Russian Black Bread

[pepperhead212]

I baked some Russian Black Bread today. I gave the recipe below - I did start it a couple days early, with some sourdough culture, which I do sometimes, but not usually, so I didn't put it in the sourdough sub-forum. I just started it two nights before with 1 oz firm starter, plus 1 1/4 c of the water, plus enough rye flour to make a slightly firm, but sticky dough. I let it rise until this morning - about 36 hours, then added the remaining ingredients, reducing yeast to 2 tsp. It definitely got acidic, as the dough rising and the loaves rising took about 3 hours each!
Russian black bread, before adding last 2 c rye, and bread flour. by pepperhead212, on Flickr

Dough halfway through the kneading. by pepperhead212, on Flickr

Ready to rise. by pepperhead212, on Flickr

Risen loaves. by pepperhead212, on Flickr

Baked Russian Black Bread. by pepperhead212, on Flickr

Slice of Russian Black Bread. by pepperhead212, on Flickr

It looked and smelled so good that I had to have a late night sandwich on it!


RUSSIAN BLACK BREAD

4 tsp yeast, instant
2 3/4 cup(s) water
1/4 cup(s) blackstrap molasses
1 tsp sugar
2 cup(s) bran
4 cup(s) dark rye flour
1/4 cup(s) vinegar
5 tb oil
2 tb caraway seeds
2 tsp Russian caraway seeds (nigella)
1/2 tsp fennel seed; crushed
1 tb salt
2 tsp instant coffee powder
2 tsp caramel powder (optional)
2 tsp onion powder
3 tb dark cocoa powder
3.5-4 cup(s) bread flour

A. Combine the yeast, water, molasses, sugar, bran, and rye flour in the mixer bowl and set aside while preparing remaining ing., to allow the water to be absorbed. Add the vinegar, oil, seeds, salt, coffee, cocoa, and onion powder, and mix well. Add the bread flour a cup at a time, leaving it just a little moist. Knead 6-7 min. on medium with the dough hook, or 10 min. by hand. Place into an oiled bowl and roll over to coat. Cover and let rise 1 1/2 hrs. or until doubled, turning after 15 and 30 min.

B. Punch dough down and divide into two pieces. Shape each into a round loaf, or place in two 2 lb. loaf pans. Spray with oil, and cover with plastic. Let rise 45 min., or until about doubled.

C. Bake 1 hr at 350º, or less if using a stone at higher temps. Cool on a wire rack.

 

[Cooking Goddess]

Lovely! I bet that would be delicious with bratwurst, sauerkraut, and some of my mustard-mayo-horseradish sandwich spread.

 

[larry_stewart]

Bet your house sure smelled good!!!

 

[Addie]

Save me two slices please. I haven't had black Russian bread since before Pirate was born 56 years ago. I lived in a Jewish community and the bakery was right across the street from where I lived. We lived on that wonderful black bread everyday.

 

[pepperhead212]

Bet your house sure smelled good!!!

Oh boy, did it ever! Last night, hours later, I was still smelling it while at my computer, upstairs. Nothing like the smell of fresh baked bread!

 

[CharlieD]

What's "bran"?

 

[JustJoel]

A cereal grain, like in “Raisin Bran...”

 

[Addie]

What's "bran"?

Charlie, if you look at the recipe, you will see three types of flour or grain. Bread flour, rye flour and bran. You can purchase it in health stores if not your regular supermarket. I know you keep kosher, so I am sure you will find it in a Jewish Bakery. I know when I lived in Chelsea, the bakery across the street from me was kosher, and would sell not only their baked goods, but the ingredients to make your own bread to the public.

I once tried to make the black bread myself. It made for a great door stop. Much easier to buy it. It was months before my husband would let me live that one down. I guess I had to be Jewish to make it right. To this day, I blame it on the ingredients.

There was a little store next to my back yard. Both she and her husband still had the tattoos on their arms. She would tell me stories of some of the things the German guards would do to them. I am a history buff and would stand there and listen to her to tell me those horrible stories. To this day, I can not watch the stories on TV regarding those times for the Jewish people. I find it so upsetting.

