100% Rye
Today I baked up a few 100% rye ("Cocktail Rye") with this cool pan that I picked up from WalMart a couple of months ago. The metal is a little thin, so I put it on a sheet pan to bake. After some experimenting, I found 1kg of dough for each loaf fills out each channel nicely.
As you probably know, Montana is well known for some of the best flour in the world, and the organic rye that I use from Montana Flour and Grain is my favorite. It's slightly sweet and perfect for this type of bread. This is my recipe that I used for 3kg of dough:
Organic Rye Flour: 1704g
Cold Water: 1176g
100% hydration Rye Starter: 120g
Salt: 33g
Over time, I've adjusted the recipe so I can use a dough hook rather than a paddle for mixing, so the dough is the consistency of thick clay when mixed. It's shaped immediately after mixing, then topped, covered and allowed to rise. Last night it rose for 16 hours at an average temperature of 68F (20C). It was baked at 405F (207C) with initial steam, for 40 minutes.
Normally they cool completely for a few hours before wrapping or slicing them, but since I had to get out the door for deliveries pretty quickly, they were sliced and packaged about 45 minutes after being baked (still warm). I cut each loaf in half, wrapped each half in two damp paper towels, then wrapped them again tightly with plastic wrap. As the loaves cool, they suck in the moisture from the towel and the condensation softens the crust perfectly.
The first photo shows them immediately after shaping - topped with caraway seeds, dusted with rye flour, and topped with fennel seeds. Next, they are shown 16 hours later. The third photo is after they emerge from the oven, and finally after being sliced in half (the plain rye is wrapped and ready).
-Mark
PS If you want to see other stuff I've been up to, be sure to check out the bakery FB page!
Comments
I'm unable to procure such cool pans, but I have to say, your loaves looks damn delicious! Anyway, thanks for the update, Mark. Your posts are always inspirational and induces mouth-watering.
Zita
Too bad you can't find pans like these, but thanks for the kind words and happy baking to you!
-Mark
I will have to look for those cool pans. Beautiful looking rye breads Mark. I'm sure your customers are glad to sample these for sure.
Ian
Everyone was happy to get them and it will be interesting to hear what they enjoyed their mini loaves with!
-Mark
I went on your FB page. Do you have a website as well?
I don't have a website so I either post updates to the FB page, here, or my YouTube channel (videos only of course).
-Mark
I don't have a website so I either post updates to the FB page, here, or my YouTube channel (videos only of course).
-Mark
From a business perspective you should seriously consider putting one together. You can get somebody to do it for you rather cheaply or do it yourself using Wordpress like my blog at www.mookielovesbread.wordpress.com.
This way you can feature all of your baked goods and have a price list etc. and have it easily available for anybody who is interested.
Anyway, just a suggestion that could help you gain even more business.
Ian
From a business perspective you should seriously consider putting one together. You can get somebody to do it for you rather cheaply or do it yourself using Wordpress like my blog at www.mookielovesbread.wordpress.com.
This way you can feature all of your baked goods and have a price list etc. and have it easily available for anybody who is interested.
Anyway, just a suggestion that could help you gain even more business.
Ian
Hi Mark,
I always love reading about what you are up to and appreciate your taking the time to share your 'tricks'.
As warmer weather approaches the rye loaves I bake become less frequent. SOmething in me associates them with dark and cold snowy winter days.
But now I see you beautiful loaves and I am thinking its rye time. So much for my seasonal baking habits.
Love the pan and that all 3 breads rose consistently. Being a professional baker has it's merits *^)
Thanks for the post and the photos. I especially liked your description of how you handled the still warm loaves for dividing. A handy trick to store away in the back of my mind.
Take Care,
Janet
I was happy with how the previous batches of ryes had been coming out, and I figured a blog post was overdue! I probably won't add this rye to the usual line-up, mainly because I have enough bread variety on my menu, but it's always nice to have breads like this for special occasions.
