Eastern Europe has so much to offer when it comes to rye bread. There are hundreds of different ones out there. Growing up in Latvia I was fortunate enough to have them readily available.

No wonder that this is the 7^th rye bread video on my channel. I recently made a Belarusian rye which was nice and soft with a sweet & sour flavour. The method for that bread was quite like this one. Although this one is simpler, but just as good.

Russian borodinsky bread is a dark rye bread made with a yeast derived preferment or a leaven. I chose yeast for simplicity this time. It is flavoured with malted rye, caraway, coriander seeds, and dark syrup. A small addition of cocoa gives it an extra rich dark colour.

There are two important parts to this recipe.

– The preferment which will give the bread a stronger flavour. It is made by simply mixing part of the rye flour with some water and a tiny amount of yeast and leaving it to ferment for 12 hours.

– The scald which is made up of part rye flour, caraway seeds, coriander seeds, and the malted rye. It is mixed with boiling water to gelatinize the starches in the flour and to maximize the flavour of the other ingredients. Ideally you should keep the scald at 65C for several hours, but I left it at room temperature, and it got the job done. If you have a way of keeping it at a stable temperature for so long, then do it because it will improve the texture of the loaf even further.

The key ingredient in this recipe is the malted rye. You simply can not make this bread without it. Well, you could but it would taste nothing like it should. To find the rye malt search for ‘fermented rye malt’ on ebay.

Watch the video down below for detailed instructions.

Ingredients

For the preferment –

60g (2.1oz) wholemeal rye flour

60g (2.1oz) water

Tiny pinch of yeast

For the scald –

120g (4.2oz) wholemeal rye flour

30g (1oz) malted rye

8g (0.3oz) crushed caraway seeds

8g (0.3oz) crushed coriander seeds

180g (6.3oz) boiling water

*I crushed the seeds with a pestle and mortar.

For the main dough –

120g (4.2oz) white flour

120g (4.2oz) rye flour

25g (0.9oz) malt syrup or molasses

3g (0.1oz) instant dry yeast or 3.6g (0.12oz) active dry yeast 9g (0.32oz) fresh yeast

8g (0.3oz) salt

6g (0.2oz) cocoa powder

100g (3.5oz) water

To finish the loaf –

Whole caraway seeds

Whole coriander seeds

Vegetable oil

*All my ingredients were at room temperature which was around 25C (77F). If your kitchen is warmer or cooler, then adjust the water temperature in the main dough up or down. To learn more about dough temperature control click here.

Method

1. Make the scald. In a bowl combine the rye flour, crushed coriander seeds, crushed caraway seeds, and malted rye. Add the boiling water and mix until there is no dry flour left. Cover and leave on the side.
2. Make the preferment. In a bowl combine the water, rye flour, and a small pinch of yeast. Mix well until there is no dry flour left. Leave to ferment for around 12 hours.
3. Once the preferment is ready continue with the main dough. In a large bowl combine the water, yeast, salt, cocoa powder, and syrup. Mix well to dissolve any large salt crystals and to hydrate the yeast.
4. Add the preferment and mix again. Add the scald and mix once more. It is important to do everything in stages and in order. That way you will get a consistent mix at the end without too much effort.
5. Once everything has been mixed to a nice paste add the white flour. Mix again, and finally add the rye flour. Keep mixing until there is no more dry flour left. You can continue mixing by hand. If the dough starts sticking to your hands too much, then wet them with some water and continue.
6. Brush a bowl with some vegetable oil. Shape the dough into a ball and place it in the bowl. *Desired dough temperature 26 – 27C (79 – 80F). If your dough is warmer, then it will ferment more rapidly. If it is cooler, then it will take longer. Adjust proofing time accordingly.
7. Cover and ferment for 1 hour.
8. Give the dough a fold. Wet your hands with water to make it easier to handle the dough.
9. Ferment for 1 more hour.
10. Brush the dough with oil and drop it out on your table. Flatten the dough and shape it into a loaf. Sprinkle with the whole caraway and coriander seeds.
11. Place the loaf in a greased non-stick paper lined baking tin. Press it into shape.
12. Cover and ferment for 1 hour. You will know that the dough has risen enough when you see a nice dome on top of it. *During the final fermentation preheat your oven to 200C (390F) fan off.
13. Bake the loaf for 50 minutes.
14. Remove it from the tin and spray it with water all over. If you do not have a spray bottle, then you can use a brush instead. The wetting of the crust will make it nice and soft and springy.
15. Place the loaf back in the oven for another 5 minutes.

