Beard on Bread (15 page)

The day before preparing the dough, combine 1 cup of starter, the rye flour, and 1 cup warm water in a bowl. Cover with plastic wrap and let stand at room temperature overnight. The next day stir down the dough and add the second package of yeast, dissolved in ¼ cup warm water, salt, caraway seeds, poppy seeds, butter, and sugar. Then add up to 4 cups all-purpose flour, 1 cup at a time, to make a stiff but workable dough. Knead
for 10 to 12 minutes, then shape into a ball. Place in a buttered bowl, turning to coat the dough with the butter. Cover and let rise in a warm, draft-free place until doubled in bulk, about 2 hours.

Punch down and divide the dough in half. Shape into two round loaves and place on buttered baking sheets generously sprinkled with cornmeal. Cover and let rise again until doubled in bulk, about 1 hour. Brush with the egg wash, and bake in a preheated 375° oven for 30 minutes, or until lightly browned and the loaves sound hollow when rapped with the knuckles. Cool, covered with towels to prevent the crust from hardening.

This will provide more starter than you need for this recipe. To keep it going, replenish with equal parts of warm water and flour, let stand again at room temperature, and then refrigerate. Continue the process each time you use some of it.

A pleasant rye bread of good texture and interesting flavor. It is rather difficult to make but worth the trouble. This recipe makes two loaves in 8
½ x
4½ × 2½-inch pans; or if the dough seems firm enough, it can be baked in one or two free-form loaves, in which case I would suggest letting the formed loaves rise and then very carefully inverting them (right onto hot tiles, if you have them) just before they are baked. This gives a better finished loaf.

[2 free-form or regular loaves]

Dissolve the yeast and honey in the warm water, and allow the mixture to proof for 4 or 5 minutes. Combine the warm milk and hot water with the softened butter and add to the yeast mixture along with the salt and caraway seeds. Add the flour, 1 cup at a time, stirring well after each addition. When you have added about 4½ cups the dough will become difficult to stir and will be quite sticky, but continue to add the remaining flour a tablespoon at a time. Scrape out the dough onto a floured board, and using a baker’s scraper or a large metal spatula, scrape under the dough and flour and fold the dough over. Continue to lift and fold, and with your free hand start pressing down and away from you on these folded areas, adding more flour as needed to dust your hands and to sprinkle the board. After 2 or 3 minutes of this procedure you can eliminate the
scraper. Flour both hands and knead for about 10 minutes, until the dough is soft, velvety, and elastic.

Shape the dough into a ball and place in a well-buttered bowl, turning to coat with the butter. Cover with plastic wrap and place in a warm, draft-free area to double in bulk, which will take from 1 to 2 hours. Punch down, turn out on a lightly floured board, and divide into two equal pieces. Let the dough rest 2 or 3 minutes, and then shape into two loaves, either free form or for well-buttered 8 × 4 × 2-inch loaf pans. If you are making free-form loaves allow them to rise, covered, on a buttered baking sheet sprinkled with cornmeal until almost doubled in size, and then quickly invert them and brush with the egg white and water mixture. Otherwise, let the loaves rise, covered, in their pans until they have doubled in bulk and then brush the tops with the egg white and water mixture. Bake at 400° from 45 to 50 minutes or until the loaves sound hollow when tapped with the knuckles. Cool thoroughly on racks before slicing.

I find this fine-grained, well-flavored rye bread a pleasant change from other breads in its category. I enjoy it sliced paper-thin for sandwiches, such as cheese or smoked meats and fish, and I find it a delicious bread for toast. It is an excellent accompaniment to meals planned with Scandinavian overtones.

[2 free-form loaves]

Four days ahead of breadmaking, prepare the “starter”: Combine 1 cup of rye flour with 1 cup liquid, cover loosely, and set in a warm place. Stir once or twice each day, adding more liquid if the mixture becomes too dry. It should bubble and give off a strong odor.

When ready to prepare the dough, put the starter in a large mixing bowl, add 2 more cups of whatever liquid was used, and stir. Dissolve the yeast and salt in ¼ cup warm water, and also stir in. Then beat in the remaining rye flour and up to 4 cups of the white flour, 1 cup at a time, to make a somewhat soft, biscuit-like dough firm enough to hold its shape. It should not be too sticky. Turn out on a lightly floured board and knead until smooth and velvety, about 10 to 12 minutes.

Divide the dough into two equal parts and shape into balls. Place in two buttered bowls, turning to coat the dough with the butter. Cover and let rise in a warm place until doubled in bulk, about 1½ hours. Turn out on a floured board and shape into round loaves or into doughnut shapes. Place on a buttered baking sheet, cover, and let rise again until doubled
in bulk, about 40 minutes. Bake in a preheated 400° oven about 45 minutes, or until the loaves are lightly browned and sound hollow when tapped with the knuckles. Ten minutes before the loaves are done, brush the tops with the egg wash. Cool, covered with towels to prevent the crust from hardening.

This makes a loaf quite firm in texture, with a delicious herby, peppery flavor that lasts. The garlic here is subtle and does not go stale, as sometimes happens in garlic bread. It is a fine loaf for sandwiches, makes fairly good toast, and is excellent sliced thin and buttered. It will keep for a week at a time.

[1 large loaf or 2 smaller loaves]

Combine the yeast, sugar, and ½ cup of the warm water in a mixing bowl and allow to proof. Mix whole-wheat flour, rye meal, and 1 cup of the all-purpose flour. Add the olive oil, salt, and pepper and mix well. Add the yeast mixture and 1 cup of warm water. Mix, adding additional water if necessary, to make a firm, slightly sticky dough. Grind the garlic, parsley, and rosemary to a paste, using a mortar and pestle. (You will have about 1 tablespoon of paste.) Work this into the dough, then turn the dough out on a floured board and knead until smooth and rather elastic, about 10 to 15 minutes, adding as much of the remaining ½ cup flour as you require. Form into a ball, place in a well-oiled bowl, and turn to coat with the oil. Cover and let rise in a warm place until doubled in bulk, about 1½ to 2 hours.

Punch the dough down and knead again for about 5 minutes, then shape into two loaves to fit well-buttered 8 × 4 × 2-inch bread tins, or make one loaf for a 10 × 5 × 3-inch tin. Cover and allow the dough to rise again until it is above the rim of the loaf tin. Slash the loaves lengthwise (or crosswise) about ½ inch deep with a knife or razor blade. Bake in a preheated oven at 400° for 20 minutes, then reduce the heat to 350°, and continue baking for about 30 minutes, or until the loaves sound hollow when rapped on top and bottom. (You may have to turn the loaves out of the pan and place them back on the baking rack for a few minutes to give additional color.) Cool on racks before slicing.