April 18, 2015 - 9:26am
North German 80% rye
Ammerland Black Bread/Ammerländer Schwarzbrot, a dense North German 80% rye meal 20% cracked wheat bread that showcases the sweetness of the grains. A single 9"x4"x4" loaf weighs nearly 2 kg. Magnificent with strong cheeses, smoked salmon and dry-cured meats. Look for it in my upcoming rye breads book.
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That is one gorgeous loaf of rye bread. Perfect texture and shape, and uniform crumb... My wife has been asking me for a long time, "When will you bake me some rye bread?". She (and I too) discount the few bricks I've turned out when I have gotten my courage up. Perhaps your book will fill in some gaps for me.
When will the book be out? I hope it will teach me some of what I need to know in order to produce a beauty like that? I'm sure it will, but will I be up to the challenge? Only time will tell.
From the rye challenged
OldWoodenSpoon
So far, it looks like the book won't be out until sometime in 2016; the MS just went in and I'm expecting feedback from my publisher (WW Norton) in the next week or two. I'll keep you posted.
In the meantime, I have to say that rye baking demands that we forget most of what we think we know as wheat bakers. The devil is in the details, and there are plenty of them. Two key points: make sure your rye doughs, esp. high-percentage ryes, are very well acidified. As a rule of thumb, 30%-50% prefermented flour percentage is a good working ratio. Second, start hot -- 450-500F or so, then moderate after about 10 minutes to 375-400F.
As for the cross-section, I use a 9"x4"x4" Pullman pan for my panned loaves, which I find gives me better cross-section and more even baking.
Hope this helps.
Stan
Beautiful looking loaf!
I so miss my german bread.
We always had * schwarzbrot * with butter and gouda cheese or with butter and strawberry Jam.
Whe my mum made * Reibekuchen * we always had schwarzbrot with butter with it and a helping of Applesauce.
I went back to my testing notes. Yours looks much better than mine did from the test bake. Have you done anything to adjust the hydration or baking profile since then? It appears that the Pullman pan is a better choice than a standard bread pan, too.
The flavor of this bread was very good when I baked it. It was simply too dry and too hard, It appears that you have corrected both of those issues.
Paul
hi Paul,
The formula is exactly the same as the one I sent out; only differences are (a) using the Pullman pan rather than the standard 9x5 US loaf pan, and (b) keeping the loaf wrapped for 4-5 days instead of the 1-2 in the recipe. I think that the Pullman pan's square cross section improves the evenness of the baking; I also find it more pleasing aesthetically. As for the longer resting time, I think that the only thing it will do is to improve the flavor by allowing the various flavor components to integrate more completely. And yes, it's a dense, hard, difficult-to-slice loaf, but worth the workout.
Stan
the next time I bake it. Perhaps not exactly according to Hoyle for this specific bread but a boon for those of us who don't have one of those Danish bread guillotines. It is too good not to make again.
Paul
something i've been thinking about adding to the recipe.
Can't wait for the book.
Danish rye bread. I've never failed once doing what this guy's video shows: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P7eLOtMzaGI
It'll be a problem for anyone who has to have exact measurements. I've learned to just wing it with this one, though. As I said, it's never failed me. People love it!
By the way, I cannot get cracked wheat but never-you-mind. I put wheat berries in my blender and get a healthy mixture of shapes and sizes. I then soak the whole batch in lots of water overnight at least before adding it.
