Old World Rye Bread - Recipes to Rival November Challenge

From the kitchen of One Perfect Bite...Many years ago, I worked in a facility that was a 10 minute drive from Short Hills Mall and Bloomingdale's Department Store. When things were calm, I loved to sneak over to the bakery in Bloomingdale's basement and buy a stash of rye raisin rolls. They were not quite Lucullean, but they came awfully close and I loved them. You can imagine how delighted I was when I learned the November challenge at Recipes to Rival was going to be Old World Rye Bread from "A World of Breads" by Dolores Casella. Our hostess, Temperama of High on the Hog, also gave us some leeway to play with the base recipe. My personal quest was to alter it and duplicate the Bloomingdale's rolls. I tried three times, but had to admit defeat. I can tell you that despite that, this is a lovely recipe and well worth your time should you choose to use it to make a plain rye bread. I used dark rye and dark molasses to make the dough. I also pulverized the caraway seeds and added brown sugar, raisins and toasted walnuts to the base recipe. The bread is very easy to make and it has a lovely hint of cocoa in its moist crumb. Here's the recipe.

Old World Rye
A World of Breads by Dolores Casella, 1966

Ingredients:
2 cups rye flour
1/4 cup cocoa
2 tablespoons yeast
1-1/2 cups warm water
1/2 cup molasses
2 teaspoons salt
2 tablespoons caraway seed
2 tablespoons butter
2-1/2 cups white flour or whole wheat flour

Directions:
1) Combine rye flour and cocoa. Do not sift.
2) Dissolve yeast in 1/2 cup warm water.
3) Mix molasses, 1 cup warm water, salt, and caraway seed in large mixing bowl. Add rye/cocoa mix, proofed yeast, butter and 1 cup white flour or whole wheat flour. Beat until the dough is smooth.
4) Spread remaining flour on a breadboard and kneed it into dough. Add more flour if necessary to make a firm dough that is smooth and elastic. Place in buttered bowl and cover. Allow to rise until double (about 2 hours).
5) Punch dough down, shape into a round loaf and place on a buttered cookie sheet that has been sprinkled with cornmeal. Let rise about 50 minutes.
6) Bake at 375 for 35 to 40 minutes. Yield: 1 loaf.

Cook's Note: I added 1 cup or raisins and 1 cup walnuts to the dough before kneading.

This recipe is linked to:
Wild Yeast - Yeast Spotting

Toscatårta and Swedish Coffee

I'm always hesitant to reply when people ask me to name my favorite dessert. My tastes run to the barely sweet, but within that category I have a dozen favorites. This petite cake is one of them. I learned to bake a version of it as a child. A neighbor was my teacher. Armed only with a wooden spoon, her massive arms beat butter and sugar to submission and produced cakes and pastries that, to this day, astound me. Coffee was always simmering on her stove but a fresh pot, complete with a raw egg, was always made to accompany this lovely almond-topped cake. That, too, was watched with fascination. My first cup of coffee - a café au lait much heavier on au lait than café - came as a reward for making my first tårta. The cake is simple to do but make sure you use an 8-inch cake pan. I actually use a cheesecake pan with fixed sides to make mine. Make sure to spread the topping on a still warm cake. Keep a careful eye on the cake once it goes into the broiler as it takes only seconds for the topping to burn. This tårta does not keep well, so plan on serving it the day it's made - it's best eaten warm. I really, really like this cake. I think you will, too. As a curiosity, I'm including a recipe for Swedish egg coffee in this post. Why an egg? It helps the grounds settle to the bottom on a pot. It's not a bad technique to have at your disposal if your coffee pot breaks.

Toscatårta
Ingredients:
Cake:
2 teaspoons unsalted butter, softened
1 tablespoon dry bread crumbs
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon double-acting baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 eggs
2/3 cup sugar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1/4 cup milk
4 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
Almond Topping:
2 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
1/4 cup sugar
1 tablespoon flour
2 tablespoons milk
1/3 cup sliced blanched almonds, toasted
1/2 teaspoon vanilla

Directions:
To make cake:
1) Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Liberally coat bottom and sides of a high-sided 8-inch round pan with 2 teaspoons butter. Sprinkle with breadcrumbs or flour. Tap out excess.
2) Sift flour, baking powder and salt together in a mixing bowl. In the bowl of an electric mixer beat eggs until blended. Add sugar and vanilla and continue to beat until the mixture is pale yellow and forms a ribbon when the beater is lifted out.
3) Using a spatula, fold flour mixture and milk alternately into egg mixture by first adding about 1/3 of the flour, then a little milk, then another 1/3 of flour, and remaining milk. Finally, add butter and fold in remaining flour. Be careful not to overfold. Pour batter into prepared pan. Bang pan on table to remove air pockets.
4) Bake cake in the center of the oven for 30 to 40 minutes, or until cake is golden brown and is springy when touched lightly. A toothpick inserted into center of cake should come out dry and clean. Remove from oven. Let cool in pan for 10 minutes.
To make almond topping:
5) Meanwhile, combine butter, sugar and flour in a small pan and stir together briefly with a wooden spoon. Add milk and cook over low heat, stirring constantly, for 2 or 3 minutes, until mixture is smooth and thick. Remove from heat and stir in almonds and vanilla. Set aside.
Final assembly:
6) Preheat broiler. Run a knife around the edges of cake to loosen from pan. Invert onto a wire rack. Set another rack on top of cake and invert again. Spread topping over warm cake. Place cake, still on rack, under the broiler, about 3 inches from the heat. Broil 3 to 5 minutes, until top is golden brown and bubbling. Check constantly to be sure that topping does not burn. Serve while still warm. Yield: 1 8-inch cake.

