Gilchesters Miche and Borodinsky Bread
I made these loaves at home in my new SMEG oven at the end of August.
I have a new job, starting very soon, back on the “Lecturing Circuit”…the best of news! Even better, the work is exciting, challenging and specific to my specialist area of baking. The pay is improved too, and the terms of service. The down side? It means I have to travel even further…to Leeds, a good 100 miles away, and 2.5 hours on the train! This means staying in Leeds through the middle part of the week…ho hum!
Still, I will be at home in Northumberland at the weekends, indeed, 5 nights of the week. I hope to have the wood-fired oven working better very soon, so there should be plenty for me to post on moving forward.
In the meantime, a re-visit to 2 of the breads I am most pleased with producing in the months gone by.
- 1. Gilchesters Miche
Material | Formula [% of flour] | Recipe [grams] |
1. Refreshed Leaven |
|
|
Total Flour [Carrs Special CC] | 27 | 480 |
Total Water | 16 | 286 |
TOTAL | 43 | 768 |
|
|
|
2. Final Dough |
|
|
Leaven | 43 [27 flour, 16, water] | 768 |
Gilchesters Organic Farmhouse Flour | 73 | 1320 |
Salt | 1.78 | 32 |
Water | 62 | 1116 |
TOTAL | 179.78 | 3236 |
% pre-fermented flour | 27 | - |
% overall hydration | 78 | - |
FACTOR | 18 | - |
Method:
- I began with 40g of levain from stock, which was given 3 refreshments the day before use to end up with 800g mature culture. I retained 32g for stock and used the remaining 768g in the final dough.
- Firstly, autolyse the Gilchester flour 1320g] with the water [1116g] required for the final dough, for 1 hour.
- Combine the autolyse, levain and salt [32g] and mix gently to a developed dough over 20 minutes.
- Rest covered for a bulk proof of 3 hours. One S&F after 1¾ hours.
- Scale and divide into 2 x 1.6kg pieces. Mould round and set upside down in prepared bannetons.
- Final proof for 3 hours.
- Bake profile as follows: Pre-heat the oven for 1¼ hours; take up to 280°C, then allow to sit at 250°C until 15 minutes before baking commences. Take back up to 280°C. Tip the proofed dough piece onto a pre-heated baking sheet dusted with semolina, and cut the top. Use boiling water in a pan filled with stones as a steam source and set the tray and bread onto the pre-heated baking stone. Turn the heat setting to 250°C, and bake for 15 minutes with the fan turned off. Mist the loaf after 8 minutes, and top up the boiling water in the pan of stones to keep the steam supply going. Turn the heat to 235°C. Then drop the loaf directly onto the baking brick, remove the steam source, and switch over to convection baking. Bake a further 25 minutes. Turn the heat down to 200°C and bake for another 10 – 15 minutes. Turn off the oven, but leave the loaf inside, with the oven door ajar for 10 more minutes. Cool on wires.
- 2. Borodinsky
Material | Formula [% of flour] | Recipe [grams] |
1. Rye Sour Refreshment One |
|
|
From Stock |
| 63 [23 flour, 40 water] |
Bacheldre Organic Dark Rye Flour |
| 90 |
Water |
| 150 |
TOTAL |
| 303 |
|
|
|
2. Full Sour |
|
|
Rye Sour from above |
| 303 |
Bacheldre Organic Dark Rye Flour |
| 210 |
Water |
| 350 |
TOTAL |
| 863 [63 retained as stock] |
TOTAL used | 80 [30 flour, 50 water] | 800 [300 flour, 500 water] |
|
|
|
3. “Scald” |
|
|
Bacheldre Organic Dark Rye Flour | 20 | 200 |
Red Malt | 5 | 50 |
Organic Blackstrap Molasses | 6 | 60 |
Coriander, freshly ground | 1 | 10 |
Salt | 1 | 10 |
Boiling Water | 35 | 350 |
TOTAL | 68 | 680 |
|
|
|
4. “Sponge” | 23:30, Friday 08.07.2011 |
|
Rye Sourdough [from 2] | 80 [30 flour, 50 water] | 800 [300 flour, 500 water] |
Scald [from 3] | 68 | 680 |
TOTAL | 148 | 1480 |
|
|
|
5. Final Paste |
|
|
Sponge [from 4] | 148 | 1480 |
Bacheldre Organic Dark Rye Flour | 30 | 300 |
Carrs Special CC Flour | 20 | 200 |
TOTAL | 198 | 1980 |
% pre-fermented flour | 50 | [30 from sour + 20 from scald to make “sponge”] |
% overall hydration | 85 | - |
FACTOR | 10 |
|
Method:
- Rye sourdough utilised 2 refreshments beginning with 63g stock and ending up with 863g finished culture. 63g retained for stock and 800g used in the final paste.
- Make the scald at the same time as the final refreshment of the sour: weigh the red malt [sift as necessary] and dark rye flour into a bowl, add the salt, and coriander, which should be freshly ground using a mortar and pestle. Weigh the molasses into a pan, and pour boiling water onto this to the specified weight. Bring this to a rolling boil on the cooker hob top. Pour onto the dry ingredients and combine well with a stout plastic or wooden spatula. Add any extra boiling water required first by checking the weight of the contents to allow for any evaporation. Cover and cool.
- Make the sponge by combining the sour and scald. Cover and hold at 28°C for 4½ hours.
- Add the final portion of flours to form the final paste. Cover and bulk prove for one hour.
- Scale and divide; 500g for a small loaf, and the remainder for a Pullman Pan, just short of 1.5kg.
