New here, baked my first loaf :)
Hi everyone
I have never baked any kind of real bread in my life except from corn bread. Having moved to the US from Russia when I was about 10 years old I craved Russian bread more then anything. I decided to bake some Burodinsky or something that was pretty close. I used 80% dark rye, 20% wheat. I did not use a starter, because the one I have is 2 days old (saved for another thread). I used 4 teaspoons of active yeast, 2 table spoons of cocoa powder, 1 teaspoon salt/sugar, 3 cups of water and quarter cup of black molasses . I only let it rise for about 90 min before I stuffed it in the oven. It was baked 30 min at 400, 30min at 300 and 30 min at 325. I used coriander seed and also put a tiny bit of flaxseed on top. For my first time I would say it came out pretty good. Comparison wise to the Burodinsky I used to eat in Russia: the taste is very similar, the crumb is a bit different, the crust was very similar, the Burodinsky in Russia I much darker in color and has just a slight bit of sourness/sweetness to it, other then that it's a lot closer then I have ever bough at the Russian store tastewise. The crumb and the chewyness has gotten better after 2 days. Feel free to post opinions, comments, improvement and suggestions. Thanks and happy baking :)
Welcome. Nice to have you on board. Lot's of wonderful people here who have really helped me with my bread baking.
Now you've just made me hungry for rye bread.
One question... how much flour did you use? You've only mentioned the percentages of flours to each other but listed the other ingredients by volume.
you did more than "pretty good" you did GREAT!
Without the sourdough though it is tricky to get the acid levels up in the dough so if you try it again without the sourdough, add a soup spoon or two of fresh lemon juice or cider vinegar to help with matrix and flavour.
Keep 'em coming! :)
Try using Hershey's Special Dark Cocoa instead of regular baking cocoa. It is almost black and you won't have to use very much. When I was a kid the local [jewish] bakery sold a Russian Black Bread with raisins. It was quite good but staled pretty fast, guessing must have been primarily a yeast bread with little or no rye sour.
BTW, where did you find whole coriander seed? Love that stuff, but the single place in my neck of the woods that even carries coriander only offers it pre-ground, in three pound bags.
Looking forward to your next bake. Am sure you'll get even better results once you have your starter going. :)
I used regular unsweetened cocoa. Wasn't really paying attention to the color. For my next Burodinsky loaf I will use a starter and Barley Malt Syrup for the color and sweetness. I bought the flour and the full coriander seed at a Bob's Red Mill. Some other stores have it here too like Fred Mayer ( I'm a in the NW Portland, Oregon). I usually always have coriander seed, because I make Beef Biltong which is an African dry meat similar to jerky in the dehydrator. It's damn amazing and tastes much better then jerky. Here are some pics of Biltong in general so you can get the idea.
I am by no means an expert on this bread, but it looks like you did not do a bulk ferment (a first rise) and just put it directly in a pan for a final proof. Forgive me if I am mistaken.
If you bulk ferment in a bowl or container first until doubled (sounds like 90 minutes for you), then degassed it and shaped it for the pan, let it rise to the level you are looking for (maybe an hour) and then baked it, you might get a little more lift (and flavor too).
ETA: with that much rye, you really need to cool it for several hours or preferably overnight before cutting into it.
Oh, and great job on your first loaf!
Here is how I did it. After mixing the flour, yeast, liquids I let it sit in the bowl for 40 min and let it rise a nice amount. I kneded it for around 15 min adding a bit more rye flower and the stuck it into my bread pans and let it sit for 50 min. After it rose a bit more I stuck it into the oven :)
That should work okay, but here is something to try next time. Start by mixing the flour and water only just until there aren't any dry bits left. Then let it sit for 20-30 minutes (or more). This is called an autolyse. After the rest, add the remaining ingredients and knead (try not to add too much bench flour). Let it rise until doubled or so. Then degas, shape, and put in the pan for the final proof (again try not to use too much bench flour). The difference is subtle but might help with the texture (and flavor). You can do it without the initial autolyse but it is easier to knead if you do.
love dried meats of all kinds. Stan Gibsberg, a Fresh Lodian of note, who was co author with Norm Berg - (another Fresh Lofian who has sadly passed) of Inside the Jewish Bakery. Stan is now putting hthe finishing touches on his book that is all about rye bread. Here is his excerpt on his Borodinski in the book
http://www.thefreshloaf.com/node/36350/new-book-sourdough-borodinski
Borodinski is one of the favorite breads for rye lovers on TFL - just search for it in the search box and you will get all kinds of recipes.
Happy Borodinski Baking and Welcome to TFL
Thanks, I'll be making some lava or pita bread tonight with my "throw away starter". I'll post pics.