Tag: Rye Bread

Using Dried Sourdough

On a recent visit to my local Polish shop I came across packets of dried sour dough.

I had never seen these before and bought a couple to try them out.

There was a recipe printed on the back of the packet and this is what I used.

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  • I have noticed many Dr. Oetker products in Poland and in England.
  • I thought the company name was made up but have found this is not so.
  • Doctor August Oetker was a German chemist and was one of the people who invented baking powder.
  • He started a company in 1891 and the first product sold was Bakin, which was a measured amount of baking powder to be added to 500g of plain flour when making a cake. 
  • His family still run what is now a multi-national company.

Ingredients

  • 150g rye flour
  • 350g strong flour
  • 1 teaspoon of granulated sugar
  • 1½ teaspoon salt
  • 1 packet of dried sourdough
  • 1 tablespoon of dried yeast
  • 400ml of lukewarm water (approx)
  • *
  • 2 tablespoons of sunflower oil
  • 2 tablespoons of seeds eg – sesame, linseed, caraway
  • *
  • 1 teaspoon of sesame or caraway seed
  • 1 teaspoon of plain flour
  • 1 teaspoon of water

Method

  • In a large bowl mix the rye flour, strong flour, sugar, dried sour dough and the yeast.
  • Slowly add the water to get a soft dough that you can knead.
  • Knead dough for 10 minutes, set a timer.
  • Cover the dough – a shower cap is good – and leave in a warm place to rise.
  • This could be for an hour or more.
  • *
  • Line a long Continental style loaf tin – approx 10 by 30cm.
  • Use a single sheet and push the paper into the corners.
  • *
  • Add the oil and seeds to the risen dough and mix well in.
  • Knead to a smooth dough for 10 minutes.
  • *
  • Push the dough into the tin and smooth flat.
  • Brush the top with water, seeds and flour.
  • Cut slashes with a knife in the top.
  • Cover and leave for an hour or more to rise.
  • *
  • Pre-heat the oven to GM7 – 220°C.
  • Bake for 15 minutes.
  • Lower the temperature to GM5 – 190°C.
  • Bake for 30 minutes.
  • Leave to cool in the tin.

 

Poolish Rye Bread

I recently posted about a wheat bread I made using the Poolish method.

As this was such success I thought I would try out a Poolish recipe this time using rye flour.

There are lots of steps and it takes most of the day, so it is best made when you are at home with other things to do in between.

A Poolish is a pre-ferment usually combing equal parts of flour and water (by weight) with some yeast.

This recipe is adapted from Bake it Better  – Bread – edited by Linda Collister, Hodder & Stoughton, 2015.

Ingredients – Poolish

  • 250g rye flour
  • 150g strong flour
  • 15g fresh yeast (7g dried)
  • 300ml  lukewarm water
  • 1/4 teaspoon of sugar

Method – Poolish

  • Mix the yeast, water and sugar in a jug
  • Leave for about 5 minutes.
  • Make a well and pour in the yeast mixture.
  • Bring it all together to make a thick lump free mixture.
  • Cover the bowl (a shower cap is good)
  • Leave at room temperature to rise for about 4 hours.

Ingredients – Dough

  • Poolish
  • 200g rye flour
  • 100g strong flour
  • 125ml lukewarm water
  • 2 teaspoons of caraway seeds
  • ½ tablespoon of salt
  • *
  • Milk to brush loaves
  • Extra caraway seeds for sprinkling on loaves

