Schrotbrot
It's the time of the year where blistering cold winds sweep the city and the surrounding mountainside. Rest assured, no matter how many layers you put on, the cold will penetrate them and get to you eventually. I'm certain that the freezing temperatures are partly to blame for me baking a dense Schrotbrot this week... I had a careful look over my kitchen shelves, pencil in hand, and jotted down potential ingredients for a solid log. I had a vague idea of what I wanted, but this turned out quite good I think.
This week's Schrotbrot:
I've snapped a screenshot of the spreadsheet I used to make up the formula; you'll find that at the bottom of the post!
The base formula is pretty simple, and you can put any kinds of grains and seeds in it - flavour it either way you like. I love toasted sunflower seeds in these rye breads, as they give a nutty chew that goes well with soaked rye berries. I used a tad malt syrup to bring out a subtle sweetness in the final loaf. It's not very pronounced, but rather lingers somewhere in the background. I bet either honey or another syrup would work equally well. You might want to alter the overall hydration if you exchange other seeds in the soaker(s), but keep in mind that you want to keep the final dough very wet. Wet your hands with water, give the dough a rough cylindrical shape, and carefully place in a tin. The recipe below is scaled to fill a 1 liter tin approx. 2/3 way up. After about 1 hour final proof, the dough should have risen noticeably, and the top should start to look a bit fragile.
Let cool at least 24 hours. Slice as thin as possible and enjoy at 5 AM with a cheese platter and a glass of cold milk. Then go run the New York marathon.
Comments
Fantastic bread!
What is rye syrup? rye malt?
to ward off winter's chill. I've been baking a few myself. Today is 100% rye day. Beautiful Loaf! Gotta go shape mine. I'm rolling it in spelt flakes before putting it in a form.
Mini
Thanks :)
@ nico: I'm sorry I didn't specify what kind of syrup - I used barley malt syrup (or barley malt extract).
@ Mini: Definitely! I'm sure you got some interesting going on in your loaf. Any secrets/tips you'd like to share?
for an interesting crust and I was trying something very different from my normal routine with rye.
Secrets or tips? I don't know... Instead of a 1-2-3 type of recipe (It starts out that way and then the flour is usually less than 3 times the starter.) I was doing 1-3.5-4.16 to look for differences and see if I could get a higher loaf. I rolled my proofed loaf onto soaked (half hour) & drained rolled spelt and it was looking so nicely shaped and then it dawned on me I had forgotten the salt (this was 3 hours into the bulk ferment.) So I plopped it out of my loaf pan onto an oiled counter and with wet hands and a wet scraper worked salt into it. Knocked a lot of gas out... but I normally shape it around 3 to 4 hours after mixing it up so it should be alright. (No added yeast.) It has been 6 hours since mixing so now I'm wondering about putting it into the oven. It has risen half way to double and nicely domed. I think adding yeast pushes the rye too fast and it suffers in flavor.
I took notes so if you want the amounts... it's 120g rye starter, 420g cold water, 10g bread spice, 10g honey, 500g rye flour #960 and the soaked spelt came out to 190g, 10g salt for a dough total of 1260g. It will come out looking similar to yours now, I hope.
I've got a gluten free loaf going too. Sd has be fed now 7 hours. I have to use my nose on this one...it doesn't rise when ready.
I saw a "4 person" oval Römertopf on sale for €10 and have been thinking about buying it. I think my dark loaf pan may sit nicely inside. The inside bottom is glazed but the top not, the bottom has rills in the floor to lift up... roasts and chickens? I could use it upside-down with parchment if I needed a smooth baking surface. There are no bread recipes with the instructions inside for it is designed for meat and vegies basically. I am always looking for a better way to steam safely and use convection in my oven. It takes convection at 180°c which would be fine. I like the terra cotta color as opposed to the white ceramic pot I sometimes use. And I plan on soaking the terra cotta, because as it is heated, it transfers the heat more evenly to the inside. I guess that would have been better writen under the Römertopf topic or cold oven baking.
Mini
~ 6-7 yrs ago, my son & dil bought me a romertopf for christmas. they also bought a cookbook for it. it's called " the complete guide to claypot cooking" by bridget jones. i think they purchased both from williams-sonoma. you can google romertopf or clay pot cooking & find all kinds of info. here's a link.
http://www.romertopfonline.com/?id=google&gclid=CLvti7_Aop8CFR4Wawod60Jqcg
claudia
a bit wider than yours. I used a large loaf pan so my slices are not so square. I like the square shape more. My spelt flakes are not very prominent. ...next time.
I've been looking for narrow, rather deep bread tins around here, but I haven't found any so far. Virtually every tin I've seed in local shops are shallow and wide, probably more aimed at cake loaves and the like. I'm also more fond of a square-ish, taller shape. Hmm. Maybe some rigging with aluminium foil or similar could extend the sides a bit... off to the drawing board.