- Final proof of 3 hours.
- Bake with a regular supply of steam in a convection oven at 190°C. The small loaf bakes in 50 minutes, and the Pullman Pan in just over 2hours.
- De-pan and cool on wires.
All good wishes
Andy
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Andy,
So good to hear about your new position. It sounds marvelous despite the commute. At least you have transportation that will deliver you there! Here we are forced to drive everywhere....
Loaves look wonderful - as always.
A question about the red malt. For what purpose do you use it? Crust color or flavor? From whence does it gets it's name as the only malt I see around here is tan in color if it diastatic and a rich brown if it is non-diastatic malt - which is more commonly available here in syrup form.
Thanks for posting and sharing your good news....I had been wondering how that would pan out for you...
Take Care,
Janet
Hi Janet,
Thank you for your kind words.
It's great to have a new job, although it has to be said that the education world in the UK is really not in a good place right now. I hope it gets better, but the Government will either need to change, or else change its philosophy if this is to happen. Until then we all ride a rollercoaster.
Well, we do have trains in the UK, but 30 years of minimal investment from 1960s to 90s means the service is not one to write home about, if truth be told, and it costs a lot to travel too. However, I cannot imagine driving to Leeds on a regular basis; it takes well over 2 hours at the best of times!
For the Red Malt, you need to look here:
http://www.thefreshloaf.com/node/24237/celebrating-rye-breads
Very best wishes
Andy
Andy,
Thanks for the reference. I knew it was around somewhere but just couldn't locate it on my own....so many threads out there.
My latest has been in uncovering the differences between diastatic and non-d. malt and how each is made and how they contribute to the end loaf. Through my research I now know the difference and would classify yours in the category of non-diastatic due to the high temps it was exposed to and therefore conclude that it is used for color and flavor rather than the enzymatic contribution.....I think :-/ In the bread world I am finding there is always another door to walk through so I know not to hang on to my definitions too tightly.....but it does sound good!
take care,
Janet
P.S. I also applaud you for hanging in in the edu. system. I have a sister who is struggling now due to all the politics in her school system.....Edu. everywhere is undergoing change that doesn't offer much for either educator or student....Who knows where it all will end. Change is never what we expect and always harder than imagined especially when dealing with huge bureaucratic systems that have somehow lost touch with the common needs of it's people over the years. The sad part is that edu. has become a business and, hence, is looked at throught the lense of profit and loss.....at least that is the way it has unfolded around here.
on your new position, and as always on your lovely breads. -Varda
Many thanks Varda
Best wishes
Andy
for your new job, Andy.
The breads are lovely as usual, or rather MORE than usual. The miche is simply perfect and the Borodinsky... do I have to say it? even more :-) I like a lot the topping, too. Maybe I should retry to add a tiny touch of coriander, an ingredient that I stopped adding after 2 or 3 bakings. The red malt seems to be doing its job excellently.
Nico
Hi Nico,
Yes, I thought you might like this particular Borodinsky. It truly is DARK!
The coriander is wonderful, though it has to be freshly ground immediately prior to sprinkling on the top of the dough for best flavour. It works well, even in the Pullman Pan with lid applied too.
All good wishes
Andy
good news, Andy, about your new job! I'm really happy for you!
Your loaves are excellent, as always. Can you explain what "FACTOR" means?
Gilchesters flour can be replaced with any brand of whole-wheat flour? What about Special CC? I have some organic flours from France (type T80 (farine demi-complete) and T110) and I have to use them in the next months, before they expire. I intend to make a miche this week, and your miche inspires me. I never get a crust so thick. Is the method of steaming that makes the crust thick like yours, or is the temperature of the oven? And the crumb is my idea of a well-done miche. I must give it a try.
Codruta
Hi Codruta,
The factor is simply the multiplier used with the formula to arrive at the recipe used. For the miche, multiply all ingredients in the formula by 18 for the recipe. The Borodinsky is 10.
Regarding flour, the Carrs Special CC is a white bread flour. It is industrially produced, but of very high quality. The company rightly claim it to be "world class flour". Protein is around 12.8%, but it's the quality that counts, as always, not the quantity. I use this to compensate for how low the gluten quality is in the Gilchesters flour. The protein content is high, but that means very little. Gilchesters Farmhouse flour is what is known commonly as High Extraction flour; it is not wholewheat, the extraction rate is around 85%, I believe. Actually a combination of your T80 and 110 may well make a good substitute for the Gilchesters flour. Always remember, however, that your flour is milled from French wheat, and mine is coming from organic wheat grown in Northumberland....did anyone ever tell you about the weather here in the far North of England???
Make that miche, your flours sound lovely!
As ever, thank you for your very kind words
Very best wishes
Andy
Congratulations on your new job! Very best wishes for your new future.
lumos
Thank you lumos
Best wishes
Andy
Andy, congratulations on your new job. Exciting stuff. Yes, that kind of commuting can be a schlepp but it is a small price to pay for all the other benefits. Most pleased to hear that you find it interesting and challenging. The bread is great as always. I like the big "A" for Andy. (Just thought I would add that for those who might have read The Scarlett Letter or thought it stood for something else). :)
Best as always,
Syd
... Syd, about the A letter. I thought it stands for "Awesome" :)
You are quite right, Codruta! Silly of me not to think of that. :)
Syd
Syd, Codruta,
You are too kind
Thank you
Andy
Add my congratulations to those above Andy! Both loaves are very attractive, but I'm intrigued by the Borodinsky which you've featured before. It just looks so dark and delicious. It also looks daunting, but the more I see of it the closer I get to rolling up my sleeves and giving it a shot.
