[Sca-cooks] Rye Bread

[Decker, Terry D.]

Here is the rye recipe I used for the German feast at Guardian tourney.  As
with the Semmel, it is of my devising because there are no period recipes.

Bear

Maslin Rye Bread

7-8 cups warm water
1 teaspoon sugar
1 Tablespoons dry active yeast
5 1/2 pounds bread or all purpose wheat flour
2 pounds finely ground rye flour
2 - 3 Tablespoons of salt


In a small bowl, dissolve 1 teaspoon of sugar in 1 cup of warm water (90 -
110 F).
Sprinkle 1 Tablespoon of dry active yeast onto the water and stir until
dissolved.
Let stand until yeast begins foaming (about 10 minutes).

To prepare a sponge, put the yeast mixture in a large bowl.
Rinse out the proofing bowl with a second cup of water and add the water to
the yeast mixture.
Slowly add 2 pounds of the all purpose flour to the yeast liquor, stirring
it to form a dough.
Place the dough in a large oiled bowl, cover and let rise for 4 to 24 hours.


In a large bowl, break the sponge apart in five cups of water.
Sift the salt into 1 pound of all purpose flour and add to the sponge
mixture.
Slowly add the remaining rye and all purpose flour, alternating between the
two.  If the dough ball becomes too difficult to work, add more water one or
two Tablespoons at a time and work into the dough.
Turn the dough out on a floured surface and knead until the dough becomes
smooth and not overly sticky.  Flour the surface as necessary.
Place the dough in a large, oiled bowl, cover and let rise until doubled (2
- 4 hours).

Preheat oven to 425 degrees F.
Punch down the dough and turn it out on a floured surface.
Knead it lightly to shape, then divide into 8 equal pieces.
Scatter meal (coarse corn meal is usually the easiest available, but coarse
barley or millet meal works equally well) on a shallow baking pan(s).  Form
the loaves and place them on the pan(s).
Bake for 45 to 50 minutes or until the surface is brown and the loaf sounds
hollow when thumped on the bottom.
Cool and serve.

Notes:

The dough will weigh between 9 and 10 pounds, but will reduce to about 8
pounds in the baking.

If the potency of the yeast is in question, use 2 Tablespoons of the dry
active yeast or extend the sponge process until their is an exceptional
rise.

If time permits, letting the sponge rest for at least 8 hours improves the
flavor.  For the large quantity of bread required by a feast, I had to use
the sponge after 4 hours.  The batches of sponge were the first doughs
created on site and they were allowed to rest until the Semmel was in the
oven.

I prefer using 3 Tablespoons of salt.

Brushing the crust with oil or melted butter before baking will make a
softer crust.

Baking in a convection oven reduced baking time to between 30 and 35
minutes.

As an alternative baking method in a regular oven: pre-heat the oven to 500
degrees F, load the bread in the oven and drop the temperature to 450
degrees F, after 15 minutes drop the temperature to 350 degrees F and bake
for 20 to 25 minutes longer or until done.