Borodinsky (1940) -- My Bake
Yesterday I baked a Borodinsky loaf using the 1940 formula in the video by Rus Brot (thanks, Ilya, for posting that link in your blog). In the final dough, I combined 100 grams of all-purpose flour with 50 grams of whole wheat flour (a substitution mentioned by Rus Brot) and otherwise pretty much followed the approach in the video.
Although there are some large time gaps in the process, I was kept busy at times cleaning up from the preceding step and preparing for the next step. I wonder how they made this bread in the old country?
The final result was pleasing. This was the first time I ever gelatinized cornstarch, and I could have waited a bit more toward the end of the bake to do that (which would have made the gelatin a little runnier when I brushed it on), but the shine is on the crust. There was a crack in the top and another about two inches long on one lower side, but the appearance seemed good overall. The crumb is dense, but not a brick. The crust is a little tough but nicely chewy. Over the next several days I am curious about whether the flavor will develop.
Here is the crumb.
If anyone wants to bake this and save themselves the trouble of writing down all of the ingredients and steps from the Rus Brot video, let me know. (But definitely watch that video -- several times perhaps -- if you are going to make this bread.)
Happy baking.