Thanks for sharing with us!
All the best in the coming year - Larry
Hi Larry,
and thank you for stopping by.
Recent posts on the Borodinsky have seen me adopting a more complex process, considered an essential and authentic element of the bread as defined by the Soviet GOST standards. There has been much debate about this, and I hope you have read it; if not, mail me, and I'll send you reference to the best posts.
I still haven't fully cracked it, but!
You need to make a "Scald"...of rye flour, red malt, molasses [or sugar] and water. The authentic red malt comes from rye [your whiskey friends may be able to help!?], but I've used crystal malt from barley, see:
http://www.thefreshloaf.com/node/24237/celebrating-rye-breads
The question seems to be what temperature to raise the water to before making the scald. I use it on a rolling boil to achieve maximum gelatinisation.
However, once cooled, the scald should be added to the rye sour dough , then this is given a further 4 hours of fermentation. Ideally, the scald really should be treated as a "mash", and held around 60 - 66*C [53 - 59*C for Rye, I believe], in order to create maximum diastatic activity and therefore maximum sugar availability for the final elements of fermentation. I also think I should not be adding salt at this stage either. So, still some work to do! But, I encourage you to have a go; I'm sure you would do a great job. No need for you to be daunted
Very Best wishes
Andy
Larry,
have a go! I was terrified before I tried too, but it sounds harder than it is. You don't actually do much work at all - no kneading, no stretch and folding, no nothing - most of the time the dough just sits there doing its job. What you do need however is to time it very carefully around your day, especially the last sponge-dough-final proof stages. I have allowed mine to overproof on a number of occasions with disastrous results! As I've discovered (and confirmed by Andy and others on another thread) you can't retart a rye dough, the latest stage you can retard at is the sponge.
Also I've still to get to the stage when both my crumb and crust come out well BUT even when I get a brick of a bread, it still tastes delicious! A bit of exercise for the teeth, though ;-)
Great news on the new job - very pleased for you!
Hi Sali,
Good to hear from you, thank you.
You don't seem to have been around so much lately
All good wishes
Andy
100 mile commute, eh? I hope the drive is through pleasant countryside and not on a bumber-to-bumber freeway, at least.
Beautiful breads! I'm going to tackle a Borodinsky one of these days.
David
Hi David,
I'll take the train; I could not imagine driving. The A1 serves more as a car park for Tyneside drivers at that time of day than a realistic means of getting to work without stress. No thanks!
It means staying over 2 nights in Leeds, which is not ideal. But, it means I can be based at home for 4 full days of the week!
As for Larry: make the Borodinsky!
Very best wishes
Andy
Yum! :) That dark crumb sure makes my mouth water! Glad to hear about your new challenges.
Mini
We have loads of ducks and geese here in Powburn, Mini, but they are too far from the house to feed. A few swallows remain, but they are flying south now. The crumb is indeed, DARK!
All good wishes
Andy
and good luck with your new job. Long commutes are tedious, of course, but at least you can read, or write, during a train ride. And a a more challenging, interesting job - with better pay - is (hopefully) worth the extra effort.
Karin
Hi Karin,
Yes, I can work on the train. Sadly the internet is not available with the train company I use, and my dongle is not reliable enough on the train; the signal is weak and inconsistent between mobile phone masts
Many thanks for your good wishes
BW
Andy
Hello Andy,
So glad to hear of your new opportunity in Leeds and wish you all the very best! :^)
Your miche is just beautiful, and I find your baking technique for this bread very interesting...
...your baked result is outstanding! I was curious, as to why you lowered the oven temperature 15 minutes prior to loading the oven? (I'm sure your answer will highlight something interesting regarding oven management! :^) ).
I like the idea of the pre-heated baking sheet too, and the scoring, as codruta says, is "A"wesome!
Karin just posted her beautiful coriander-crusted Lübecker, and how lovely to see your amazing Borodinsky, using coriander too, and that gorgeous red malt.
:^) from breadsong
Hi Breadsong,
For the oven setting, I raise the heat to 280*C on the convection setting. It beeps at me when it has heated to that mark. At that point, I drop the heat to 250*C. Again, it beeps at me when it has stabled out to 250. Then, 15 minutes before I want to bake, I inject more fresh heat by raising the temperature to 280*C once more.
My reasoning is that I think I may be over-stretching the oven were I to leave it at 280 for the full pre-heating period.
The baking sheet allows me to bake without the need for a peel.
We love coriander!
Very best wishes, and thanks for your kind words
Andy
Beautiful Results, Andy.. as usual.. more so due to the new oven! Lovely open crumb on the miche. Your Rye is certainly dark enough to color this miche! Why did you cut the bordonski lengthwise?
As to your new job.. iam excited for you. I hope you'll enjoy it, and learn even more.
Well-spotted Khalid!
Actually, this slice came from the smaller loaf, rather than the big one made in the Pullman Pan, which I was able to freeze whole.
I sliced it that way as the small tin gave quite a low profile to the loaf. It worked well.
I am liking my new oven; let's hope I can get the wood-fired oven up and running very soon?
All good wishes
Andy
Andy, you do!
Karin
These breads well deserve the "A"wesome labels they were given earlier in the thread. I don't understand the formulas (will do my homework in educating myself in reading and understanding them after I make significant progress in my quest for proper levain bread).
