too. Another wonderful formula, the buttermilk adding richness; and love how the top crackles so attractively during baking.
One more sunny picture, this time of grain ripening in a local field –
a promise of a good harvest and more good bread to come!
Happy baking, and happy summer, everyone!
:^) breadsong
Submitted to YeastSpotting
Comments
What beautiful photos and excellent looking bread. Sounds like this is one worth trying for sure. Your crumb shot looks perfect and the sun flower close up is so pretty.
Regards,
Ian
I have recently fell in love with these types of loaves. Yours turned out very nicely...the crumb looks much improved!
John
Hi John,
Thank you! and if it makes you happy to know?, Anita's Organic whole grain flours used for the spelt rye :^)
(Anita's whole rye and my local farmer's organic whole wheat for the Pumpkinseed).
:^) breadsong
Hi Ian,
I really enjoy your flower photos too - you're quite a gardener in addition to being an excellent baker!
Thanks so much,
:^) breadsong
I always love reading your posts and this is no exception especially with your review of Home Baked.
I have baked the pumpkin seed loaf and it is on my to bake list again but I haven't tried the rye/spelt formula. Your post is nudging me towards leafing through her book again….not that I need much of a nudge. Amazing height on a 70% rye loaf!!!
I agree with your write up. A lovely book to read. A very 'clean' book to browse through. I am waiting for the fall pear crop to come in so I can bake her pear loaf again. It is a nice one too if you haven't tried it.
I must admit though that I tweak the recipes so I can use my sd rather that IY with the formulas. They have all worked very well.
Thanks for the lovely bread and flour photos :- )
Take Care,
Janet
Hi Janet,
Thank you and I'm glad you like Hanne's recipes also!
Grateful for the 'nudge' re: the Pear and Sourdough Bread...
Was just given some beautiful little pears...
...and have been making jam; still have some of the pears left.
Guess which bread is next?
:^) breadsong
Auspicious timing :)
Janet
I will have to look for this book. It sounds wonderful.
I enjoyed the flower and wheat field photos. Thank you for sharing them.
David
Hi David,
I hope you enjoy Hanne's book as much as I have been.
So happy you liked the flowers, fields and the bread.
Many thanks,
:^) breadsong
Can't find them around here except the first or 2nd week of April in the mountains and that is when the rattlesnakes are coming out of hibernation from their winter sleep and when visiting winter folks from Canada get bit the most. Hiking in the mountains can be problematic without rattlesnake boots :-)
The old dough loaf really stood up tall and proud. Who said old isn't better? Thanks for the recipes too. Spelt and rye go together so well. The field of grain makes me want to grow some winter wheat in the winter here in some big pots :-)
Nice post breadsnlg and happy baking
Hi dabrownman,
...just loved seeing desert floral;
Those mountain wildflowers must be so gorgeous when they come out. Too bad their beauty can be treacherous with the snakes! Something I will keep in mind if I'm ever hiking down your way, at that time of year.
My husband was biking in Utah in May and took some pictures for me of the desert bloom;
hope you like this and had lots of these blooms near you, this year :^)
Thank you and best wishes for your winter wheat container garden!
:^) breadsong
beautiful prickly pear bloom you have there. It will develop a deep purple fruit called a 'tuna' and then my apprentice will harvest them to make prickly pear jam and syrup for margaritas out of them :-)
Hi dabrownman,
Prickly pear jam - how interesting! As is the margarita! :^)
(curious - is there any particular flavor note to this syrup?)
:^) breadsong
Especially considering that the rye content is in the 70% range and that spelt is known for a rather fragile gluten. Masterful baking.
Paul
Hi Paul,
Thank you so much. Having good formulas, ideal ambient temperatures and beautiful flours to work with gave me great joy with these bakes.
:^) breadsong
Both the bread and the pics of your flowers. What an amazing Spring/Summer you have had in the PNW. We here in the South have had rain and rain and rain ! Since we were in drought from 2007 till this year we are glad of it but it sure is a switch in weather.
I had never heard of that book before . I am so glad you posted. That is a lovely loaf and looks chock full of flavor. c
Hi,
So glad to hear to drought in your area has ended!
If you get a chance to look at the book, there are so many lovely recipes and photos...forgot to include this link in the post, to the publisher's site - three more recipes there, on the right hand side of the page.
Thank you and happy you like this bread, and these flowers.
:^) breadsong
Lovely! Both are super attractive, Breadsong. Good job.
The acid load carried over from the first bake is apparent in the improved oven spring.
Thanks for posting the recipe.
-Khalid
Hi Khalid,
Thank you so much!
I think I'll be planning to make a little extra dough more often, with Hanne's and other recipes...
and will keep Karin's wonderful Bauernbrötchen and other breads in mind, too.
:^) breadsong
so fortunate to work with fresh ingredients. and you did put in a lot of passion into your loaves. they are amazing. beautiful flowers as well.. thank you for sharing all the good things it's hard to find in city life.
happy baking
evon
Hi evon,
I'd say that passion and ingredients are specialties of yours - amazing flavor combinations you combine in your loaves :^)
Thank you - very happy you like these flowers and this bread, and the local wheat, too.
:^) breadsong
Breadsong, Your bread looks fantastic. Every time I see a terrific bread made with high percentage spelt it reminds me that I must find a low(er) cost supplier. Right now the only one I have sells two pound bags for something like $8. Eek. I know spelt will always be expensive since processing it is more difficult than wheat, but so expensive? Anyhow, that's my problem I guess. Your bread looks supremely eatable. -Varda
Hi Varda,
Hope you can find a less expensive supplier for spelt (wonder if a bakery might bring in an extra bag for you?)
Thank you - the bread was good, and it's gone!
Have to rustle up some more old dough so I can make it again.
:^) breadsong
Beautiful post breadsong, with the flowers and wheat stalks basking in the sun, along with your write-up, but those loaves are a knockout! You know I love these types of bread but I seldom think of making them when the temperatures are like what we've been having the last month or so here in B.C. I tend to go with the higher percentage ryes when things get cold, and thought your reasoning re: warm ambient temperatures was interesting and very on point for fermenting high ratio rye breads. Thanks for sharing your thoughts, formula and photos of these gorgeous loaves.
Cheers,
Franko
Hi Franko,
Thank you so much!
I like how you describe the flowers and the wheat basking in the sun - the plants sure do seem content this year, flowering, growing and doing their thing.
It's been great temperature-wise here in the kitchen, for these breads - makes it so easy to hit the right dough temperature and have good fermentation.
I hope you like this formula, and thanks again for your kind compliments!
:^) breadsong
That's a great looking loaf breadsong and just the kind of bread that I have had a hankering for lately. Think I am going to have to give this one a try. Interesting that you got a higher rise out of the second bake. Perhaps it was, as you suspected, due to the old dough. Lovely photos, too.
All the best,
Syd
Hi Syd,
It's lovely to hear from you! I hope all is well.
Thank you so much! - and hope you enjoy this bread.
:^) breadsong
Very, very fine loaves Breadsong,
My kind of bread, and yes, the summer months do speed up those leavens and sours for sure.
The book needs further investigation....that's me off to Amazon then!
Summer photos of yours just re-inforce my own thoughts of what a great time is to be had in the warm months.
Very best wishes
Andy
Hi Andy,
So glad you like these rye breads; I didn't use the Bachedre in these, saving this flour for one of your lovely formulas :^)
Love how your photos capture the beautiful sun that follows you to your vacation destinations!
And I hope you love the breads, the sun and the season, pictured so gorgeously in this book.
Thank you so much,
:^) breadsong