Thanks for the compliments and I'm glad you enjoyed the post! Take care,
-Mark
Hi Mark,
Lovely looking loaves - I will try your recipe.
How long do you mix for?
Thanks,
Brian
Brian,
Using the dough hook on my 20qt mixer, I mix for 2 minutes on speed 1, and 2 minutes on speed 2. It's quite thick and about the consistency (and look) of wood putty/filler. If doing it by hand, I would suggest kneading it for about the same time total (4 min) until all of the ingredients are evenly distributed and well incorporated.
-Mark
use of a lasagna pan, Mark. The ryes are lovely.
Checked your FB page and laughed when I saw you posted that Jimmy Kimmel episode about gluten. I had seen it when it originally aired and thought maybe it was just the Hollywood locals who were clueless. When I asked some gluten-fearing friends the same question, they were just as uninformed.
Have a great summer market season! Our first outdoor markets have started up here in the north woods, in spite of snow flurries yesterday. Bread and hot chocolate would be a great combination.
Well seeing as I've never actually made lasagna, when I saw a pan that looked like that, I instantly thought, "Looks perfect for the mini-rye". And you know, when I filled up one of the channels with water to see how much it held, it was the same amount as my commercial loaf pans - just shaped differently!
Thanks for the well wishes, and I'll be sure to post some updates when that gets rolling again.
-Mark
Wow those are beauties, Mark! The spice garnish add to the aesthetics.
Love to See your work, as always.
Good luck, and thanks for sharing!
khalid
Dang! Hate this comment devouring critter.
Love the spice garnish. Thanks for sharing with us your bakes.
Best of wishes,
khalid
The same cutoff thing happened to my comment further up the page.
Thanks for the kind words Khalid, and keep up the good work at your local market!
-Mark
Mark,
Sorry I forgot to ask you - I am going to bake this at home in a domestic convection oven with a steam facility - Am I correct in thinking you bake this in a convection oven at your specified (207C) temperature?
I can bake without convection if I wish, but prefer to use convection as my steam facility is built in if I do so. Also, how much/long do you steam for?
Thanks Mark,
Brian
Brian,
Yes, 207C w/convection is correct. I don't have built in steam in my oven, so I have a cast iron griddle on the lowest rack space of the oven. When I load the oven, I pour about 250ml of water on the griddle and quickly close the door. The steam lasts for about 5 minutes before it has all dissipated. I don't know how well your built-in steam works, but if it works well, then it might be adequate to steam just before loading (with the door closed), then immediately after loading (with the door closed). Of course be careful to watch out for the steam when you open the oven door.
-Mark
Thanks for your help so far Mark,
Definitely my last question before I bake this.
I have just fed my refrigerated rye (100% hydration) starter this morning as I have not baked with it for a couple of weeks - I intend to mix your recipe tonight before bed time so I can bake late tomorrow morning.
I baked Hamelman's volkornbrot last time out and, whilst appreciating that your dough is fundamentaly different in a few ways (No seeds, separate soaker, manufactured yeast or rye chops/meal etc ), I would like to ask about the type of flour you use. I will expect to use 100% wholegrain organic rye flour and usually hydrate in the 80% region - I notice your recipe is about 70% overall hydration so;
I was wondering if you use light, medium or 100% rye flour? I am comfortable to make any adjustments you feel are necessary
Sorry for being a pest, thanks for your patience, i'm looking forward to baking this one.
Brian
This is the flour I am currently using, next to it is pictured the 100% hydration starter I maintain:
Over the last 6 years, I've experimented with 6 different (American) rye flours - there is a huge variance in the amount of water absorbed by the different flours. The hydration range (to maintain this consistency) has ranged from 90% to 125%. The consistency I aim for with my starter, looks like this; it's thicker than hummus or thick applesauce, but not as thick as putty.