Leave it to cool down for at least 3 hours. I know it is hard, but it is well worth it. The loaf is still developing during this time. If you cut it too soon it will be gummy inside. Ideally you should leave it overnight.

Check out some more Baking World Tour videos while you’re waiting ?

Keep in mind that the conditions in each kitchen are different, so fermentation times may vary for you. It is up to the baker to control the bread and react accordingly.

Your oven may be different too, so your baking time may vary.

This stout bread is dense, fragrant, full of seeds and has a complex flavour.

Rye bread is one of my favourite breads ever. I grew up eating bread like this. And it was one of the first breads I ever baked. It is so simple, but in this recipe, I have made it even simpler and fool proof. The rich darkness comes from black treacle, cocoa powder and of course the dark stout. The seeds pop between your teeth as you bite into it.

The best part is that it is so customizable. You can replace the treacle with malt syrup or honey. You could use any seeds that you like.

This recipe makes a large loaf. You can halve it if you like. I would suggest using a loaf tin that is rather longer and wider, than higher and narrower. That way the loaf will have an easier time baking. But as I demonstrate in the video a narrow and high tin works well too.

If you have a thick bottomed pan or a thick tray, or even a baking stone, then use that as a base for baking on. It is always advisable to bake bread on a solid hot surface. But if you do not have any of those, then do not worry as it will work regardless. You might just have to bake it for slightly longer.

Watch the video down below for detailed instructions.

Ingredients

For the dough –

400g (14.1oz) wholemeal rye flour

100g (3.5oz) strong white bread flour

50g (1.75oz) black treacle

20g (0.7oz) vegetable oil

6g (0.2oz) cocoa powder

12g (0.4oz) salt

3g (0.1oz) dry yeast or 3x the amount of fresh yeast

30g (1oz) toasted pumpkin seeds

40g (1.4oz) toasted sunflower seeds

30g (1oz) linseeds

8g (0.3oz) fennel seeds

60g (2.1oz) toasted walnuts

500g (1.1lb) stout at around 31C (88F) if your kitchen is around 20C (68F)

To learn more about dough temperature control click here.

Method

1. In a bowl combine the stout, yeast, salt, treacle, cocoa powder, and oil. Mix well.
2. Add the seeds and white flour and mix well. You want to mix all the ingredients well before adding the rye flour.
3. Add the rye flour and mix until you do not see any dry flour. Pour into your non-stick paper lined baking tin. Desired dough temperature 26C (79F). If your dough is warmer, then it will ferment more rapidly. If it is cooler, then it will take longer. Adjust proofing time accordingly.
4. Cover and ferment for 3.5 – 4 hours. During the final hour of fermentation preheat your oven and your baking vessel (if using) to 160C (320F) fan on.
5. You can glaze the loaf with 1 teaspoon of treacle mixed with 1 teaspoon of water to make the top crust extra rich. This is optional.
6. Bake the loaf for 1 hour in the tin. Remove it from the tin and bake for 30 more minutes. If your oven is more powerful, then perhaps it may take you less time. A sure way to tell if your loaf is ready is by measuring its core temperature. If it reads above 94C (200F), then it is ready.
7. Brush the loaf with oil to make it nice and shiny. This is optional too.
8. Let it cool down completely before cutting. I left it for 12 hours. If you cut it too early the inside will be gummy.

Enjoy!

This kind of bread will keep fresh for almost a week. Because we are not using a preferment it will not last as long as other rye breads. We are trading convenience for keeping quality.

If you would like your bread to keep for longer and have a sourer flavour, then you can check out my other rye bread recipes. I have yeasted versions made with preferment and I have a sourdough version too.