I don't have anything to add to the discussion since I know almost nothing about these breads. I comment because of one element of the discussion above, the color of the bread. When I was a teenager I read an article about black russian bread. I remember the author assertiveness when writting about "cheating" to obtain the typical dark color. His recipe didn't contain coffee or cocoa or other darkening ingredients we often find in recipes. I made his recipe and failed. The bread wasn't very good, barely edible.
Several years later, well after that article was forgotten and lost, I ate a russian bread sandwich in Paris and it made me want to try again making that delicious dark colored bread. I looked for recipes and never was able to find one that wasn't "cheating" (I remembered the strong opinion of the author I've read years ago). All recipes I found contained either cocoa or coffee to (I think) induce the dark color. So I "cheated" away big time and settled instead for the Pumpernickel Bread (contains unsweetened chocolate and unsulphured molasses) or the Eastern European Rye (does not contain any darkening ingredient) recipes contributed by baker Lauren Groveman in the book "Baking with Julia".
So here goes my question(s): Does this mean that the authentic russian black bread is lighter in color that those we usually find in specialty shops or restaurants here in Canada or in France, but more of a medium dark reddish brown? I've never seen the real thing, an authentic loaf of such a bread.
And Andy, the blackstrap molasses, does it serve the purpose of darkening the bread in addition to the other benefits of using a sweetener in bread dough?
Thanks.
Hi there,
Russian rye breads (not all of them) are really dark in colour, similar to chocolate or medium-roasted coffee, because of red malt and partly (I think) because of molasses. Andy's formula contains a little too much mollasses to my liking though (no offence Andy!), that's because GOST calls for sugar as well as molasses (Borodinsky is a sweet-ish bread) and Andy doesn't want refined sugars in his bread so he substituted for molasses. I make mine with about 30-35 g molasses (for the same amount of ingredients as Andy's) + tablespoon sugar + 1-2 tablespoons honey.
As to the colour of Borodinsky, many Russian bakeries have in the last couple of years adopted the practice of making a much lighter coloured bread (not only Borodinsky but other dark varieties too). I'm not sure whether they use more wheat flour, or minimise (even skip?) malt, either way it's not the same :(
Also I've recently found some comments that say, in order to get a really dark crust, Russian bakers "toast" the bread by setting the oven to a very high temperature (different sources site between 260 and 290C ) for the first 10 minutes and then lower it in 20-30 degree increments to a final temperature of around 190C. The top looks almost burnt.
That sounds so earthy, almost kind of umami, sweet umami if that's possible.
There's a significant russian community here in the greater Montreal. I hope someone will open a traditional russian bakery. Meanwhile, I'll certainly try my hand at that formula. The bread looks and "reads" delicious.
Thanks Foodfascist.
oh, thanks go to Andy!
I made slight alterations to his recipe though, I use 1/5 to 1/4 less red malt, and as i said I replace 1/3 to 1/2 molasses with a mixture of sugar and honey. I add sugar and honey to the dough, not the scald as they are there for sweet flavour, not to feed the yeast. I also add salt to the dough not the scald. Sorry I can't give you exact amounts as I just use as much as "feels" right. My version tastes almost like the bread from my childhood.
One other thing I may try and change is use very slightly less water as my crumb comes out a bit on the sticky side. Although that could be down to something in my method rather than the recipe.
For my last 2 bakes, I also followed different baking instructions that I found in several other sources. Last night - yip yip hooray!!! - I got a thin crust for the first time! It was really annoying me how thick it used to be (although it gets chewier about 24 hours after baking).
I baked three 350-500 g loaves for an hour to the following scheme (adopted from instructions in suave's blog and a couple other sources):
10 minutes at 240 C (suave says 260 C/500 F), with a generous supply of steam (I poured about half a cupful straight onto the bottom of the oven before putting bread in, as a pan full or water never used to work for me)
after 10 minutes, open the oven door to let out all steam, lower to 210 C (suave says 230C/450 F) and bake for 20 minutes
lastly, lower to 190 C (suave: 210 C/410 F) and bake for 30 minutes.
To soften the crust, some sources suggest that it should be brushed generously with boiling hot water immediately after baking. I found it very hard brushing water on while leaving all those coriander seeds intact, so what I did yesterday is simply pour water onto the loaves from a freshly boiled kettle. It worked. The water evaporates very quickly as the bread is still very hot. When the bread cooled down, the crust was still crunchy (and delicious!) but today it's soft and chewy, just like it should be.
for all the added details and questions answered.
There's a baker's trick I learned about some time ago to soften hard crusts. I tried it for delicate canadian children palates who have difficulty with french bread crisp crust and it worked well for me. May be russian bread has a too hard a crust for that and may be you already know and tried this trick but here we go anyway:
As soon as the bread is out of the oven, cover it with a linen towel (that will touch the surface of the bread without risking lint sticking to it) and then add a thick bath towel folded in two or four on top of the linen towel. The bread should be entirely covered but the fabric can stay loose on it (no need to wrapp tightly). The bread can sit on a cooling rack. Leave the fabrics on it until it has totally cooled. What happens, you guessed it, is the residual humidity of the bread is trapped under the towels instead of vanishing in the air and it softens the crust.
No I didn't know that one, so thanks!
The problem with my crust though was that it was too thick (which in turn made it hard) and that must have been because I was baking for too long at too low a temperature for my size loaf, and also I certainly overproofed my dough on a number of occasions. I'm still learning :-)
Hi Ghobz,
Yes, blackstrap molasses has a colouring affect on the paste, and the baked product.