Method – Dough

  • To the Poolish add the water and mix to make a smooth batter.
  • Mix the flours and the salt.
  • Add the flour and salt to the Poolish  and mix.
  • You will have a soft and heavy, sticky dough.
  • Leave uncovered to rest for 5 minutes.
  • *
  • Add a little water if it feels too stiff.
  • Turn out onto a lightly floured board.
  • Knead the dough for 10 minutes (set a timer).
  • *
  • Put back into a large bowl and cover (a shower cap is good).
  • Leave to rest and rise for 1 hour.
  • *
  • Knock back the dough.
  • Roll into a ball.
  • Cover and leave for 1 hour.
  • *
  • Turn out onto a lightly floured board.
  • Knead a couple of times.
  • Divide into two.
  • Shape each piece into a ball.
  • Cover loosely with a dry tea towel and leave for 10 minutes.
  • *
  • Line a baking sheet with grease proof paper.
  • Knead and fold and shape each ball into an oval.
  • Place the two pieces on the baking sheet.
  • Cover loosely and leave to prove for 1 hour.
  • *
  • Pre-heat the oven to GM7 220°C
  • Put a roasting tin at the bottom of the oven to heat up.
  • *
  • Cut 3 slashes in the top of each loaf.
  • Brush lightly with milk or water.
  • Sprinkle with caraway seeds.
  • Put the loaves in the oven.
  • Quickly pour a glass of water into the roasting tin (the steam helps to give a good crust).
  • Close the door and bake for around 10 minutes.
  • Reduce to GM6 2O0°C  and continue baking for 25 minutes
  • Leave to cool on a wire cake rack.

No Knead Sourdough Rye Bread

This recipe is taken from Tomek Lach.  He has many extremely good videos on YouTube – they are however in Polish.  His videos include ones on yeast, sourdough, bread and pizzas.

I have tried out several recipes and tips.

This recipe is so easy as there is no need to knead – you just need time and patience. It can take up to three days.

You need to have some – zakwas – sourdough starter.

To make this you put 50g of rye flour and 50ml of water into a large glass preserving jar on day 1 and stir, cover and leave for 24 hours. On days 2, 3, and 4 you repeat this. On Day 5 it is ready to use or you can keep it in the fridge – topping up once a week with a couple of spoons of flour and water.

Ingredients – Day One

  • 2-3 tablespoons of zakwas – sourdough starter.
  • 150g of rye flour
  • 150ml of water

Method – Day One

  • Mix all the ingredients together in a large bowl.
  • Cover with a shower cap.
  • Leave for 12 hours minimum (overnight is good)

Ingredients – Day Two

  • The mixture from day one
  • 200g of rye flour
  • 200g of strong white flour
  • 200ml of water
  • 1 + 1/2 teaspoons of salt

Method – Day Two

  • Mix all the ingredients into a thick paste.
  • Get a large loaf tin (often called a 2lb tin).
  • Use one rectangle of grease-proof paper to line the tin.
  • Spoon all the mixture into the tin and smooth the top.
  • Cover again with the shower cap and leave for at least 5 hours – I have found that overnight is good here again.
  • Put the tin into the cold oven.
  • Put the oven on to GM7 –  220°C.
  • Bake for 50 minutes.
  • Take out and leave for at least 30 minutes before cutting into the loaf as it is still baking.

Variations

  • Adjust the types of flour – maybe use a light rye if you used a dark one before.
  • Add 2 tablespoons of seeds into the dough mixture – such as caraway, pumpkin or sunflower.
  • Add seeds to the top of the loaf.

Note

The bread keeps for several days and is good toasted or you can slice it up and freeze it.

Rye Bread 2

Recently I found my local Polish shop sold fresh yeast in small blocks, so I have been trying out lots of yeast buns and bread recipes.

This is one for Polish Rye Bread based on a recipe in the following book, which is easy to make and the bread is super.

 

 

Ingredients

  • 225g rye flour
  • 225g strong flour
  • 1 tablespoon of caraway seeds
  • 2 teaspoons of salt
  • 20g of fresh yeast (or 10g of dried)
  • 140ml of lukewarm milk
  • 1 teaspoon of honey
  • 140ml of lukewarm water

Method

  • In a jug mix the milk, yeast and honey.
  • In a large bowl mix the flour, caraway seeds and salt.
  • Make a well in the centre of the flour.
  • Pour the yeast mixture into the well.
  • Add the water and slowly mix the flour and liquid together until a dough forms.
  • Turn the dough into a lightly floured surface and knead for 10 minutes (set a timer!).
  • Place the dough into a bowl and cover (a shower cap is good for this).
  • Leave until this has doubled in size (around 3 hours if warm).
  • Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface and lightly knock back.
  • Shape into an oval loaf.
  • Grease a baking tray.
  • Place the loaf onto the baking tray.
  • Dust with some rye flour.
  • Cover and leave to rise until doubled in size (around 90 minutes if warm).
  • *
  • Pre-heat the oven to GM7  – 220°C
  • *
  • Use a sharp knife to make 2 long cuts in the top of the loaf.
  • Bake for 30-35 minutes.
  • Leave to cool before cutting.