When I mix my dough, I aim the hydration to be thick enough to shape with my hands. I use the dough hook instead of a paddle on my mixer. On speed 1, the hook mixes the ingredients, then on speed 2 (after I scrape the bowl down), it throws the dough around almost like a regular dough. By the end of the mix as the dough warms up a little, it partially sticks to the bowl, but I can still lift it out with a little spray of water and a plastic scraper.
I'm telling you this, because if I was working with your flour and I knew nothing about it, I would try to duplicate the process I describe above. Try to match the consistency while using the hydration as a guideline. Try holding out 10% of the water in your final mix, then mix as I describe. If it seems way too dry, then add the remaining water. If the 70% hydration appears to match what I described, then don't add the water you held out.
If it's not a busy day the next time I make this rye, I'll shoot a short video during the process so you can see how I work with it each step along the way, including the shaping.
-Mark
That lasagna pan is also available on Amazon with free shipping (assuming you are a prime member).
I went out on a limb and bought a similar pan, but went with the one that has a continuous channel. That made it easier to serve the lasagna, but would not work so well for making separate loaves (or separate lasagnas). It is also a lot heavier. Not sure it is worth the extra money, however.
I've never seen a pan like that, but it looks like it would work well for what you described with the lasagna. In the past I had been looking at pate moulds ($$$!) for baking small ryes, but the cheapo pan from Walmart works well enough. Despite it being by Chicago Metallic, it's far from commercial quality, however it's good enough for experimenting with and it's nice to be able to handle 3 mini loaves at a time rather than dealing with separate pans sliding around.
-Mark
Thank you so much Mark - You could not have been more helpful to me!
I will go ahead and try this tonight/tomorrow and let you know the results in a couple of days time once the loaves have matured enough to cut into.
Looking forward to seeing your video of this, particularly as I will have something to compare it to.
Thanks again,
Brian
Thanks Mark, I made the (Dusted with rye version) bread using your recipe, and method, without any significant changes other than that it seemed fully proofed and ready to bake after only 12 hours.
My kichen was at 22C during proofing and I used Organic Dove's Farm flour (Just in case anyone in the UK is wondering).
I have been eating it for the last 3 days - Tried it with marmalade, cream cheese, raspberry jam and cured meats when we had friends round over the last two days - They/I loved it - Still got a tiny bit left for tomorrow's breakfast.
Thanks again for your help and I can heartily recommend to other TFL members that they bake it for themselves.
Brian
I just made some more up today and shot a short video of it so you (and others) can see what the consistency looks like with my flour. I'll post it up there at the top of this thread for reference.
Glad that everything turned out great and that you like it so much! Happy Baking.
-Mark
Great video as usual Mark. Thanks for taking the time to shoot it.
Ian
Thanks Ian, I'm glad you like it!
-Mark
Hi everyone,
That pan, I believe originally designed by Chicago Metallic, is readily available here.
http://www.amazon.com/Chicago-Metallic-Lasagna-12-Inch-Cavities/dp/B0028RY0VI/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1400949546&sr=8-1&keywords=chicago+metallic+three...
I've been baking cocktail ryes, and using it as a pate and terrine mold for three or four years. Ironically, I've never used it for making lasagne.
The one I have is, unlike Mark's Walmart model the one I have (Chicago Metallic) is fairly heavy gauge steel.
Nice looking loaves, Mark. I've copied the recipe from your video.
David G
I hope you enjoy the recipe. I think I have the same pan (also from Chicago Metallic), however it's just under $13 but comes without the handy-dandy spatula that's pictured with the description. Maybe when you bought it a few years ago it was heavier gauge steel; now it feels comparable to a regular loaf pan and not on par with commercial quality Chicago Metallic pans. Either way, it works fine for my purposes and certainly beats the prices for regular pate moulds. -Mark
but the bread is better! Love the video too. So well done all the way around - just like always..