The roots of a bread termed as "black" are all in peasant traditions. I believe Karin suggested that the use of "black bread" in German baking refers to the use of high proportion of rye [particularlarly high extraction] flours in contrast to what we know today as white bread, bread made using white [ie. refined, or, lower extraction] wheatflour. Obviously, coffee, chocolate, cocoa etc play no part in the peasant traditions for North European and Russian territories. This is a good starting point.
Dark colour is obtained by using certain techniques and processes, in addition to sources of [and my personal preference, unrefined] sugar in the materials formula. Molasses that I use is as unrefined as it gets. Faith has discussed red malt in excellent detail. The use of the soaker aims to create increased sweetness. If this sugar is then available, there is more food for the yeasts to feed on. Additionally, if there is any increase in the resdiual unfermented sugars, then that is available to further caramelise the loaf during the baking process, to produce a darker loaf.
Mini, I am pretty sure, began quite a complex discussion about the way the light reflects off the loaf, and how that changes over time as the starches retrograde, thus leading to the loaf taking a darker and darker appearance. I have been discussing this with a colleague this morning, and we believe the darkening colour in the loaf as it ages is largely to do with the amount of residual sugars within the complex starch network and how that impacts on moisture levels and migration.
Regarding the baking, yes the oven is loaded with bread at a very high temperature. But, I believe that is to encourage a rapid rise in dough temperature so the delicate starch network and weak pentosans can set as soon as possible. Subsequently the oven temperature has to be lowered in order to allow full baking, thus driving off sufficient water to enable starch and protein to fully set and Maillard reactions to complete. Remember these loaves are high in moisture, so a thorough bake profile is essential. Reducing the time in the oven just means the loaf will not be fully baked!
Best wishes
Andy
Sorry Andy,
doesn't malt contribute to the colour as well? I'm sure my loaves weren't as dark without malt...
Yes, of course Faith,
Sorry I should have made that clearer. Malt is a sugar source so increases caramelisation in the oven. The use of malt in the soaker impacts significantly on colouration too.
Best wishes
Andy
Just a note before taking off for week.
I love your baking and style!
Beautiful breads, thanks for sharing.
Sylvia
Hi Sylvia,
Thank you for your generous comment.
Have a lovely week
Best wishes
Andy
Hi Andy,
I just had a browse through suave's Russian blog, he's got lots of recipes for Russian bread (both rye and wheat)
this is what he writes about Broeodinsky before GOST. It looks awesome! I'm sure I've had something like that before, under a different name. It's a 100% rye bread and a 4-stage method. Google translate should work on it, but if there's something you want clarified I'll help.
i'd translate the whole recipe for the folks on here but my hubby's banned me from TFL due to a large hole in our garden that I'd promised to finish digging by September... <sigh>
my word Google translate is desperate! Welding and tea leaves for scald (zavarka)! Wallpaper flour LOL that's very dark rye. I suppose I'll have to translate it after all. Whenever I get the time...
My neighbour is russian and I'm sure she won't mind translating a recipe. We never had a conversation about bread and maybe this would be the occasion for us to start one. Last Easter she offered us a delicious homemade sweet bread studded with raisins and fruits glacés. So I know she bakes. And she's a chemist, that certainly can't be bad regarding bread discussions.
I'll ask her help during the week.
That was Kulich she treated you to (pl. kulichi) - a tall, sweet (but usually not as sweet as your average cupcake), dry-ish bread baked for Easter. It's similar to Pannettone and I'm sure a few other ethnic specialties. Glace cherries isn't the most common ingredient, although I don't see why not. What you have in it varies from cook to cook, it could be raisins, nuts, dried or caramelised fruit (or indeed glace cherries), often a combination of several things, quantities also vary, it could be packed full or just have a few on the top. It's also usually glazed (traditional glazing is whipped egg white + sugar, but these days people often use icing sugar and water, either way it needs to be dried in the oven at low heat - you wouldn't usually get a sticky glazing). Often decorated with Easter-themed patterns.
I love it. Next time I make it, I'll post the recipe here.
Yes, that was probably a Kulich we devoured, still warm, last Easter. She used raisins and a mix of glacé fruits and did decorate with half glacées cherries on top. And you're right, it wasn't sticky, but I don't remember about a glaze. That delicacy disapeared in less than 15 minutes top-chrono. We have 3 teenage sons, we call them "estomacs sur pattes", roughly translated "stomachs on feet". Looking forward your next time making Kulich.
Meanwhile, I tried google translate to have that page translated in french, just in case it would be better. But no luck. It's as bad as for english. I'll have to wait for my neighbour to come back from work and I'll ask her if she minds translating this. I'll keep you posted.
yeah well I may give it a go later tonight if I don't fall asleep putting my little tike to bed! He insists on going to sleep with his arms round my neck and the next thing I know it's 5 am...
I have the question: Andy talking about "red malt flour" where I can buy it in USA or New York??? And where I can find more recipes for Russian breads like Rossisky??? Please, help
Hi there,
there's a discussion on red malt here, scroll down to the very end and read through suave's comments. He's a Russian living in the US and he gets his red malt from homebrew shops. He mentions some brands as well as varieties.
Suave also has a recipe for Rossiysky and dozens other Russian breads (plus some Lithuanian and others) in his Russian-language blog on LiveJournal, here's Rossiyskiy
you could try Google Translate but it's pants with things like recipes
I suppose I'll have to find more time for translating stuff... or else we should ask suave!
