Black Pepper Rye Bread #BreadBakers

 

Can you believe it is time for the May #BreadBaker's bake?  The days just seem to flow into each other right now.  Our theme this month is rye breads, hosted by Karen's Kitchen Stories.  I was fortunate enough to have both rye flour and rye berries on hand as I understand there are some shortages of rye flour in various areas.  Interesting, as rye has a definitive flavor that not everyone appreciates as well as being a little more tricky to work with as it has a weaker gluten structure.  I learned to love rye at Denny's of all places.  I started getting the rye toast option and never looked back.  Of course that is a very light version of rye the likely has only a small portion of rye flour.  I do prefer a lighter rye loaf to a dense, all rye bread like you might find in Europe, though I did just find a bauernbrot recipe that is just over 50% rye that looks really tasty!  This dough smells delightful, with its spicy coffee infusion.

The recipe I made comes from Dan Lepard's Short and Sweet cookbook.  This link (not an affiliate link) is the UK version and I actually do not recommend the American published version, as they converted all the weights to volumetric measurements and allegedly screwed up many of the recipes in the process.  I ordered the original UK publication for that reason and still have two dozen recipes bookmarked to try!  We have enjoyed other recipes from Dan as well.  I remember in particular a fabulous garlic bread...

Now upon reading this recipe in preparation for baking, I was surprised to find that it uses a tangzhong method to make the dough, though it doesn't call it out as such.  The description does however state a very moist and soft light rye bread, which is of course what tangzhong would lend to the results.  Now that I have tried this one, I also want to try his Deli bread, which has mashed potato and onion in it, and mashed potato also adds a lovely soft, springy texture to bread.  Sigh, this will have to wait until my new oven arrives, as the old one very inconveniently died in the middle of preheating for another loaf.

Black Pepper Rye

makes 1 loaf

325ml regular black coffee

150g rye flour (I ground mine fresh)

2 tsp crushed black pepper

2 tsp anise, fennel, or caraway seeds (I used caraway, yum)

1 tsp fast action yeast (I used instant yeast)

325g strong white flour, plus extra for shaping (I used all purpose)

1½ tsp fine salt

oil for kneading (I did not use this)

beaten egg and poppy seeds to finish (of course I could not find my poppy seeds, so used more caraway)

Mix the coffee and half the rye flour (75g), along with the pepper and seeds in a saucepan.  Whisk while heating until the mixture is thick and just reaching boiling.  Quickly remove from the heat and transfer to a mixing bowl to cool down to just warm.  Once the mixture has cooled, stir in the yeast, mixing well, then add the rest of the rye flour, the white flour, and the salt.  Mix until a smooth dough is achieved.  (Whether because of my fresh ground rye, or using all purpose instead of bread flour, my dough needed more flour to achieve a suitable and not totally sticky dough.)  Cover and let rest for 10 minutes, then knead dough for 10 seconds on a lightly oiled surface.  (I simply did folds within the mixer bowl for my dough, using a bench scraper.)  Cover and repeat this process twice more, every 10 minutes, and then let rest for 30 minutes.

Line a baking sheet with parchment.  Dust the dough with a little flour and pat out into a 20cm square, then roll up tightly.  Place seam-side down on the parchment, cover and let rise by half, around 45 minutes.  (Mine took much longer.)  Heat the oven to 230ºC/210ºC fan/ 450ºF.  Brush the top with an egg wash, (I like to use a whole beaten egg, thinned with a tbsp of water), cut six diagonal slashes across the top, and sprinkle with poppy seeds.  Bake for 40 minutes or until done.

Today, the Bread Bakers, hosted by Karen's Kitchen Stories, have baked breads with rye.

• Black Pepper Rye from A Messy Kitchen
• Coffee Scones with Maple, Raisins, and Rye from Palatable Pastime
• Everyday Multigrain Rye Sourdough from Zesty South Indian Kitchen
• Light Rye Sourdough Bread from Karen's Kitchen Stories
• Multigrain Spiced Raisin Bread from Passion Kneaded
• Overnight Rye Buns from Food Lust People Love
• Sourdough Rye Boule from Culinary Adventures with Camilla
• Spelt and Rye Breakfast Sourdough Bread from Cook with Renu
• Tangzhong Method Rye Bread from Sneha's Recipe

#BreadBakers is a group of bread loving bakers who get together once a month to bake bread with a common ingredient or theme. You can see all our lovely bread by following our Pinterest board right here. Links are also updated after each event on the #BreadBakers home page. We take turns hosting each month and choosing the theme/ingredient.