Breads

Danish Rye Bread
Sourdough starter
Palanga-Style Rye Bread

Danish Rye Bread

Rye is a grain that thrives in the relatively cold environment in Scandinavia, so that means that bread made using rye flour is common in Denmark. This is my recipe for a dark, malty sourdough rye bread with rye kernels and pumpkin seeds.

Prep	0:05
Cook	5:20
Yields	1 serving

Ingredients

Daily feedings:

50 g starter
100 g flour
100 g water

For levain:

150 g sourdough rye starter
180 g rye flour
300 g water

For bread:

330 g rye kernels (cracked, if you can't get these, use whole rye kernels but soak them even longer
170 g pumpkin seeds
500 g water
400 g levain
1000 g soaked seeds
200 g water
50 g malt syrup
400 g rye flour
20 g fine salt

Instructions

Mix all the ingredients for the levain; There will be enough levain to save for the next bread.
Mix the seeds with the water and leave to soak overnight.
Put 400 grams of the levain, 20 grams of salt, 50 grams of malt syrup, 400 grams of rye flour and 200 grams of water in a bowl. Whatever of the levain is left over, is your new mother rye starter. Put it in the fridge until the next time you need it.
Strain whatever water hasn't been soaked by the seeds and add the seeds to the bowl.
Mix the dough by hand until everything is really well incorporated.
Butter a large bread pan liberally.
Add the dough and level it using a wetted spatula.
Leave to proof covered with a wet dish towel or cling film.
A rye bread needs to rise about 30%-50% before it's put in the oven. If you put it in too early, the bread will crack on top because of too much oven spring, if you put it in too late the bread will deflate in the oven. The proofing can take anywhere from 2 to 6 hours depending on a lot of factors, like the ambient temperature, the strength of your starter, the temperature of the dough and the consistancy of the dough A good rule of thumb for when it is ready to put in the oven is when there is 6-7 pinhead sized holes on top of the dough.
Heat the oven to 240°C/465°F/Gas Mark 9. When the bread is ready to bake, put it in the oven and close the door.
Bake for 10 minutes, then reduce the temperature to 180°C/355°F/Gas Mark 4.
Bake for another 40-70 minutes until the breads internal temperature is 98°C/208°F.
Leave the bread to cool on a wire rack. Once it's cooled to room temperature, put it in zip lock bags and let it rest for a day before slicing into it.

Sourdough starter

From: foodgeek.dk Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZU2z8u7MErI

Prep

1:00

It is very simple to make your own sourdough starter. All you need is time and patience.

Ingredients

Starter:

100 g rye flour
150 g water

Daily feedings:

50 g sourdough starter
100 g rye flour
100 g water

Instructions

Start by putting 100 grams of rye flour and 150 grams of water in a glass container
Mix thoroughly so all the flour been hydrated
Put somewhere warm to the next day (in a window in the sun or near a heater)
Feed.
The follow this routine until you have an active sourdough starter. You know it is active when it grows to double size over four to eight hours after you've fed it

Daily feedings:

Mix the sourdough starter Measure 50 grams of sourdough starter in a fresh glass container
Add 100 grams of bread flour and 100 grams of water and mix thoroughly. Close the container. You can seal it if you want.
Store somewhere warm (about 25°C/77°F)
Repeat every day until your sourdough starter is bubbly and super active. Normally it takes six to seven days.

Palanga-Style Rye Bread

Ingredients

Levain

140 g active rye starter (100% hydration)
140 g rye flour
140 g water
→ Total levain: 420 g

Fresh yeast (alternative to levain)

30 g fresh yeast (≈ 3 tbsp, crumbled)
80 g warm water (~38 °C)

Scald

500 g medium rye flour
2 tbsp rye malt
- or 2 tsp molasses / barley malt syrup
2 tsp caraway seeds (optional)
700 g hot water (~65 °C)

Main Dough

All the scald
300 g additional rye flour
200 g bread flour (or all-purpose)
16 g salt (3 tsp)
30 g sugar (2 tbsp)

Method

1. Make the scald (morning)

Mix rye flour, malt/molasses, caraway, and hot water.
Cover and rest 2–3 hours, then cool to lukewarm.

2. Mix the dough

(Fresh yeast version) Dissolve 30 g fresh yeast in 80 g warm water. Or use 300g levain.
Add this to the cooled scald along with:
- 300 g rye flour
- 200 g bread/AP flour
- 16 g salt
- 30 g sugar
Mix thoroughly (rye dough = sticky clay texture).

3. Bulk ferment

Let rise warm 1.5–2 hours, until puffy and cracked.

4. Shape & proof

Shape with wet hands.
Proof 1–1.5 hours until expanded and cracked again.

5. Bake

230 °C for 15 min
Then 200 °C for 45–55 min
Or just 200 °C for 70 min. Keep the bread in the oven, while preheating. Brush crust with boiling water after baking.
Cool 2+ hours before slicing.