Andy actually mentioned he's made Rossiyskiy, maybe he'll give us a recipe
Hi Faith,
the Rossisky formula is on Shiao-Pings excellent post, here:
http://www.thefreshloaf.com/node/15577/pure-sourdough-rye-year-1939#comment-99318
Best wishes
Andy
you know what Andy,
your formula is very different from what suave describes as Rossiysky! (that's not to say that yours is somehow wrong, just that it may require a new name!) His one calls for 70% whole rye (not dark rye), 30 % wheat and a generous amount of molasses. I'll try and post a translation when I get the time.
Suave also says that several Russian rye breads are very similar to each other, they vary in things like the type of rye and wheat flour used, whether sugar or molasses are used, etc. For example, Rossiysky only differs from Orlovsky in the degree of extraction of wheat flour, and Orlovsky is only different from Podmoskovny in that the former uses molasses, and the latter, brown sugar. Rizhskyis also similar to Vitebsky and Minsky, but Rizhsky has caraway seed and some wheat flour in it, Vitebsky - aniseed and no wheat, and Minsky has only a pinch of unfermented (dyastatic) rye malt, much less than the other two.
So I think your Rossiysky deserves a new name! Perhaps something easier on the English tongue ;-)
Right. I've finally got round to translating the recipe. As a reminder, it's from suave's Russian language blog. I'm also posting his photos, I hope he won't mind. So here goes:
As everyone knows, throughout
just under 80 years of its history the technology behind Borodinsky bread has
seen many changes. From a method that always involved four stages in its early
years it was streamlined to three stages in the late Soviet era, and most recently a one-stage process, thanks to “magic” dough conditioners C*
and B* (I’m not sure what these are so may have translated incorrectly -
Faith). But probably the biggest transformation happened in 1938 when a
standardised recipe was created (under GOST – Faith). This recipe still exists
(and is the one most people would be familiar with – Faith) and it calls
for 80% rye flour, 15% wheat, and all the usual suspects. Yet before then it
was a totally different bread, a 100% rye, hearth (as opposed to pan. Although GOST also makes a provision for hearth
loaves, I personally have never come across a Borodinsky that was not a pan loaf
– Faith), with caraway or aniseed, never coriander. This is what it looked
like:
As you can see this bread is
very different from the Borodinsky we all know and love. It’s a bit similar to
Rizhsky (Pronounced Rish-ski - Faith), but more rye-ey, and the loaf is both darker and denser. By the way,
the density of this bread came as a surprise to me. That is, not a surprise as
such, I can very well visualise what will happen if you mix a certain amount of
flour with a certain amount of water, so I knew it would be a very dense bread
before I even started. It’s the ratios that surprised me (a very low water
ratio – Faith). I’m not sure whether it’s because in those bygone years flour
absorbed water in a different way, or because “the structure of the water
molecule hadn’t been tampered with”. So I think it’s possible to tweak the
water ratio somewhat, perhaps add a couple of percent or so.
In any case, the bread is awesome,
and in my opinion, it beats our familiar Borodinsky hands down. How they could
stop making it is beyond me.
(So here goes the recipe):
Sour refreshment
15 g mature rye starter at 100% hydration
30 g dark rye flour (this, to my knowledge, is ground from
the outer portion of the rye berry – Faith)
30 g whole rye flour
40 g water
Weigh your starter, add water,
mix well. Add the dark rye and stir until homogenous, then mix in wholemeal
rye. Cover and leave for 6 hours at around 30 C.
Scald
Combine the flour, malt and
caraway seed, pour over boiling water (and stir very quickly until well combined –
Faith). Keep at 65 C for 2 – 2.5. hours, then cool down to 30 C.
Photos of the scald (from left
to right): flour, malt and caraway; freshly stirred scald;converted scald
(with starches converted to sugars – Faith)
Sponge
Combine the starter and scald
and leave to ferment for 4 hours. Make sure your to use a bowl of 1.5 L capacity or larger.
Dough
brown sugar, or else honey does a good job in my experience – Faith)
to 240C (460F)
your proofing bowl, or mixer bowl if using a mixer. Stir/mix well and leave at
30C for 10-30 minutes.
plastic chopping/pastry board. With wet hands, form a round or oval loaf and
transfer onto a sheet of baking paper. (I wonder if you could work the dough on
parchment paper or silicone mat from the start? Of course parchment paper needs
to be strong enough not to tear when wet – Faith) Allow to rest for 15-20
minutes.
the loaf and bake with steam for 40-45 minutes.
Adapted from “The Technology of
Bread-Baking” by L. Auerman
(I’m sure it would be even
better sprinkled with caraway seed, or with some whole caraway in the dough –
Faith)
Enjoy! And many thanks to suave for this beautiful recipe.
Many thanks for this Faith,
Yes, I've started to work my way through suave's blog, and there is a lot of great stuff on there.
I found the layout of the site somewhat unfamiliar, and the Google translate to be difficult to work with at times...still lots to work with.
Regarding your earlier comment about Rossisky, I'm not surprised the VB bread is vastly different from the GOST version which I suspect is the reference point for suave. Andrew Whitley had in mind a very simple[basic] bread when he first introduced that loaf. The process and materials became even simpler as time went on too. Today, it is made with all wholemeal rye, based on an 18 hour sour dough system...that's it. When I first worked there, the dough contained some light rye flour. In the original formula, the flour for the sour was initially gelatinised with boiling water. Once thaty had cooled, the stock sour was added to innoculate it.
