New York Rye Bread

 What I love about rye breads is the huge variety you get from different parts of the world – there are dark spicy loves from Easter Europe that remind me of my childhood, there are wholesome German breads tightly packed with grans, there are crusty French loaves full of flavour and there is the famous Pastrami on Rye sandwiches that you can find in New York.

I’ve developed this recipe for a bread class I ran a few years back, taking a bit from all different cultures to create a dark bread, full of flavour and yes with a light crumb that can be eaten as it is or toasted for a crispier finish.

New York Rye Bread

150 ml water

150 ml orange juice

1 tsp (10g) molasses

100g rye starter (100% hydration)

150g dark rye flour

220g white bread flour

30g roasted barley malt flour

1 tsp (10g) salt

1 ½ tsp fennel seeds

½ tsp ground cumin

½ tsp ground coriander

-    - This is the mix of spices I love, but feel free to adjust the quantities

Whole coriander seeds for coating

First of all, make sure that your rye starter is very active - 4 hours after feeding is the prime time to use it. This bread doesn't use any commercial yeast, so the starter has a big job ahead of it.

Combine water and juice in a large bowl, add molasses and starter – whisk vigorously until all molasses has dissolved. Add rye flour and whisk again, this whisking aerates the mixture and helps to develop regular bubbles in the crumb at a later stage .

 

Add roasted barley malt and white flours and mix it in with a spoon – the dough will start thickening up at this stage. It won’t resemble “traditional” dough, it will look like a dark brown shaggy mess.

Cover the mixture and leave on the counter for 10 minutes to autolise. This helps water to absorb flours and develop a more manageable and pliable structure.

Uncover the dough and add salt and spices – mix them in by hand in the bowl, you might want o oil your hand a little bit to stop the dough from sticking too much. Cover the dough and leave to prove for 4-5 hours at room temperature or until it has increased in volume by 50%. You will notice that the dough is also looking a bit lighter in colour as it proves.

 

Turn out dough onto an oiled counter (to stop it from sticking) and shape it into a loaf shape. This is rye dough, so you won’t be shaping it as you would a white dough, just try to form the right shape without worrying about doing any proper shaping.

Prepare your tin – line it with parchment paper. Roll the loaf into coriander seeds (if using) and place it into the tin. Smooth the dough down to create an even top.

Cover the tin and leave to prove at room temperature for 2-3 hours, until the dough is looking slightly puffy and has increased in volume by about 50%.

Bake in a pre-heated oven (200C) for 25 minutes.

Leave the loaf to cool in the tin for 10 minutes, take it out and while still hot, wrap it tightly in a clean towel or cloth and leave for 24 hours before slicing. This helps rye flavours develop and mature. Do wait full 24 hours, otherwise the bread would feed crumbly and gummy inside.

Slice and enjoy with some strong cheese and pickle or a slice of smoked salmon.