Lithuanian palanga rye
As I had rye malt on hand and half a bag of light rye, I decided to try my hand at this Lithuanian palanga rye, an interesting recipe that calls for a sourdough levain, a flour and malt scald, and a yeast levain. I made it with 1/3 light rye and 2/3 whole rye.
palanga.jpeg
It's a fantastic bread. The light touch of caraway (just 2 g) allows the tart seeds to tickle your mouth beneath the mellow spice of the rye. The crumb is so juicy that my partner thought I might have added beer to the batter. And the star of the show is the caramelized crust that, despite being thick, is not hard but rather crisp and shattery and melt-in-your-mouth sweet.
Two weird things: First, the light rye I used -- Mąka żytnia chlebowa typ 720 -- is insanely thirsty. The scald, though it was 130% hydration, remained astoundingly firm. And, to get all the flour to absorb into the final mix, I had to add 125g of water, upping the full dough hydration from 64% to 77%. Then, after all that, the bulk and proof were more rapid than the recipe specified -- 2 hours total instead of 3.
But I'm not complaining. I'm enjoying. This is a strikingly different rye -- deep and super-subtle at the same time. It's interesting to make and great to eat.
Rob