{"id":2853,"date":"2012-06-04T00:15:50","date_gmt":"2012-06-04T00:15:50","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/russian\/?p=2853"},"modified":"2014-07-17T18:13:41","modified_gmt":"2014-07-17T18:13:41","slug":"baking-genuine-russian-style-black-bread-in-a-yankistani-kitchen-can-it-be-done","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/russian\/baking-genuine-russian-style-black-bread-in-a-yankistani-kitchen-can-it-be-done\/","title":{"rendered":"Baking genuine Russian-style black bread in a “Yankistani” kitchen: Can it be done?"},"content":{"rendered":"

\u0412\u044b<\/span>\u043f\u0435\u0447\u043a\u0430 \u043d\u0430\u0441\u0442\u043e\u044f<\/span>\u0449\u0435\u0433\u043e \u0447\u0451\u0440\u043d\u043e\u0433\u043e \u0445\u043b\u0435<\/span>\u0431\u0430 \u043d\u0430 “\u043f\u0438\u043d\u0434\u043e\u0441\u0442\u0430<\/span>\u043d\u0441\u043a\u043e\u0439” \u043a\u0443<\/span>\u0445\u043d\u0435: \u0432\u043e\u0437\u043c\u043e<\/span>\u0436\u043d\u043e \u043b\u0438 \u044d<\/span>\u0442\u043e?<\/b><\/p>\n

In one of her Easter posts<\/a>, Yelena mentioned the challenge of making baked goods — such as the sweet Easter \u043a\u0443\u043b\u0438<\/span>\u0447<\/b> — from \u0434\u0440\u043e\u0436\u0436\u0435\u0432\u043e<\/span>\u0435 \u0442\u0435<\/span>\u0441\u0442\u043e<\/b> (“yeast dough”). And indeed, yeast loaves can take a bit more practice, and are more labor-intensive, than “quick breads” raised with \u043f\u0438\u0449\u0435\u0432\u0430<\/span>\u044f \u0441\u043e<\/span>\u0434\u0430<\/b> (“baking soda”) or \u043f\u0435<\/span>\u043a\u0430\u0440\u0441\u043a\u0438\u0439 \u043f\u043e\u0440\u043e\u0448\u043e<\/span>\u043a<\/b> (“baking powder”).<\/p>\n

But her comment reminded me of my own \u043e<\/span>\u043f\u044b\u0442\u044b<\/b> (“experiments”) with reverse-engineering \u0447\u0451\u0440\u043d\u044b\u0439 \u0445\u043b\u0435<\/span>\u0431<\/b> (“Russian-style black bread”) at home.<\/p>\n

This is something I’ve been tinkering with for years, and I’ll say right up front that although I’m very pleased with the latest results, my \u0440\u0435\u0446\u0435<\/span>\u043f\u0442<\/b> (“recipe”) is still only a \u0445\u0438\u0442\u0440\u043e\u0443<\/span>\u043c\u043d\u043e\u0435 \u043f\u043e\u0434\u0440\u0430\u0436\u0430<\/span>\u043d\u0438\u0435<\/b> (“cunning imitation”) of the original — so maybe I should’ve put the word \u043d\u0430\u0441\u0442\u043e\u044f<\/span>\u0449\u0438\u0439<\/b> (“genuine; real”) \u0432 \u043a\u0430\u0432\u044b<\/span>\u0447\u043a\u0430\u0445<\/b> (“in quotes”)!<\/p>\n

In Part 2 of this post, I’ll take you through the recipe \u0448\u0430<\/span>\u0433 \u0437\u0430 \u0448\u0430<\/span>\u0433\u043e\u043c<\/b> (“step by step”). But to explain why perfectly duplicating Russian “black bread” outside of Russia ain’t so simple, you first need to understand what \u0447\u0451\u0440\u043d\u044b\u0439 \u0445\u043b\u0435\u0431<\/b> is — and what it is NOT. As I was surprised to learn when I bought my first loaf from a Moscow \u0431\u0443<\/span>\u043b\u043e\u0447\u043d\u0430\u044f<\/b> (“bread store”), the color, flavor, and texture have virtually nothing in common with American pumpernickel!<\/p>\n

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American-style pumpernickel is dark as bitter chocolate, but the texture is often \u0441\u043b\u0438<\/span>\u0448\u043a\u043e\u043c \u043f\u044b<\/span>\u0448\u043d\u044b\u0439<\/strong> (“too fluffy”) to be a satisfactory substitute for Russian black bread, which is quite \u043f\u043b\u043e<\/span>\u0442\u043d\u044b\u0439<\/strong> (“dense; closely-textured”).<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

It turns out that most of the pumpernickel we buy in U.S. supermarkets — although much “blacker” than \u0447\u0451\u0440\u043d\u044b\u0439 \u0445\u043b\u0435\u0431<\/b> — is merely American-style rye bread with artificial coloring added. And American-style recipes for \u0442\u0430\u043a \u043d\u0430\u0437\u044b\u0432\u0430<\/span>\u0435\u043c\u044b\u0439 “\u0440\u0436\u0430\u043d\u043e<\/span>\u0439” \u0445\u043b\u0435\u0431<\/b> (“so-called ‘rye’ bread”) sometimes contain as much as 75% wheat flour and only 25% rye flour! This is because \u043f\u0448\u0435\u043d\u0438<\/span>\u0446\u0430<\/b> (“wheat”) is quite rich in \u0433\u043b\u044e<\/span>\u0442\u0435\u043d<\/b> (“gluten”), the elastic \u0431\u0435\u043b\u043e<\/span>\u043a (“protein”) that helps dough rise –while \u0440\u043e<\/span>\u0436\u044c<\/b> (“rye”) is comparatively gluten-poor.<\/p>\n

