December 13, 2021 - 11:36am
Store-bought Nurnberger & Latvian rye breads.
Nurnberger rye from Chicago Specialty Bakers:
Latvian rye from Racine Bakery: 
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Store-bought Nurnberger & Latvian rye breads.
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Thanks for sharing these. They actually make me feel better about my own. I'm surprised the second one has added gluten and yet its crumb is no better than my pure rye sourdough borodinsky. Too bad they use caramel colour instead of a malt that would contribute flavour and incidental colouring.
Interesting, the name of the first one in Russia is Oryol Rye - named after a Russian city Oryol (Orel, or Oriol). A rather famous variety of rye bread. Nothing to do with Nurnberg!
How do you like them?
I think I've tried some rye from the Chicago bakery at some point. IIRC it was quite sour, to the point of being unpleasant. I likely saw the second one, there's a ton of stuff like that around, but I imagine it would not appear too appealing to me.
For years I had caraway sitting on my spice rack and even this keen cook wasn't sure what to use it for.. When giving it the sniffy-sniff I always thought it smelt toothpaste like.
Fast forward several years to a class on organic chemistry while studying Oenology we discussed isomers... An example being how the principle aroma compound of caraway is an isomer of the principle aroma compound of spearmint, which is as we all know the common flavouring in toothpaste!
Carvone - Wikipedia
No wonder I don’t like caraway seeds I also am not fond of spearmint!
Benny
Very interesting, didn't know that - thanks for sharing!
Interesting.
I did find that toasting caraway and including it ground up in a long scald for a Borodinsky produced a different flavour than typical caraway seeds included in a rye bread. I missed it when I made a second Borodinsky with coriander instead.
However, coriander is there as an alternative.
I never realized the two enantiomers of carvone smelled that different, and never associated spearmint and caraway. I actually like caraway much more than spearmint. Isn't organic chemistry wonderful?
That reminds me of super-tasters that perceive flavors differently than normal tasters. Some people think cilantro (coriander leaves) tastes like soap, while others can't live without its addition to many ethnic cuisines.
Both loaves appeared to have been frozen and thawed. They were not wrapped tightly, and appeared to have been frozen in their retail bags. The Latvian rye, in pan loaf form, had started to crumble along the edges and corners. The Nurnberger, in hearth loaf form, had a flexible but leathery-tough crust. The crumb of both was stiff and dry. The Latvian had a dry outer layer that you see in the photo.
Upon microwaving a slice with a little butter, they each transformed into deliciousness. They both became soft, and the Latvian turned moist. I liked the taste of both. The Nurnberger tastes like a deli rye, perhaps up to 40% rye, as I can taste the wheat. Even after microwavng. it has a crumb firm enough for a sandwich.
The Latvian has a stronger rye flavor, but I may be picking up on the ground caraway, and perceivng the caraway flavor as rye. After microwaving, the crumb got a bit too soft and delicate. But I think I may have microwaved it too long.
For both breads, I microwaved slice by slice, not the whole loaf.
The Latvian has what looks like a few soaked grains or seeds -- I can't tell whether they are rye grains, wheat grains, or maybe a sunflower seed. They are not mentioned in the ingredient list.
I'm not looking for a deli rye, so the Latvian is my favorite of these two. Both are sandwich worthy with a short microwave.
The ingredients lists don't specify the type of rye flour (whole, medium, light.) But I'm guessing medium and/or light for both loaves.
I'm looking for more whole grains, all rye or rye+wheat with mostly rye, so neither of these satisfies my quest. The closest so far was the Monastyrsky bread of a previous post, but it was too sweet for me.
Based on the recipes I've seen, I think I'm looking for a Borodinsky, made with 85% whole rye. But I don't think the Borodinsky of my other recent post qualifies.