I’ve always wondered if letting loaves rise post-shaping made a difference. And the answer is yes! A pretty big difference.
The loaf on top was shaped, then chucked in the oven in about five minutes. The loaf on the bottom was shaped, sat for half an hour, then baked. Huge difference in appearance. Insides were about the same though. (Though these rye bricks don’t rise much anyway)
Sidenote: This post about “Doodies” is hilarious. Cooking as a sport ftw!
I’m a huge fan of dense brick-like ryes. So, I tried to make some.
Katherine’s First Rye Brick
3 cups rye flour
1 cup all purpose flour
1 cup rye fed sourdough starter
1 tbsp yeast
1 tbsp salt
~2 cups of water (unsure, I had to add some after the first night because it looked too dry)
Combine everything. Add water until it holds together as a slightly tacky dough. Let rise. I did 4 days in the fridge.
Bake at 450F in a preheated oven for ~20 minutes. Check for an internal temp of 190F. I baked in a greased loaf pan, with another pan of boiling water alongside it for steam.
The results weren’t as texturally varied as some store bought ryes, which makes sense since I didn’t have any coarse ground or unground grains. It made great thinly sliced toasts with a strong rye flavor. The crust wasn’t very crisp, as tends to be the case in breads like this.
I’ve got another batch of dough in my fridge, but this time with a teaspoon each of coffee powder and molasses for flavor.
1 cup sour dough starter
3.5 cups flour (this was all all-purpose)
1.25 cups lukewarm water
1 tbsp yeast
1 tbsp salt
Mix all, let sit in the fridge for a few days. Then take half of it, make into a ball. Let rest for an hour.
Dump into oven & dutch oven preheated to 450F, spray the bottom and lid with water. Bake with the lid on for 15 minutes. Uncover, bake for another 15.
Wait to cool, eat bread!
Notes:
– Too much water, then it won’t raise as well
– Probably worth trying with half whole-wheat
– Try with some rye flour in the starter, see if it makes it more sour?