When I told her I was moving back to my home town near my mother, she gave me an old tattered handwritten Jewish cookbook. She wanted to make sure it didn't get destroyed or lost. They had no children to pass it on to. I had it for years. Then I handed it down to my sister and told her where I got it from. When she died, her daughter told me she had it. But she didn't know where it came from. Now she knows and treasures that cookbook just like I did.

 

[taxlady]

What's "bran"?

Bran is the outer layer of grain, any kind of grain has bran. Each individual seed is covered in bran.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bran

 

[JustJoel]

Charlie, if you look at the recipe, you will see three types of flour or grain. Bread flour, rye flour and bran. You can purchase it in health stores if not your regular supermarket. I know you keep kosher, so I am sure you will find it in a Jewish Bakery. I know when I lived in Chelsea, the bakery across the street from me was kosher, and would sell not only their baked goods, but the ingredients to make your own bread to the public.

I once tried to make the black bread myself. It made for a great door stop. Much easier to buy it. It was months before my husband would let me live that one down. I guess I had to be Jewish to make it right. To this day, I blame it on the ingredients.

There was a little store next to my back yard. Both she and her husband still had the tattoos on their arms. She would tell me stories of some of the things the German guards would do to them. I am a history buff and would stand there and listen to her to tell me those horrible stories. To this day, I can not watch the stories on TV regarding those times for the Jewish people. I find it so upsetting.

When I told her I was moving back to my home town near my mother, she gave me an old tattered handwritten Jewish cookbook. She wanted to make sure it didn't get destroyed or lost. They had no children to pass it on to. I had it for years. Then I handed it down to my sister and told her where I got it from. When she died, her daughter told me she had it. But she didn't know where it came from. Now she knows and treasures that cookbook just like I did.

What a warm, inspiring story!

 

[pepperhead212]

What's "bran"?

There are a bunch of different types of bran on the market - oat bran, rice bran, and wheat bran are the most commonly found, but if you see a recipe just calling for "bran", the wheat bran is likely what they mean. Bran has a lot of fiber in it; in fact, it's mostly fiber. Here is a photo of the wheat bran:
Wheat bran by pepperhead212, on Flickr

Bran has some oil in it, so I keep mine on my back porch when it's cold out, which is when I'm usually using it anyway. Otherwise, I stick it in the freezer, once it gets warm out, to prevent rancidity.

 

[Sandrii93]

Thank you for the recipe, I will give it a try.


Never cooked bread once. :O

 

[Addie]

Thank you for the recipe, I will give it a try.


Never cooked bread once. :O

A very therapeutic activity to indulge in. My favorite thing regarding making bread, is the kneading by hand. I get all my frustrations out of my system. Every time I slam that dough on the board, I just pretend it is someone's head that I am presently upset with.

And welcome to DC.

 

[JustJoel]

Thank you for the recipe, I will give it a try.


Never cooked bread once. :O

Do you have a covered Dutch oven and an oven that reaches 450°F (232°C)? Because if you’ve never made bread, this is the way to go!

In a large bowl, mix together 3 cups of bread flour, 1 1/2 cups of water, 1/2 teaspoon salt, 2 tablespoons of olive oil, and 1/2 tsp instant yeast. Cover with plastic wrap and set in a warm place for 12 to 18 hours.

Place your empty Dutch oven in the oven and preheat to 450°F (about 230°C). When the oven is preheated, turn the dough onto a well floured surface and form it into a large ball. Do this on floured parchment paper for easy transfer to the hot Dutch oven.

Transfer the formed dough to the hot Dutch oven. Cover and bake for 30 minutes. Remove the lid and bake for another 10 to 15 minutes, until the bread’s internal temp is 200°F (93°C). Turn the loaf out onto a cooling rack. For a softer crust, immediately brush the hot bread with olive oil or melted butter. Allow bread to cool completely before cutting.

 

[pepperhead212]

Thank you for the recipe, I will give it a try.