Adapted from The Cooking of Scandinavia by Dale Brown

Swedish Egg Coffee
Ingredients:
10-12 cups of water
1 cup regular-grind coffee
1 egg
1 cup of ice cold water

Directions:
Bring water to a boil and remove from heat. In a small bowl, mix coffee and egg. Add a little hot water to coffee and egg mixture, then pour mixture into hot water. Stir and heat until it comes to a rolling boil. Remove from heat and pour in 1 cup of ice cold water. Let set for 10 minutes before serving. (The egg and grounds settle to the bottom, leaving the coffee a dark honey color.)

Light Rye Sandwich Buns

I planned to make hot cross buns this week, but a nightmare featuring ham, a bunny cake and hot cross buns dissuaded me. It was probably the ham that set me off. I remembered a rye roll from my childhood that was used specifically for sandwiches made with smoked sausage, salami or Easter ham. It took ordinary sandwiches to another level. Though I watched them being made, even helped roll them, I was never able to get the recipe. Thanks to Beatrice Ojakangas, I think I've found one that makes a roll as good as the one that I loved as a child. So, if you're not too busy with spring cleaning and preparations for Passover or Easter, you might want to give these a try. They are awfully good and worth the very little effort it takes to produce them. The recipe make sixteen rolls. I make eight hamburger and eight hot dog buns from each recipe. The buns freeze well and they do make wonderful sandwiches.

Light Rye Sandwich Buns

Ingredients:
4-1/2 teaspoons active dry yeast
1/2 cup warm water
2 tablespoons dark corn syrup
1 to 2 tablespoons caraway seeds
3 teaspoons salt
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
2 cups scalded milk
2 cups light rye flour
4 to 4-1/2 unbleached all-purpose flour
.
3 tablespoons cornstarch
1-1/4 cups water

Directions:
1) Place yeast in a large bowl. Add water and stir to dissolve. Stir in corn syrup and let sit until yeast begins to foam, about 5 minutes. Add caraway seeds, salt, oil, scalded milk and rye flour. Beat well.
2) Add remaining flour, 1 cup at a time, beating well after each addition. Let rest for 15 minutes. Turn dough onto a floured board and knead for 10 to 15 minutes, or until dough is smooth and elastic. Turn into a greased bowl and let rise until doubled in bulk, about 1 hour.
3) Grease 2 baking sheets or line them with parchment paper. Set aside. Preheat 400 degree F.
4) Dissolve cornstarch in 1/4 cup water. Bring remaining 1 cup water to a boil in a small saucepan set over medium-high heat. Add dissolved cornstarch and cook until thickened. Set aside.
4) Divide dough into 16 equal-sized pieces. Shape into hamburger or hot dog-style buns, placing 8 buns on each baking sheet. Cover and let rise until doubled in size, about 45 minutes. Brush tops of buns with glaze; bake for 20 minutes, or until golden brown. Yield: 16 buns.

I'm sending this recipe to Susan at Wild Yeast for her weekly Yeast Spotting event.

Danny, Boy Oh Boy, Rye Bread with Guinness Stout and Fennel Seeds

Wowzer! Put the watercress away and grab a hunk of really, really sharp Cheddar cheese. This bread is not for sissies. It's a guy's bread - bold, assertive and great for male gatherings when you have a horde to feed. This is a high-moisture bread, so it's really easy to make once you overcome resistance to the wet, sticky dough. If you're tired of the St. Patrick's day soda bread ritual you might want to give this bread a try. I found instructions for the bread on the Group Recipes site where it is called Black Velvet Guinness Rye Bread with Fennel Seeds.

Rye Bread with Guinness Stout and Fennel Seeds

Ingredients:
2 teaspoons active dry yeast
24-ounces stout beer (i.e. Guinness), room temperature
3 ounces warm water
2 cups rye flour
5-1/2 cups unbleached flour + 1/2 cup flour for kneading
4 teaspoons table salt
1 tablespoon fennel seeds

Directions:
1) Combine beer and water in a large bowl. Add yeast and stir until completely dissolved.
2) Add rye flour and 3 cups of white flour; whisk until thick batter forms. Cover and let rest until mixture begins to bubble, about 2 to 4 hours.
3) Stir in reserved 2-1/2 cups flour, salt and fennel seeds. Turn batter onto a lightly floured work surface. Knead roughly. Dough will remain sticky and loose despite your best efforts. I've found it best to repeatedly fold and throw it onto the work surface. I use about 1/2 cup additional flour for kneading. At this point you want to incorporate as much air as possible in the dough. The mass will begin to resemble a dough as you knead, but it will be very, very loose.
4) Return dough to bowl, cover and rest for another 45 minutes or so.
5) Turn dough onto work surface and divide into 3 equal pieces. Shape each piece into a ball and allow to rest for 5 minutes.
6) Lay dishtowels onto your work surface and lightly flour them. Re-shape dough balls into loaves and place on dishtowels to rise. I used Italian bread pans to hold my loaves because the dough was so loose I feared I'd have pita bread if it was not constrained. Let rise until double in size, about 1 to 2 hours.
7) Preheat oven to 450 degrees F.
8) Diagonally slash loaves with a razor blade.
9) Mist sides of oven with water from a spray bottle.
10) Slide loaves or pans into oven. Reduce heat to 425 degrees F after 5 minutes of cooking. Bake for another 25 minutes or until bottom of loaves sound hollow when tapped. Transfer to a wire rack to cool. Yield: 3 loaves.

Cook's Note: This dough is very loose. I used Italian bread pans to contain the dough mass. Towel lined bread baskets can also be used.

I'm sending this recipe to Susan at Wild Yeast for her weekly Yeast Spotting event.