Rye bread

Ingredients

Rye sourdough starter

• 100 gwholegrain rye flour
• 100 mlwarm water

Scald (plaucējums)

• 300 gwholegrain rye flour
• 2 tbspcaraway seeds, lightly crushed
• 50 grye malt or dark malt extract
• 500 mlwater at 95°C (205°F)

Dough

• 400 gwholegrain rye flour
• 200 gstrong white wheat flour
• 60 gdark honey or molasses
• 18 gfine salt
• 150 mlwarm water, as needed

Finish

• 1 tbspwater, for glazing
• Fresh cabbage or maple leaves, for the baking tray, if you have them

Directions

1. Build the starter three days ahead: mix the rye flour and warm water, cover loosely and keep at 26–28°C (80–80°F), refreshing with equal flour and water each day, until it doubles in six hours and smells sharply sour and fruity.
2. Make the scald: whisk the rye flour, crushed caraway and malt with the near-boiling water to a thick, lump-free paste. Cover and hold at 63–65°C (145–150°F) for 3 hours, in a low oven or a warm flask. It will darken and turn sweet as the starch converts.
3. Cool the scald to 35°C (95°F), stir in the active starter and the honey, cover and ferment 12–16 hours at room temperature until domed, bubbly and pleasantly sour.
4. Mix in the remaining rye flour, the wheat flour and the salt, adding warm water a little at a time. Rye dough is not kneaded: work it with a wet spoon or wet hands for 5 minutes to a heavy, sticky, clay-like mass.
5. Cover and bulk-ferment 2–3 hours at 28°C (80°F), until risen by about half and cracked across the surface.
6. With wet hands, shape into a high oval loaf on a tray lined with cabbage leaves or baking paper. Smooth the top with wet palms; there should be no visible seams.
7. Prove 1–1.5 hours until small cracks open across the crown. Meanwhile heat the oven to 250°C (475°F) with a tray for steam.
8. Bake 15 minutes at 250°C (475°F) with steam, then drop to 180°C (350°F), vent the oven and bake a further 60–70 minutes until the internal temperature reaches 98°C (210°F) and the base sounds hollow.
9. Brush the hot loaf with water for gloss, wrap in a linen cloth and cool at least 12 hours before cutting. Cutting a hot rye loaf leaves a gummy, sticky crumb.

Technique

• The scald is the heart of Latvian rupjmaize. Holding rye flour at 63–65°C (145–150°F) lets its own enzymes convert starch to sugar, which is where the sweet-sour, almost malty flavour and the dark colour come from. Skip it and you have ordinary rye bread.
• Rye has no gluten network worth developing, so structure comes from acidity and pentosans. A weak, insufficiently sour starter gives a dense, wet loaf.
• The loaf improves for three days and keeps for two weeks wrapped in linen. It is never stored in plastic.
• Traditional loaves are baked directly on the hearth of a wood oven, on maple or cabbage leaves, which is why old loaves carry leaf prints on the base.

Substitutions

• No rye malt: use 50 g dark barley malt extract, or brew 3 tbsp of strong coffee and 1 tbsp molasses into the scald for colour and bitterness.
• If you cannot hold the scald at temperature, use a thermos flask filled with the hot mixture and left overnight.

Variations

• Saldskābmaize, a smaller, sweeter, finer-crumbed sweet-sour loaf.
• A Latgale version studded with sunflower seeds and extra caraway.

History

Sour black rye is a national symbol; households kept the starter for generations, and dropped bread was picked up and kissed before being eaten.

Frequently asked questions

What is Rye bread?

Rye bread is a bread & pastry from Estonia: dark sour rye loaf, the revered daily staple. Sour black rye is a national symbol; households kept the starter for generations, and dropped bread was picked up and kissed before being eaten.

How long does Rye bread take to make?

Rye bread takes 45 min plus 3 days of starter and ferment of preparation and 1 hr 20 min of cooking. The recipe makes 1 large loaf, about 1.5 kg. It is rated hard to make.

What can I substitute in Rye bread?

Yes, within limits. No rye malt: use 50 g dark barley malt extract, or brew 3 tbsp of strong coffee and 1 tbsp molasses into the scald for colour and bitterness. If you cannot hold the scald at temperature, use a thermos flask filled with the hot mixture and left overnight.

What is the most important thing to get right in Rye bread?

The loaf improves for three days and keeps for two weeks wrapped in linen. It is never stored in plastic.