Very best wishes
Andy
In light of the discussion on flours here, and also below in this thread, I feel I should update the above translation as follows:
dark rye (oboynaya) flour should be wholemeal. If you're in the UK, Bacheldre and Shipton Mill Dark Rye are probably the best alternatives. Also Little Salkeld Watermill's rye flour, but that's considerably more expensive than Shipton and even Bacheldre.
wholemeal (obdirnaya) should be anything with extraction around 85%, which in the UK will invariably be light rye; in Germany, types 1370 1150 and 997 should all be good (so far as i can judge).
That article totally makes sense now that it's properly translated. Thank you for your time and efforts.
I was about to prepare a vegetable-filled flat bread (traditional moroccan baking) for our supper and some for our russian neighbour to offer her as a token of my gratitude for translating the article. I feel it's not necessary to ask her anymore. I only will proceed asking her if you feel I should. Please let me know.
By the way, I'll take pictures of the veggie-filled bread and post the recipe here tonight or tomorrow. Short of being able to offer you the actual bread...
Oh, no problem. You could still ask your neighbour if you doubt the quality of my translation ;-) but if you've already made her some of your bread, why not pass it on anyway? As a way of strengthening neighbourly relations :) although I'm sure it's so good you'll want to devour it all yourself!
Could I just suggest you post your photos (and a recipe, please!) in a separate thread, as I feel we've been hijacking Andy's blog long enough...
Faith, I will never thank you enough! I'm a zealot of rye breads and having a translation of one of the breads of my dreams is fantastic! I guess we have to clarify one term: dark rye flour. So far many of us assumed it means wholemeal dark rye, but juding from your translation they are evidently two different things. Can you tell for sure how this dark rye flour is? You wrote that it's milled from the outer part of the grain, meaning "only from the aleurone" or "including the aleurone" ? You may remember that recently I've come across a R3 rye flour that is milled from the whole berry (including the aleurone) but has no bran. Maybe it's the same?
That zavarka is plain chocolate!
hi Nico,
Sorry I have absolutely no clue about how exactly that rye is ground! The explanation I posted is the one both Andy and Suave gave to me previously. I'll have to read up more on Russian flours to be able to clarify. Unfortunately there aren't always exact correllations between types of flour used in different cultures, I translated to the best of my knowledge but i could be less than 100% accurate.
Someone on suave's original Russian forum asked whether the water ratio needs to be changed if this bread were to be baked with only wholemeal flour. From his reply one would assume that it's possible to do just that, only use wholemeal.
Nico,
I tried searching for technical descriptions of Russian flours some time ago and couldn't find much on rye flour in particular. However, our old friend suave has a brilliant article on the subject, and how Russian flours correspond with American and German ones. Unfortunately this one's in Russian as well. Perhaps Google will be more helpful here than with the recipes? Otherwise I'll have to spend the rest of my days translating suave's invaluable blog!
One thing he says in particular is that Russian flours are classified by the ash content, and the flours used in the pre-GOST Borodinsky recipe have the following ash content:
oboynaya, which I translated as dark rye (Google's wallpaper flour, rofl!!!) - max ash 2.0
obdirnaya, which I translated as wholemeal - max ash 1.45
He also mentions that the closest equivalent to oboynaya known to him is the German type 1740. Its ash content ranges from 1.60 to 1.80.
Hope you're now better placed to judged how similar your R3 is to oboynaya. Alternatively one would hope you may be able to purchase German 1740 in Italy.
also it may be of interest that Russian rye flours, even the darker ones, are often ground more finely than wholemeal flours here in the UK. That said, grinding grade doesn't always matter.
for all your help. The R3 has an ash content between 1.7 and 2.1, so... it must be the right one, hopefully. By the end of the month it should arrive. Time will tell:)
I really have to find the time to read suave's blog.
Glad I was able to help.
I haven't had the time to read through entire suave's blog myself yet, and I can read Russian whereas you have to wade through Google's version!
Oh woe be me! This is a never-ending exploration. Just read another article by suave where he mentions that ash count is measured differently in the US and Europe (including Russia). In the US, the ratio of ash to the weight of flour is measured (similar to baker's percentage), whereas in Europe, they measure the fraction of ash in flour. I.e. a 0.5 ash count per 100 g of flour in the US would mean, 5/100, whereas in Europe, it would be 5/95. Therefore American flours will have a slightly higher ash count than similarly labelled European flours.
The question is, how is it measured in the UK? Same as the rest of Europe, or as in the US?
Hi Faith,
I'm at work just now but will get back to you with more detail re ash and difference between UK/US classifications vis European.
Cheers
Andy
Thanks Andy,
I suppose it might make sense for me to post the entire classification of Russian rye and wheat flours and ask you (and indeed the rest of TFL) voice their ideas on the best US/UK/Eur equivalents? in a separate thread perhaps? Would there be enough interest among those wishing to bake Russian bread?
Russian ryes are easy, they just go by the ash count, whereas the wheats go by ash+gluten.. it's going to be a real muddle trying to compare Rus wheat with US/UK which (to my knowledge) goes by strength (gluten) alone, and even that is obscured under "purpose"...
That's not quite what I said.
Sorry what exactly isn't what you said? And what did you say?
I apologise for any mis-representation but it was late and all that mass of information (and trying to summarise and translate it) was frankly doing my head in...
I said that ash content in the US is calculated as a ratio of weigh of ash to the weight of the flour sample, whereas in Europe they use not the weight of the entire sample but the weight of dry matter in it. Same for protein.