 

Kapuśniak- Hunter’s Style

I am continuing on the theme of  the Polish classic kapuśniak – cabbage soup made with sauerkraut.

I would call this a “posh” version – Kapuśniak myśliwski – Hunter’s style  and it could  also be called po staropolsku – in an old Polish style.

Half a large jar of sauerkraut  is enough for this soup, I often freeze the other half to use at a later date.

Ingredients

  • 400g Sauerkraut
  • 200g Polish smoked sausage
  • 200g Smoked bacon
  • 1 large onion
  • 10g dried mushrooms
  • 3-4 grains of allspice
  • 4 juniper berries.
  • 1 bay leaf
  • 2 litres of vegetable stock (can be from powder or cubes)
  • oil for frying (originally pork fat/lard would have been used)

Method

  • Put the mushrooms into a little bowl and cover with boiling water.
  • Leave to reconstitute for at least 30 minutes.
  • Remove the mushrooms and  chop into small pieces.
  • Chop the sauerkraut into shorter strands.
  • Into a large pot of vegetable stock add the sauerkraut, the mushrooms and the liquor from the mushrooms.
  • Bring to the boil, then cover the pan and allow it to simmer until the sauerkraut is tender.
  • Chop the onion into small pieces and fry till nearly charred.
  • Chop the bacon into squares around 2.5cm in size.
  • Fry the bacon on both sides.
  • Chop the sausage into small pieces.
  • Fry the sausage .
  • Add the onion, bacon and sausage to the sauerkraut.
  • Add the allspice, bay and juniper.
  • Continue simmering for around 30 minutes.
  • I do not usually have to adjust the seasoning or sweetness of this soup.

To Serve

  • This soup is served with a  bowl of hot boiled potatoes topped with skwarki *and the fat poured over them or with fried charred onions.
  • You can have the potatoes on the side or add them to the soup.
  • *
  • Or for an even more olden touch serve with slices of rye bread with skwarki * and the fat poured on top.

Potatoes in a dish by J & G Meakin – unknown design name.

Soup in my late mother’s plates – 3 only left – Crown Devon Fielding – Glenwood from 1939. (Where my mother got these I do not know).

 

Plate by J & G Meakin Topic by Alan Rogers 1966 – 1979.

 

*Skwarki – very small pieces of smoked bacon, heated in a pan until all the fat has rendered out.

 

Sauerkraut Rye Bread

My cousin who lives near Chicago recently sent me a recipe that has been used by her mum for Polish sauerkraut rye bread.

The recipe was from a bakery in Chicago and was printed in the Chicago Tribune on 2 March 1989.

Well of course I had to try this out!

 

The recipe is in cups, which except for liquids, I find hard to work with for consistency – so I  did some conversions into grams.

Note -The amount of sauerkraut was  3/4 of a cup – I measured out a loosely filled cup and weighed it.

This recipe makes one very large loaf – you can use it to make two loaves.

There is a large amount of flour – I mixed it by hand which was quite hard work but after the first rise it was a good dough to work with.

Ingredients

  • 880g plain flour (650g & 250g)
  • 170g rye flour
  • 40g butter
  • 1 tablespoon of salt
  • 1 tablespoon of granulated sugar
  • 1 tablespoon of dried yeast
  • 100g sauerkraut
  • 500ml warm water
  • Cornmeal or semolina for the baking tray
  • 1 egg yolk & 1 tablespoon of milk to glaze
  • 2 teaspoons of caraway for topping.

Method

  • Into a large bowl add 650g of plain flour and rye flour.
  • Rub in the butter.
  • Add the salt, sugar and yeast.
  • Chop the sauerkraut with a sharp knife into small pieces.
  • Add the sauerkraut to the flour and mix together.
  • Slowly add the water and bring the mixture together.
  • Slowly add the rest of the flour (you may not need it all) until the dough does not stick to the sides and start to gather it together into a ball.
  •  Knead the dough for around 5 minutes.

