Black Bread in Russia is fantastic and the way that I make it is really easy. This recipe is not by any means as authentic as a Russian would make it but it is a good black bread. Once again Russia probably has more recipes for black bread than people living there…
Lets make some black bread the nearest way to Russian that I can. This is a recipe that I made up in chef school and the coffee grounds impart a unique flavor enhancement…
This will make one loaf of bread…
Ingredients:
1 cup warm water (around 110 degrees F.)
1/2 cup dark corn syrup (Light will work but color of bread changes slightly)
4 to 5 cups rye flour (dark unless no other choice)
At least a half (.5) ounce active dry yeast
2 teaspoon non heaping instant coffee granules. (For color and flavor)
2 teaspoons salt (I add a pinch more to the recipe, then toss a pinch over my shoulder for good luck)
Directions:
In a large mixing bowl, put the warm water and corn syrup, and coffee, mix with spoon until combined…
Add the yeast to mixture and do not mix just yet, let stand until foamy, about 6 to 7 minutes…
Add 3 cups of the rye flour to the yeast mixture, and spoon mix until smooth. Stir in the salt…
Set the bowl covered with a cloth in a warm place. Let the dough rise for 30 minutes…
At this point you mix in more flour half a cup at a time…
When the dough is starting to get slightly stiff. Take the dough out of the bowl and lay on a floured surface and knead in more flour by hand as needed to form a really stiff dough and starting to be non sticky. (I like to knead the dough until it tries to stick to my hand but leaves no residue.)
This process will use a varied amount of flour…
Form dough into a ball, I make sure that the ball is non sticky on the outside by rolling it in the flour that is on the counter surface. (Not kneaded in but on the surface so non sticky.)
Then Lightly grease a large mixing bowl – the same as the one you just used is fine…
Place the dough in the greased bowl, and cover with a towel. Place in a warm place to rise, as long as 2 hours. (The dough should at least double in size.)
Once again put the dough onto a floured surface, and knead out the built up bubbles…
Then roll dough into a loaf shape, and place into a greased 8.5 X 5.5 inch loaf pan…
Cover the pan with a cloth, and let rise for the third and last time in a warm place until doubled in size. (This takes about 1 to two hours.)
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F…
Then remove cloth and bake for 30 to 35 minutes in the preheated oven. On center rack or where you know best to bake in your oven…
A fully baked loaf of bread will have an internal temperature of about 200F, so just insert a thermometer into the center of the loaf and check the temp. If not quite there bake a few more minutes…
This bread will not brown very much because it is brown! 🙂
Yummy with real butter…
Posted by Kyle Keeton
Windows to Russia…