December 29, 2022 - 3:26pm
Valais Rye Walliserbrot (Switzerland)
Today's bake: Valais Rye Walliserbrot (Switzerland)
The Rye Baker by Stanley Ginsberg
This bread is made from a majority of medium rye flour, some Rye (Meal - Coarse) and 100% Stone Ground Whole Wheat Flour and a bit of whole rye which is in the culture. The walnut pieces and sunflower seed, course rye meal add-ins provide a nice addition to the texture of the bread.
I'm using a large pullman pan (15-3/4 x 4 x 4)
This is my 9th attempt making this bread
Tasting Notes
Crumb - Sour/Dairy with notes of plain yogurt
Crust - Roasted - tasting of a Dark Beer
Grain Character - Moderate - like Cooked Oatmeal
Recipe and Process are below for those that are interested.
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Comments
And I only eat it as a special treat I think, after seeing your loaf, I feel a special treat coming on. Shouldn't really be eating it but it looks so delicious. Another marvellous bake, Tony. Might swap the rye meal for coarsely ground whole wheat berries. Reducing the rye a bit but there's still enough to appreciate it. Plus, i've got some wheat berries to use up. And I really love walnuts in bread. It'll have to be a loaf half that size though. Can't overdo it.
Abe, your modification sound good.
We look forward to seeing your results.
Tony
Bob's Red Mill whole buckwheat flour gives a gorgeous dark brown color. How about swapping out some of the rye flour with buckwheat? You can still have some rye for the flavor but less than the original loaf. Dates,walnuts and breadspice are my new favorite for buckwheat bread. A "pseudo-rye", I guess.
Have a delicious treat!
Saw your comment and just bought 1kg of buckwheat groats, and another type of grain - a surprise, and now I need to come up with a recipe. After thinking about it i'm going to swap out all the rye. Even if I do use a bit i'll have a lot leftover which won't get used up anytime soon. Think i'll stick to buckwheat.
Tony that looks perfect to me, I think you have this bread down pat. I like the inclusions you’ve added for additional texture and flavour.
Benny
Thanks for the kind words. The inclusions are actually from Stanley's original recipe and they really are tasty.
Tony
Beautiful loaf!
That's another favorite from The Rye Baker.
Thanks alcophile, it is definitely one of mine.
Tony
Fantastic and mouthwatering.
Walliser Roggenbrot has an AOP/PDO -- a designated protected trade status -- but it seems there is no single standard formula. Still, when I've been in Valais/Wallis, I've only encountered this bread shaped as a boule, with the classic cracked, caramelized top. Also, I have found many bakeries seem to make it old-school-style: as a 100% rye loaf without any add-ins.
Rob
Thanks Rob for the kind words and the background on the bread.
Tony
It looks delicious! Great write-up and critique. I'm so glad I have Stan's book-it is a classic, IMO.
Thanks clazar123
Practice must make perfect because this amazing loaf certainly looks perfect to me!
Thanks Another Girl, the first few times needed improvement.
Tony
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After all that I decided to treat myself without making too many changes. Just replaced the coarse rye with wholegrain wheat (varieties) and missed out the IDY.
Overall Recipe:
· Rye Flour 283g
· Whole-Wheat Flour 168g (Heritage Mix: Einkorn, Emmer and Spelt)
· Bread Flour 49g
· Water 451g
· Salt 9g
· Walnuts 98g
· Sunflower Seeds 25g
Soaker: Overnight 12-14 hours
· Water 25g
· Salt 1g
· Sunflower Seeds 25g
Pre-Ferment: Overnight 12-14 hours
· Whole-Wheat Flour 168g
· Water 135g
· Starter 18g (100% hydrated bread flour)
Final Dough:
· Rye Flour 274g
· Bread Flour 49g
· Water 282g
· Salt 8g
· Walnuts 98g
· All of Soaker 51g
· All of Sponge 321g
How did it taste? The ultimate test of a successful bake.
The texture sure looks good and it is interesting how the color is so much lighter.
It is interesting! My answer to that is tied in to my post here. I have made plainer ryes with more stand out flavour. However when toasted and eaten with something a little salty (like i've just done with peanut butter) and the bread begins to stand out. Not just the topping but the bread itself. Must admit I was baking this in a bit of hurry and around a busy schedule so bulk ferment was done a lot in the fridge when I actually think, for a rye at least, a room ferment would be better and I jumped the gun on the final proof. The biggest pro of my first attempt of this bake is the totally clean bread knife after slicing. Always a bit nervy when slicing a rye - is it going to be gummy or not? This was perfect! Slices so well. I will repeat this bake but I think it really would benefit from something a little sweet to compliment the walnuts.
That is my favorite-date pieces and toasted walnuts.
That'll be exactly what I do. It needs that bit something extra. Toasting the walnuts and adding in dried diced dates would complete this bread.