 

 

  • Cover the dough with a cloth or clingfilm.
  • Leave it to rise until it is double in size.
  • Punch the dough down and knead it again for a few minutes.
  • Allow the dough to double in size again
  • Punch the dough down again and knead it again lightly.
  • (You can divide it into two here if you want to make two loaves)
  • Put the dough onto a board and flatten it into a rectangle.
  • Shape into an oval.
  • Cover a baking tray with cornmeal or semolina.
  • Place the dough onto the baking tray.
  • Cover and let the dough rise until it is double in size.

 

  • Pre-heat the oven to GM 6  – 200°C.
  • Brush the glaze onto the loaf
  • Sprinkle with caraway seeds note – I would cover the seeds with glaze again as well next time.
  • Using a sharp knife make 4 or 5 diagonal cuts in the top of the loaf.
  • Bake for 20 minutes
  • Turn the oven down to GM4  – 180°C.
  • Bake for another 10 to 15 minutes.

 

It was delicious with a great texture!

I sliced up some of the loaf and froze it  – that worked well.

I might just add some more caraway seeds to the dough itself next time.

Scalded Rye Bread

I came across this recipe recently which I was told originates in Sweden*.

  • The recipe makes two loaves and the bread is very soft and tasty.
  • Boiling water is poured over the rye flour and it is left overnight. This must start the breakdown of some of the starch in the flour to sugars.
  • I used dried yeast when I made this.
  • The bread is baked at a lower temperature than many other breads.

Ingredients

For scalding

  • 100g dark rye flour
  • 300ml of boiling water

For  the rest

  • 650g strong white flour
  • 1 tablespoon of dried yeast
  • 250ml of water
  • 1.5 tablespoons of salt

Method

  • Put the rye flour into a bowl and pour the boiling water over it.
  • Mix this to a stiff paste.
  • Cover with a cloth and leave overnight.
  • The following morning, place the plain flour into a bowl and make a well and add the dried yeast followed by 100ml of water.
  • Cover and leave for around 15 minutes until all the yeast has dissolved.
  • Add the rest of the water (150ml), the salt and the scalded rye mixture.
  • Mix everything together well.

 

 

 

  • Now you need to knead this for around 5 minutes – this can be hard as the dough is sticky  – I do this in the bowl for some of the time and then with wet hands I hold the dough up and sort of kneaded it in the air!
  • Put the dough back into the bowl and covered with clingfilm or a cloth and leave it for around 2 hours.
  • Divide the dough into two.
  • Flour your hands and stretch each piece into a rectangle around 2cm in thickness.
  • You now need to fold the dough into a long loaf.
  • With the short side facing you, fold this up a third gently onto the dough and then taking the top third pull this down to cover the two layers of dough.
  • Get a clean tea towel,  flour this and using a cake lifter place the loaf on this and cover it with the rest of the tea towel.
  • 20181208_092916

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

  • Repeat this for the other loaf.
  • Leave the loaves to rest for around 1 hour.
  • Pre-heat the oven to GM8 – 230°C.
  • Use rye flour to flour two small baking sheets.
  • Place each  loaf onto a prepared sheet and place them side by side in the oven.
  • Turn the temperature down immediately to GM4 -180°C.
  • Bake for 40 minutes.
  • Remove and leave to cool on a wire rack.

 

 

Variations

  • Add 1.5 tablespoons of caraway seeds to the dough mixture.
  • Divide the dough into 4 pieces and shape them into cobs.
  • Change the proportions to use more rye – I used 200g of dark rye & 550g of strong plain flour & an extra 100ml of boiling water for the overnight scalding & baked the loaves in long loaf tins after shaping the dough.

 

 

Tea plate is by Taylor and Kent of Longton

*Polish – Swedish Connections

The Polish King Zygmunt III Waza (1587 – 1632) was the son of King John III of Sweden and Katarzyna Jagiellonka (daughter of King Zygmunt I Stary (the old) of Poland).  He was also the King of Sweden from 1592 – 1599.

Potop – The Deluge – was a period of invasion and war with Sweden in the mid 17th Century.

Szwed – The Swede is a very common surname in Poland . One of my father’s best friends had this surname.

There are 72 ferry sailings a week from Polish Baltic ports to Sweden.

Note – this post was updated in March 2020.

 

 

Easy Rye Bread

I have been spending many days in the last few months trying to make a good easy rye bread.