Oh ok I see what you mean. Thank you
Hi Faith,
I wrote this on the train earlier:
Flour Classification
European flours are classified according to ash content, although there are different methods used to express this measurement. In France flours are categorised as Types 45, 50, 55, 65, 80, 110, 150. Germany adds a zero onto the end of this, eg. 1350 to measure wholemeal flour.
Italy uses Tipo “00”, Tipo “0” etc.
The double zero flour is equivalent to the French Type 45 and Tipo “0” equates to the French Type 55, the usual baguette flour. The ash is the residue remaining from burning a sample of flour. It is actually a measure of the mineral matter within the flour, as the starches are all readily combustible. In the case of highly refined flours such as those above the ash measure is around 0.45%, virtually moribund! Type 55 has 0.55% ash, Type 65 has 0.65%, 80 has 0.8% and so on. Shipton Mill in the UK offer Rye Flour using German Classfications, although I believe their Dark Rye is wrongly labelled, as it is actually a wholemeal flour. Light Rye is 997 which should equate to 0.997% ash, [which would be Type 99.7 using the French system]. Wholegrain Rye flour is 1350, or, 1.35% ash. However Dark Rye, as explained by Nico with reference to R3, has an ash content over 1.5%, upto 1.8%
The problem with this system of classification is that no indication of the protein content is evident, so it is unclear for what purpose the flour is best suited, eg. Bread, cake, biscuit or pastry manufacture.
In the UK, this is indicated in the labelling by the terms Plain or Strong. Additionally, nutritional information gives further guidance. This may be the case with Continental flours, but not necessarily. For instance anything labelled Farine de Blé, Type 55 does not give indication of the strength of the flour. The only guidance would be found in the nutritional information by referring to protein content. However, many here are well aware of the limitations of the headline protein reading, given that the quality of the protein is more important in many ways than the quantity.
For the UK, and I believe the US, mineral content in the flour is expressed in a different way. It is normal to consider the amount of the original wholegrain which has been retained within the final flour. So a true wholemeal is said to be of 100% extraction. A typical “brown” flour would be approximately 85% extraction; in other words, 15% of the grain has been taken off during the milling process. This is like the Gilchesters Farmhouse flour which can be considered as a true “high extraction” flour, in that the wholegrain is stoneground, then the outer layers are removed by passing the flour through a sequence of fine nylon sieves to remove the very outer layers of the bran coating. The inner aleurone layer is retained, so too the germ. A typical industrially milled white flour is around 72% extraction. The grain is first conditioned through a period of soaking to loosen the bran layer and remove it before milling commences. Industrial milling is more efficient at separating out the germ and bran from the endosperm, hence, one of the reasons why it appears whiter than traditionally milled and bolted flour. Highly refined Patent flours will be around 60% extraction.
I quite like this system as it encourages the thinking person to reflect on the waste involved, and, by further rationalisation, how much of the nutritional aspect of the grain has been taken away. The portion that is removed is used for animal feed. The miller receives considerably less income for this than for the premium white bread flour…obviously. Unfortunately, we are then deprived of an important source of vitamins and minerals which could contribute to a healthier daily diet.
I suspect the Continental system is used historically, in part at least, as it gives guidance to how fermentable the flour will prove to be, and, how quickly the ferment can be expected to start breaking down. Obviously, it also demonstrates how white and refined one can expect the flour to be.
Best wishes
Andy
ps. I believe both Bacheldre and Shipton are wholemeal rye, although they are the nearest equivalent to the Dark Rye you were seeking. Little Salkeld Watermill might be worth trying; again wholemeal, but very high ash content. The Doves Farm and Waitrose own brand are definitely wholemeal.
Andy, regarding italian flours:
-000 < 0.45% ashes
-00 < 0.55%
-0 < 0.65%
http://it.wikipedia.org/wiki/Farina
Type 000 is generally sold without mentioning the triple zero: it's described as "no lumps flour". Never used.
Thanks Andy. A hefty volume!
I'll still need to do a lot of homework to determine workable equivalents for Russian wheat flours...
Little Salkeld is way too expensive, unfortunately...
Yippee! I just found a Polish type 2000 rye flour at 88 pence a kilo! http://www.bocian.co.uk/produkt/282/18958.html
the only problem being, delivery charge is £7 on orders under £20, and there's also an "administrative fee" of £2-3...
The good news is, it exists so maybe one of my local Polish shops stocks it
Andy, It sounds like you found a good position that gives you also the possibility to follow your personal baking interests. Great!
I didn't get around yet to get locally milled flower and try your Gilchester's formula, but your posts have been a great inspiration for altering some of my tried and tested breads.
Juergen
Hi Juergen,
I hadn't seen much of you on TFL, really good to hear from you.
Yes, Leeds offers good opportunities.
I'm sure you'll get into speciality flour; Shipton offer such a good range and variety anyway
So will we get a chance to meet up at the TFL event now in the planning?
All good wishes
Andy
Hi Andy, I had a busy Autumn (or should I say summer?).So I spent my extra time baking rather than blogging.
Before my holiday I wondered what bread I could take to start us off in that remote cottage (after 1 day in London and 3 days in Cardiff)
I managed to fit in a 3 stage detmolder process (using the newly bought picnic thermo box, £9.99 at Argos) and making Hamelman's 90% rye with all shipton flours - what a fantastic bread!
I look very much forward to meetig you at the TFL event.
Best Wishes,
Juergen
How can I find here in USA red malt flour or red malt from rye. I'm looking all over but no luck. And how to make the temperature 60-65C (149F) my oven get lowest to 170F and recipe say leave the scald for 4-6 hours at temperature 60-65C
(149F) please, help.
Saintdennis