| CATEGORY | CUISINE | TAG | YIELD | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Grains, Vegetables, Eggs | Latvian | 1 | Servings | |
INGREDIENTS
| 3 1/2 | c | Plus 1 tablespoon apple cider |
| 2 | tb | Caraway seeds |
| 5 1/2 | c | (or more) whole grain (coarse) rye flour (i.e., Hodgson Mill) |
| 1 | c | Sourdough starter (1:1 ratio water:bread flour) |
| 1 | tb | Yeast |
| 1 | ts | Salt |
| 2 1/2 | c | Bread flour |
| Vegetable oil spray (Pam; etc.) | ||
| 1 | Egg | |
| Rye flakes |
INSTRUCTIONS
OPTIONAL Heat 3 cups apple cider and 2 tablespoons caraway seeds to boiling; pour over 3 cups of coarse rye flour and stir. Let mixture cool. Add 1 cup active sourdough starter and mix well. The mixture will resemble heavy porridge as the rye flour absorbs the apple cider. Sprinkle 1/2 cup coarse rye flour over the mixture but do not stir at this point. Cover your bowl with a dish towel, and then wrap the covered bowl with a beach towel or blanket. Put wrapped bowl in a warm spot (next to a heat register is good) and allow the mixture to ferment for up to 24 hours (less time if you think it will be too sour). Dissolve 1 tablespoon yeast in 1/2 cup warm (105-115 degrees Farenheit) apple cider. Let the yeast mixture bubble and then add it to the sourdough mixture. Gradually add 1 teaspoon salt, 2-1/2 cups bread flour, and 2 cups coarse rye flour. Knead with your heavy-duty electric mixer. If the dough seems too wet, add more rye flour (wet dough will result in a soggy baked brick). This type of bread is tricky to make, as the dough is always very sticky from the rye; it takes some trial and error to get a feel for the dough. If the dough is too wet, it becomes slack after a while; the correct consistency of dough remains rather firm. Spray a Formica countertop or a marble pastry board with vegetable cooking spray. Use a small plastic pan scraper or something like that to scrape your dough out of the bowl and onto your work surface. Using a bench knife/dough scraper, divide the dough into two equal chunks. Wet your hands with water and keep a bowl of water handy for additional dipping. Form the dough into two loaves on the oiled surface, using just your wet hands; do not add flour at this point. Place the loaves into oiled bread pans (8-1/2" x 4-1/2"). Cover with a dish towel and let rise in a warm place. Believe it or not, this very heavy dough WILL rise. OPTIONAL (not a traditional method): Brush on glaze made with 1 egg that's been mixed with 1 tablespoon of apple cider; sprinkle with rye flakes (obtainable from a food co-op). Bake for 15 minutes at 400 degrees Farenheit; then turn heat down to 350 degrees Farenheit and continue to bake for an additional hour. Don't underbake. Remove loaves from pans and allow to cool on a rack. POSTSCRIPT: When measuring flour, I do not fluff and scoop into separate measuring cups; rather I just use my measuring cup to do the scooping and then level it off with a spatula. My resulting "cups" are probably somewhat on the dense side as a result of this. If anyone is interested in a "true sourdough" Latvian rye bread (using only sourdough starter but no additional yeast), I can post a recipe for it later on. The recipe differs from the one here in several ways: by including water and sugar, rather than apple cider; it uses a different (coffee flavored) glaze; it's a one-day process, rather than two-day like the recipe posted here; it uses a different type of sourdough starter. Posted to Digest bread-bakers.v097.n052 by "Angie Klidzejs" <klidz002@tc.umn.edu> on Aug 13, 1997
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