Rustic Dark Rye Bread
Russian-style dark rye without the caraway. Bitter, malty, and rich enough hold its own against the cold night air.
A dark rye without the caraway cliché. This loaf gets its depth from molasses, malt, and cocoa — a bitter-sweet backbone built for slow braised stews and cold nights. Dense, chewy, and unapologetically dark, it’s meant to be torn and eaten in soup drenched chunks, like in the days before indoor plumbing and eating utensils. Aaarrr!
Here’s how I did it. Ya’ll do whatever.
DishStats:
Yield - 1, 18 oz loaf (510 g), roughly 8 portions.
Nutrition per portion: 165 calories - 5 g protein - 2 g fat - 32 g carbs
Mise time - 5 minutes; Active cook time - 15 minutes; Fermenting/Proofing time - 2.5 hours Baking time - 30 minutes; Curing time - 12 hours. Seriously.
Pre-Show Notes:
This loaf is built for sopping, but you can use it for really long Reuben or corned beef sandwiches without those pesky caraway seeds getting stuck in your teeth.
Rye flour absorbs water slowly; final dough should be sticky, not dry.
The molasses and cocoa contribute to color and depth, not sweetness.
Allow at least 12 hours of rest before slicing for the crumb to stabilize.
Don’t score it. This loaf does not rise much in the oven. Scoring is unnecessary and you’ll loose too much of your rise from the proofing.
A baking stone is a must for this.
You can use a mixer for this one if you want. It is a sticky dough and I will not hold it against you. And even if I did, that’s my problem, not yours.
You’ll need:
250 g Bread flour
150 g Dark rye flour
265 g Warm, filtered water (No hotter than 40°C/105°F)
25 g Blackstrap molasses (Mmmm. Sulfur…)
10 g Barley malt syrup (Honey will do.)
5 g Unsweetened cocoa powder
1 g Instant espresso.
5 ml Apple cider vinegar
7 g Kosher salt, fine grind (or table salt)
6 g Instant dry yeast (Bread Monkeys)
10 g Oil or melted butter
Showtime:
Scale, sift, and mix all your dry ingredients, including yeast, together and set aside for the moment.
Warm your water however you see fit. Add your syrup, molasses, vinegar, and fat. Whiz the living shit out of it to incorporate.