I had also planned on rolling the loaf in either spelt or rye chops before putting it in the tin, but it was just too messy and slippery for that. Good there's always a next time, right?
http://www.worldmarket.com/search/index.jsp?kwCatId=&kw=baker&origkw=baker&sr=1
for folks in the US, mailing is $4.95 for one week. Sometimes they have unusual items.
anna
I guess I didn't explain how I rolled that mess into the rolled spelt. I had soaked the spelt first, then drained it. I oiled my counter top area and spread out the wet spelt in a rectangle. then I let the dough slide, or shoved it out onto the front third of the grain the best I could, then with the wet spatula and wet hands made it loaf shape. Then I gave it a little roll to coat the sides and I patted on the spelt on the ends. It got too long for the pan rather quickly, no problem, I pushed it together from the ends (it then looked like some giant caterpillar thing) shortening it and quickly transferred to the pan. Covered with oiled plasicrap and let it rise.
I suppose I could have wet the counter first, spread the plasticrap out and oiled it covering it with spelt. That might have made it easier to lift using the plastic as support and then just invert into the bread form. Maybe I'll try it that way next time.
Bread pans can be fun to look for. I brought tall narrow pans back from Costa Rica. They're too shiny for me but MIL loves them! She bakes a very light concoction of egg white foam, sugar and whole hazel nuts and doesn't want a dark crust. She then slices the loaves thin and bakes them dry in the oven at a low temp. "Hüneraugen Pflastern" directly translated would be chicken eye plasters or better said, "corn plasters." As you can tell she has lots of fun with the name at coffee time. "Corn plasters with your coffee, dear?"
Mini
loaves as well. I like the ones which are not glazed on the inside like the Schlemmertopf. I just ordered the Romertopf #111 from an ebay seller for $35.95 with free shipping. Not exactly a bargain but producing yummy breads saves us from eating out, grin, grin.
Oh, and did you see my newest steaming discovery with the La Cloche ? It just works beautifully.
http://www.thefreshloaf.com/node/4608/steam-injection-home-oven
anna
why "enjoy it at 5 am" ? do you get up that early to run? I used to do that, waking up early dawn to the go to the gym. not anymore!
lovely bread, hans and thanks for the table that you shared with your faithful readers!
Nah, I'm not much of a runner, ques2008. But I do get up early, and I had two slices at 5AM this morning. Everything was quiet and serene, and I tried to contemplate some issues while I watched the dark, cold, snowy landscape outside.
By the "New York marathon" bit, I was thinking about the kind of energy a slice of this gives you...
That's beautiful, hansjoakim, but I'm not sure I could get out of my chair, not to mention run any distance after a couple slices. It does look like it would satisfy one's hunger for a good long time, though.
I've never made a really dense, seed-packed rye. Your photo is pushing me in that direction.
David
Thanks!
It's filling, for sure. It keeps well for a week, and is possibly best around day 4 or 5 :)
I don't bake these very often, but every time I do, I tell myself that I should do these more frequently. The basic formula is very versatile, and you mix in whatever kind of seeds and grains you have on hand. As I mentioned, sunflower seeds and rye berries/cracked rye/rye chops are favourites of mine. And it's a good excuse to get rid of some stale bread as well. It's a bread that's very easy and quick to put together too - it's more a matter of hydrating the flour and combine everything into a mass.
I'm fooling around with a batch of Horst Bandle and enjoying the deep aroma of the rye berries. Have you ever baked this covered? The seeds look just great as David said. Very tempting.
Eric
Thanks a lot!
So you're working on the pumpernickel from "Bread"? I've never baked that myself, though I'm very tempted to do so. Do let us know how you like the pumpernickel, once it's finished! I love these breads, especially during winter, when everything is cold and frozen. Enjoyed with some mustard, scrambled eggs, salami or slathered with blue cheese or herring, they'll certainly tie you over until warmer days arrive.
Hi Hansjaokim,
I never had much luck with Baecker Suepke's Joghurtbrot but your Schrotbrot comes out great every time. I love the taste and the chewiness of all the grains. It has become a real staple in our house. Thanks for the recipe!
Kirsten
Hi Kirsten,
I'm extremely happy to hear that you like the recipe - and boy what perfect loaves you bake! It's very inspiring to see what you made of the recipe!
I have been toying around a bit with the original recipe since I put it up, but I like the original formulation best. One thing that I have started doing, however, is to boil the rye berries: I boil them in plenty of water for approx. 30 mins until they're soft and pliable, and then drain off the excess water. Let them cool completely (overnight if you like) before mixing the dough. I think that way the crumb gets even softer and chewier.
Thanks again for your comment, and I'm thrilled that you like it!
maybe go into a bit more detail re times and methods for hot and cold soakers, etc ?
Much appreciated,
anna
Dear Hansjoakim,
Thank you for your kind words - a compliment from you is really something! You a such a wonderful baker. Everything you make always turns out so perfectly.
I like the Schrotbrot the way it is and I don't mind giving my jaws a workout - but it had already crossed my mind to boil the ryeberries too. So I'll give it a try and see if I like it better that way.
Thanks again for a wonderful bread - I just got some speltflour so your speltbread is next on my list
Kirsten
The spreadsheet recipe is so useful. I am starting a collection of your recipes.
Pam