Two Day Rye Buttermilk Bread

Continuing the trend of two day or delayed fermentation breads, it was time to try a rye-buttermilk bread. Rye, buttermilk and molasses are a made-for-each-other combination and rosemary plays well with the trio. This was the May bread for my father-in-law.

Ingredients: 
For two loaves
600 g whole wheat
100 bread flour
150 g rye (that is all I had. I would have probably used about 200-250 g if I had more, and skipped the buckwheat flour and reduced the whole wheat flour accordingly)
40 g buckwheat flour (¼ cup)

1 Tbsp chia seeds
1 Tbsp fresh rosemary
2 tsp salt
1 tsp instant yeast

2 cups buttermilk
1¼ cups water
2 Tbsp molasses

Day 1:

Ingredients

8:37 pm: Ingredients just mixed in

8:53 pm: After resting and then kneading well.

8:54 pm: Ready for first rise

11:08 pm: First rise is complete.

I used a spatula to deflate the dough because it was fairly sticky. That would explain the marks on the dough.

11:11 pm: Deflated and ready for overnight second rise in the refrigerator

 Day 2:

12:52 pm: Out of the refrigerator on day 2

Because the dough was sticky, I decided to split it while it was still cold and then allow it to 'warm' to room temperature.

12:58 pm: Split while still cold

3:03 pm: 'Warmed' a little and risen too

3:07 pm: I swapped the loaf and boule because I wanted the larger piece to be the boule

3:54 pm: Proofed, slashed and ready for the oven

4:52 pm: Out of the oven. Decent oven spring

Glazed with some butter

Crumbly crumb

Date: April 26-27, 2012

Recipe: My own recipe

Comments:

There was decent oven spring, more pronounced along the side of the loaf than on the top. Rosemary, only ½ tbsp per loaf, lends a distinct flavor to the bread. I thought it played well with rye. Even though the crumb looks like it will fall apart, it held well and the bread was easy to slice.

Rye Sour cream Chia Bread

The chia seed and delayed fermentation experiments continue.

This was a two loaf attempt, as one of the loaves was the April bread for my father-in-law.

Ingredients:

For two loaves

560 g whole wheat flour

200 g rye flour

100 g bread flour

2 tsp salt (12 g)

scant 1½ Tbsp instant yeast (4 g)

scant ½ Tbsp caraway seeds (because that's all I had)

1½ cup warm water (microwaved for 45 seconds)

½ cup sour cream (53 g)

2 Tbsp molasses (33 g)

½ Tbsp chia seeds

½ cup water added during mixing and kneading

The process was similar to the previous bread, except I mixed in all the ingredients at the same time.

Day 1

Ingredients

9:23 pm: Dry ingredients and wet ingredients ready for mixing

9:31 pm: Ingredients kneaded in. Ready for 10 minute rest

9:48: Rested and then kneaded well for 8-10 minutes

9:49 pm: Ready for first rise

10:50 pm: Risen after an hour or so, then placed in the refrigerator

Day 2

3:02 pm: Out of the refrigerator

6:46 pm: Split into two loaves

6:58 pm: Rested and then shaped. Ready for proofing

7:57 pm: Proofed, slashed and ready for the oven

Baked!

Crust and crumb

Date: March 30-31, 2012

Recipe: My own recipe

Flours: Whole wheat flour, bread flour, rye flour

Bread specific ingredients: Chia seeds, sour cream, caraway seeds

Sweetener used: Molasses

Liquid: Water

Comments: The first rise was not complete when the dough was refrigerated. I need to read up more or figure out when the best time to refrigerate the dough is. On day 2, after the dough came close to room temperature, I directly shaped and proofed it. No rise is needed on the second day as the overnight fermentation is the second rise.

There wasn't much oven spring, but I liked how the boule stayed rounded rather than flattening as usually happens with my boules. I see the usefulness of a bannetone, although I wonder how a well hydrated loaf proofed in a bannetone wouldn't flatten during baking.

The bread tasted good, keep moist (thanks chia seeds) and overall was considered a success.

Rye Buttermilk Bread

Back to the basics.  A simple rye-wheat dough with rye's favorite accompaniments:  buttermilk,  caraway seeds and molasses.

Ingredients:

For one round loaf

130 g rye flour (~1 cup)

348 g buttermilk (1½ cup)

¼ tsp instant yeast

Mix the above 3 ingredients together.  It forms a thick batter.  Soak for an hour or so (This is not necessary for bread,  but I had the time and followed the 'starter' concept,  giving the rye flour extra time to soak and develop flavor)

60 g bread flour (scant ½ cup)

250 g whole wheat flour (1¾ cup)

¾ tsp instant yeast

1 tsp salt

1 Tbsp vegetable oil

1 Tbsp molasses

1 tsp caraway seeds

Ingredient (with soaked rye-buttermilk paste)

Mix together flours,  salt,  yeast and caraway seeds well.  Add in oil and molasses.  Stir in the rye-buttermilk mixture and mix everything well.  Let rest for 5 minutes and then knead for 5-8 minutes.  When kneading dampen hands with water to minimize the dough sticking to hands.