Many of my attempts were just awful – not even good enough for the birds – more straight to the bin!

At last, I have found a recipe that is easy & it just uses rye flour and baker’s yeast & there is no kneading whatsoever!

In fact, I got some fresh yeast from my local Polish shop and this was just so lovely to use.

I made this twice, once with rye flour from the Polish shop and once with dark rye from Aldi. They both turned out well.

You just mix the ingredients together with a wooden spoon to give a wet mixture a bit like porridge.

The less you handle the mixture the better.

Ingredients

300g rye flour

10g fresh yeast (or the equivalent in dried yeast)

250ml hand hot water

1 teaspoon of granulated sugar

1.5 teaspoons of salt

1 tablespoon of caraway seeds

Caraway Seeds

Method

Add the sugar and yeast to the water, mix well and leave it to start to froth.

Put the flour, salt and caraway in a large bowl and mix together.

Grease a 2lb loaf tin.

Add the water and yeast mix to the flour mix and with a wooden spoon mix well to form a unified mass.  You are aiming for a wet mixture rather like porridge.

Using a large spoon or spatula put the mixture into the prepared loaf tin.

Loosely cover the tin with cling film or similar  – a recent tip I have got is to use a clear shower cap – this allows the dough to rise without touching the plastic.

Dark Rye

Leave the dough to rise in a warm place until dough has doubled in size (I found this took around 2 hours).

Pre-heat the oven to GM 6 – 200°C

Bake for around 30 -40 minutes – check after 15 minutes and cover with a piece of greaseproof paper if it is starting to catch on the top.

To slice the loaf, I have found that a cleaver type knife is actually easier than using a bread knife.

You can place the slices in a plastic box and they freeze very well.

Rye Bread

Having made a super sour dough rye bread   ,  I now thought I would have a go at one using baker’s yeast as this is a quicker option.

Only rye flour is used which does make it a harder to handle dough.

Ingredients

500ml yoghurt & water ( around 1:1 ) at hand heat

1.5 tablespoons of dried yeast

1 teaspoon sugar

100g rye flour

**********

650g rye flour

2 teaspoons of salt

2 tablespoons of caraway seeds – plus extra for sprinkling on top

Method

Day 1

In a bowl mix the yoghurt and water , yeast , sugar and flour.

Leave for a while until it starts to bubble.

Mix the rest of the flour, salt and caraway seeds in a large bowl.

Add the yeast mixture to the flour mixture and mix with a wooden spoon.

Aim for a “wet” mixture, adjusting with water or flour as necessary.

Cover this with a cling film or a cloth and leave overnight.

Day 2

This will make 2 loaves – either two round or oval loaves which you can place on greased baking sheets or you can use small baking tins – shallow ones rather than loaf tins work out best I think – I used a 16 x 27cm mermaid tin.

This dough is very hard to work with – I cut it into two and shape each piece without much kneading and try not to add much extra flour.

Cover and leave to rise – this may take several hours – you do not get much of a rise.

Pre-heat the oven to GM 4 – 180°C.

Brush the top of the loaf with hot water and sprinkle with caraway seeds. You can make 1 or 2 cuts on the top of the loaf.

Whilst experimenting with this recipe  I found  that if you make the loaf too thick then it can burn on the outside and still be uncooked in the centre.

I found that a flatter loaf and the one in the rectangular tray came out consistently better.

Bake for 50 – 55 minutes – I swap the trays around after 20 -25 minutes.

 

 

Rye Bread Croutons

Croutons are called grzanki in Polish – the word is plural and means something that have been heated up.

Rye bread croutons are used as a soup accompaniment.

Ingredients

  • Several slices of rye bread
  • 2-3 tablespoons of olive oil (not virgin)

I used some of my own sour dough loaf.

 

Method

  • Pre-heat the oven to GM4  – 180°C
  • Cut the bread into small cubes
  • Heat the olive oil in a frying pan.
  • Toss the bread cubes in the oil and fry gently for a few minutes.

 

Place the cubes onto a baking tray and put in the oven for around 5 – 10 minutes till golden.

Serving

Add several to each serving of soup.

Sprinkle with salt flakes or ground salt and eat them as a nibble or little snack.