Happy Baking
Thanks, glad you love the video. As you've probably noticed, when there's no commentary I've found there's much quicker turn-around on shooting/editing/and posting them. Yes, the bread is quite nice and I just bought some goat cheese from Costco, so I think it must be time for... Happy Baking to you too.
-Mark
I picked up the pan at Walmart and it is Chicago Melallic and I find it quite heavy. Too heavy to drag more than one pan in my suitcase. Drat. I've baked the 3 swirly berry thingy in the middle section already and don't see the need to put a sheet pan under it.
Am testing out again today- Took Mark's posted recipe and added 75g Chia, 300g more water, 33g bread spice and 11g of whole caraway seed along with a Tbs of lemon juice. Mixed it with a sturdy spoon. I did adjust the rye and water upping the starter to 200g to speed it up a bit: basically 1 to 8.3 starter to flour and giving it a 3 hr bulk rise before shaping. That gives me 1155g per section. (Maybe I should have reduced the recipe to come out with one kilo dough per loaf.) We'll see how it plays out.
Well if it's good enough for a swirly berry thingy, then that's good enough for me. I think 1155g per section should be fine, maybe you'll get even more of a crowned top that way. If they come out like you want them to and you feel like it, feel free to post pics of them here. It's always nice to see the different adaptations people make to recipes to suit their own tastes and equipment. Plus, you never know when I might steal an idea or two. :)
-Mark
I mixed up the dough at 12:40 and at 19:15 the loaves went into the oven for a 55 minute bake. Room temp 76°F
Baked uncovered with a small steam pan on oven bottom. Here are the pictures: ready to rise, ready for the oven and just baked.
:)
You're hired! :) Awesome looking bread! That looks like a good amount of dough in each channel, don't you think?
-Mark
For 100% rye with a rounded top. It just might rise a bit higher with more hydration. I was observing that a 85% hydration with chia and water (to 104%) could get too wet. I like (85%) but Hubby wants it dryer. So by simply using your perfect 70% hydration and adding chia (and 4 times to get hydration for the seeds) It should come out about right and it did. Filled the pans 2/3 - 3/4 full. At first It seemed like a lot of dough, esp. on paper as I added 434g to the total dough weight. They didn't loose any height baking, in fact rose a little and settled a little when cooling. So the dough rose and was baked about a 1/3 from it's original shaped size.
I do tend to fill my pans rather full with rye dough ... if it ever doubled, I'd be in BIG trouble! The more wheat in the mix, the higher the rise guessing that a 50/50 rye/wheat should not have more than 1kg dough in each section.
I suppose one could easily forget the chia and make enough dough to get 1100 - 1150g in each section. The texture of the bread is good, fine pore like yours and yet light for a 100% rye. Not seedy and haven't even found a crunchy caraway seed to bite down on, so all the seeds got a good softening with 7 hrs of dough time. I used Rogers Dark rye flour and my chia/rye dough looks a little more speckled than yours in the video. I docked them too while the oven was heating up. By sprinkling the bottom of the pan with seeds, the bottoms look just as lovely and tasty as the tops.
Better than an hour after cooling, I cut & wrapped them in plastic wrap, still warm (about 40°C) they did not sweat or steam up the plastic (was waiting for it so checked often) leaving them spaced on the rack to finish cooling. After 36 hrs, I wrapped with a second layer and packed half loaves into a large zipper bag for the freezer. Half a loaf is stored in the fridge and the other half is almost gone.
Love the shape and the size! Good Find! Great post!
Or: Mini meets Mark in the Walmart
Starter 200g (100% hydration rye)
Rye flour 1664g (Organic dark rye)
Water 1436g
Salt 33g
Chia seed 75g (300g of the recipe water is for a major chia suck-up)
Bread spice 33g (mix of toasted crushed coriander, caraway & fennel)
Caraway 11g (whole seed)
Lemon juice 15g (or 1 Tablespoon)
And a very, very big bowl for mixing :)