10:05 am: Kneaded and ready for first rise

1:03 pm: First rise is done after a long time

1:05 pm: Deflated, rounded and ready for second rise

2:25 pm: Second rise is done

2:28 pm: Rounded in a boule shape and ready for proofing

3:10 pm: Slashed and placed in pre-heated cast iron combo cooker

4:07: Unusual oven spring?

I thought this angle was pretty

Sliced well with decent uniform crumb

Notes:

Date: February 21, 2012

Recipe: My own recipe

Flours: Whole wheat flour, rye flour, bread flour

Bread specific ingredients: caraway seeds

Sweetener used: Molasses

Liquid: Buttermilk

Comments: Nothing special in the making of this bread.  I've baked rye-buttermilk breads in the past,  just that this time I used my own proportions for the flours.  Not sure that the hour long pre-soak made much difference in the end result.  If anything I think letting the first rise take its time,  even though it was about three hours,  was the key.  I've started giving the first rise more time than I used to,  partly because the house is cooler these days and partly because it appears to help the rest of the baking process.  The bread tasted good,  sliced well and kept well.

Tassajara Style Rye Bread

For the first loaf of 2012, I wanted to do something different: try a new technique. I had found this little book called The Tassajara Bread Book in the used book store for $3. This book was published in 1970 and almost all the recipes are whole grain! But I had two ingredients I wanted to use: whole milk and rye flour. The book has one recipe that uses whole milk but only whole wheat flour. I modified it to use a mix of rye, whole wheat and some bread flour.

I made two loaves, one of which would be the January bread for my father-in-law (He was quite happy to receive another 'A Loaf Every Month' IOU from us for Christmas.)

Ingredients for two loaves:
Sponge:
250 g rye flour
200 g whole wheat flour
2 tsp instant yeast
2 Tbsp oil
2 Tbsp molasses
1 cup whole milk
1½ cup 1% milk   (2½ cup milk total. Combine milks and scald. Cool to 100° F)

Final dough:
250 g whole wheat flour
100 g bread flour
2 tsp salt
2 tsp caraway

Tassajara technique explained with pictures:

The sponge contains most ingredients except the salt and half the flour.

12:42 pm: Sponge ingredients

When mixed, the consistency is like pasty batter. The 'batter' is stirred well with a wooden spoon (stir 100 times).

12:50 pm: 'Batter' after stirring well.. 100 times

It is covered and left to rise in a warm place for 50 - 60 minutes.

2:02 pm: Unexpected rise that stuck to the lid

Final dough ingredients are added in. I mixed the salt with the flour first. Flour is 'folded in' little by little until dough comes away from sides of the bowl.

2:02 pm: Final dough ingredients

2:16 pm: Adding in the flour

2:23 pm: Before kneading

I let the dough rest for 5 minutes.
The dough is kneaded on a floured surface, using more flour as needed to keep the dough from sticking to the work surface, about 10-15 minutes until dough is smooth.

2:38 pm: Post kneading

The dough is left to rise for an hour or so.

3:57 pm: After the first rise

The dough is deflated, rounded and let rise again.

3:59 pm: Ready for the second rise

4:51 pm: Risen for a second time

The dough is shaped into loaves.

4:57 pm: Shaped into loaves, sprinkled with sesame seeds

5:42 pm: Risen loaves

The loaves are baked in a 350°F oven for an hour

6:49 pm: Not a lot of oven spring

Sliced well

Decent crumb

Notes
Date: January 7, 2012
Recipe: Adapted from #17 Tassajara Yeasted Bread Using Whole Milk from The Tassajara Bread Book by Edward Espe Brown
Flours: Whole wheat flour, rye flour, bread flour
Bread specific ingredients: caraway seeds
Sweetener used: Molasses
Liquid: Whole milk, 1% milk

Comments: The dough didn't rise as much as I had hoped for, based on the rise of the sponge. Salt inhibits rising, that is why it is added later, letting the yeast develop well in the sponge stage. I should try a Tassajara recipe without modifications to know if the technique yields better tasting loaves than Laurel Robertson's technique (similar, but without the sponge). The sponge method does add an extra hour or so to the bread making process.
This bread was good, but nothing special. It sliced very well, that's always a big plus.