Never cooked bread once. :O

Nothing like homemade bread, Sandrii! Do you have a mixer, with a dough hook? I ask because when making rye breads by hand, as well as high
hydration white breads, there is a tendency add too much water, as it is very sticky. This is why Addie noted that the Russian black bread that she attempted way back served as a door stop! lol. You might want to try an easier bread, for your first attempt.

A very therapeutic activity to indulge in. My favorite thing regarding making bread, is the kneading by hand. I get all my frustrations out of my system. Every time I slam that dough on the board, I just pretend it is someone's head that I am presently upset with.

And welcome to DC.

I used to make all of my bread by hand, and enjoyed it immensely. However, in May of '76, I had a bad accident, so I couldn't make bread, but my parents gave me my first Kitchenaid mixer for Christmas, so I started making it again! That's how I remember the year that I last bought bread! lol

That old mixer I gave to a young friend of mine (plus a lot of other things from my kitchen), when I got a larger one, and it's running well - will probably outlive the new one! Now, I need a shoulder replacement on my right shoulder, so I can't really make it by hand, but I can shape the loaves, and do things like that.

The only times I have bought bread since then (besides bagels, kaiser rolls, and that type of thing), was when Mom would say to me, in her whiny voice, "could you stop and get me a loaf of bread on your way over?" First time she ever said that I said something like " you know I'm going to have to put a brown bag over my head, so nobody will recognise me!", which got a laugh out of her.

She laughed even more when I walked into her house with a bag over my head, and holes in it!

 

[Sandrii93]

Do you have a covered Dutch oven and an oven that reaches 450°F (232°C)? Because if you’ve never made bread, this is the way to go!

In a large bowl, mix together 3 cups of bread flour, 1 1/2 cups of water, 1/2 teaspoon salt, 2 tablespoons of olive oil, and 1/2 tsp instant yeast. Cover with plastic wrap and set in a warm place for 12 to 18 hours.

Place your empty Dutch oven in the oven and preheat to 450°F (about 230°C). When the oven is preheated, turn the dough onto a well floured surface and form it into a large ball. Do this on floured parchment paper for easy transfer to the hot Dutch oven.

Transfer the formed dough to the hot Dutch oven. Cover and bake for 30 minutes. Remove the lid and bake for another 10 to 15 minutes, until the bread’s internal temp is 200°F (93°C). Turn the loaf out onto a cooling rack. For a softer crust, immediately brush the hot bread with olive oil or melted butter. Allow bread to cool completely before cutting.

Thank you a lot for the intel , I think I have one that use a lot but is very old although I guess doesn't matter the age.


In fact I want to buy new objects for the kitchen.

Nothing like homemade bread, Sandrii! Do you have a mixer, with a dough hook? I ask because when making rye breads by hand, as well as high
hydration white breads, there is a tendency add too much water, as it is very sticky. This is why Addie noted that the Russian black bread that she attempted way back served as a door stop! lol. You might want to try an easier bread, for your first attempt.


I used to make all of my bread by hand, and enjoyed it immensely. However, in May of '76, I had a bad accident, so I couldn't make bread, but my parents gave me my first Kitchenaid mixer for Christmas, so I started making it again! That's how I remember the year that I last bought bread! lol

That old mixer I gave to a young friend of mine (plus a lot of other things from my kitchen), when I got a larger one, and it's running well - will probably outlive the new one! Now, I need a shoulder replacement on my right shoulder, so I can't really make it by hand, but I can shape the loaves, and do things like that.

The only times I have bought bread since then (besides bagels, kaiser rolls, and that type of thing), was when Mom would say to me, in her whiny voice, "could you stop and get me a loaf of bread on your way over?" First time she ever said that I said something like " you know I'm going to have to put a brown bag over my head, so nobody will recognise me!", which got a laugh out of her.

She laughed even more when I walked into her house with a bag over my head, and holes in it!

In the end you felt like a Russian Bread I see. jajaj



Im sorry about that accident.. But I'm happy you keep enjoying cooking though and I hope and desire for you to get that replacement soon enough.


No, I don't have what you exposed, and in the future meantime I plan having it, and more useful devices for cooking.