I've yet to bake consistently good Danish rye bread using the video you mention. I'm probably not good at winging it. This formula is easier for me to follow than the video:
http://www.lifesci.sussex.ac.uk/home/Chris_Darwin/RyeBread.htm
I add 125g of sunflower seeds and 50g of flax
Although both loaves look the same, there are a few differences. Ammerländer consists entirely of coarse rye meal (80%) and cracked wheat (20%), while Danskt rågbröd, as that video illustrates, contains a large percentage -- typically 50% or so -- of rye flour, which creates a smoother, less rustic crumb..Ammerländer hydration is around 55% while the Danskt rågbröd hydrates at over 80%, including soaker water. Ammerländer uses a far smaller proportion of syrup, in the range of 10%, vs. almost 25% for the Danskt rågbröd (Scandinavians LOVE their rye breads sweet!). Seed percentages also differ, with larger amounts in the Danskt rågbröd. Finally, the Ammerländer bakes for nearly 3 hours at 375F/190C vs. about 90 minutes for the Danskt. Other than that, they're pretty similar.
Although the video is interesting, I find it a bit misleading. Despite what the guy says about it being perfectly okay to wing it because measuring ingredients "takes too much time," measurement does matter, especially if you're trying a formula for the first time, or want to recreate a bread you've made successfully in the past. I think that kind of attitude only encourages poor baking habits, sloppiness, inconsistent results and invites failure rather than success -- especially for beginning bakers or people who are inexperienced with rye and who lack your self-confidence.
One final point: In the video, the baker uses all of his sour culture for his bread and doesn't show him putting some aside for his next bake. A small point, perhaps, but an important one, in my opinion.
Stan
I'd never have known the difference between the two so quickly but for you. In fact, they looked so similar I'd probably have just continued to assume they were the same.
Now, while I agree with you that weighing ingredients matters, I've held my breath (while ignoring what that part of the video says) and paid strict attention to his textures. I've never had a loaf that's much different from the others with the exception of how undercooked the first ones came out after 90 minutes. I don't take mine out of the parchment paper until 90 minutes and then I leave the un-parchmented loaf in the over for another 30 minutes. I should add that I use a 13" X 4" X 4" loaf pan.
First one in the oven. Sorry for the aged thread resurrection but I am so excited about this book as I so infrequently bake ryes (almost entirely Peter Hamelman's "3-Stage 90% Rye," which I do enjoy a lot - so does my wife's Estonian family) and your book and its regional approach seems magnificent.
I am looking forward to working it through. I focus on two wheat SDs - a standard "Erin Street SD" patterned after Hamelman's Vermont Sourdough and a pain au levain, "travail sur trois levains" following as closely as possible the formula and methods of the late Gerard Rubaud.
Rye, however, is wide open, since I have so little fluency and I have ready eaters in the Baltic Horde that are my in-laws.
I began with this bread, your Ammerländer Schwarzbrot. A few questions, if I may?
1. Using the hydration in the recipe, my KA really had a hard time. I was honestly afraid I was going to break it down, and suspect the sheer volume of this dough, combined with the strong viscosity, was too much for my (old, now) machine. I added a bit of water in two stages, developed for about 9 minutes before adding in seeds, mixed about 90 seconds more.
2. Could you expound a bit on what "development" means when it comes to ryes like this? Obviously the usual tells from wheat baking don't apply, but I'm unclear what a "fully developed dough" means when it comes to mixing rye, and also not quite sure what is indicated by "the rye meal starts to break down." Loses its raw crunchiness, a sensation of water pickup and tenderness?
3. To the extent I've baked ryes (I admit I'm a complete beginner here, though I've baked numerous 70-90% 3-stage ryes from Hamelman), I'm accustomed to starting hot and going lower for an extended bake and drying-out. I see that you mention that here. The book indicates a steady 375F throughout the bake for this formula. Should we amend to do maybe 10-15 minutes on high, then proceed as your formula, at 375 w/ w/o foil until done?
4. I've no light molasses in house. To sub I used 75% Brer Rabbit "Full Flavor" (i.e., dark) + 25% light corn syrup. Just a more general reality check, on the reasonableness of the adaptation for this bread.
5. Thanks for the note on the longer maturation post-bake. Going to be tough - especially my son, who can't help but mow our home-bread in great fistfuls!
Thank you for such a tremendous book. I'm eager to go exploring.
Paul