In contrast, industrial-scale \u043f\u0435\u043a\u0430<\/span>\u0440\u043d\u0438<\/b> (“bakeries”) in Russia have always made their black bread with 100% rye — apparently with the help of a special \u0437\u0430\u043a\u0432\u0430<\/span>\u0441\u043a\u0430<\/b> (here: “sourdough starter-culture”) that’s optimized to compensate for the lower levels of gluten in rye. (Something I learned from \u0412\u0438\u043a\u0438\u043f\u0435\u0434\u0438\u044f!)<\/p>\n

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Black bread in the “Borodinksy” style, made with a 100%-rye sourdough and studded with coriander seeds.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

However, sourdoughs can be slow, fussy, and unpredictable — and to be honest, I have very little experience with them even though I make my own bread all the time. Besides which, there are different formulations of \u0437\u0430\u043a\u0432\u0430<\/span>\u0441\u043a\u0430<\/b> and I don’t know exactly what Russian bakeries use. Maybe in the future I’ll try to do an all-rye, sourdough version — \u043a\u043e\u0433\u0434\u0430<\/span>-\u043d\u0438\u0431\u0443\u0434\u044c, \u043d\u043e<\/span> \u043d\u0435 \u0441\u0435\u0433\u043e<\/span>\u0434\u043d\u044f<\/b> (“someday, but not today”).<\/p>\n

So, beginning \u043d\u0430 \u043e\u0441\u043d\u043e<\/span>\u0432\u0435<\/b> (“on the base”) of an all-wheat white bread recipe from a cookbook, I aimed to create an adaptation with mostly rye flour but raised by good ol’ \u043d\u0430\u0434\u0451\u0436\u043d\u044b\u0435 \u0434\u0440\u043e<\/span>\u0436\u0436\u0438<\/b> (“reliable yeast”), not a temperamental \u0437\u0430\u043a\u0432\u0430<\/span>\u0441\u043a\u0430<\/b>. And just recently I found a solution: Adding a few tablespoons of ultra-concentrated “vital wheat gluten,” which can be found in many U.S. supermarkets under the Bob’s Red Mill<\/i> or Arrowhead Mills<\/i> brands. Using the gluten powder let me make a 75% rye dough that would rise sufficiently with ordinary yeast.<\/p>\n

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Adding about a tablespoon of gluten powder for each US cup (~120 grams) of flour improves the rising and texture of many homemade yeast breads.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

With the gluten problem solved, the rest of the adaptation was rather easy. I added some cracked bulgur-wheat for texture and moistness; whole coriander seeds, which are obligatory in the popular style of black bread called \u0431\u043e\u0440\u043e\u0434\u0438<\/span>\u043d\u0441\u043a\u0438\u0439<\/b>; plus some coffee, cocoa, and molasses — for their bitter\/sour notes and also for color.<\/p>\n

The finished bread is medium-brown inside, \u043f\u043e\u0445\u043e<\/span>\u0436 \u043f\u043e \u0446\u0432\u0435<\/span>\u0442\u0443 \u043d\u0430 \u043a\u0430\u0440\u0442\u043e<\/span>\u043d<\/b> (“resembling cardboard in color”) — close to the Russian original, but much less dark than our American pumpernickel. The texture is \u043f\u043b\u043e<\/span>\u0442\u043d\u044b\u0439 (“dense”) and \u0436\u0451\u0441\u0442\u043a\u0438\u0439 \u043d\u0430 \u043e<\/span>\u0449\u0443\u043f\u044c<\/b> (“coarse to the touch”), though somewhat different from my memories of the “real thing,” which may be the unavoidable result of using \u0434\u0440\u043e<\/span>\u0436\u0436\u0438<\/b> instead of \u0437\u0430\u043a\u0432\u0430<\/span>\u0441\u043a\u0430<\/b>. And the flavor is, dare I say, \u043a\u0440\u0435<\/span>\u043f\u043a\u0438\u0439<\/b> (“robust”) — strong, \u043a\u0438\u0441\u043b\u043e\u0432\u0430<\/span>\u0442\u044b\u0439<\/b> (“sourish”), earthy.<\/p>\n

In other words, quite \u043d\u0435\u043f\u0440\u0438\u0433\u043e<\/span>\u0434\u043d\u044b\u0439<\/b> (“unsuitable”) when you’re craving sweet, fluffy French toast with strawberry syrup — but absolutely perfect to slice thin as a sturdy base for \u0431\u0443\u0442\u0435\u0440\u0431\u0440\u043e<\/span>\u0434\u044b<\/b> (“open-face sandwiches”) topped with something salty and savory: cheese, salami, ham, smoked fish, pickled mushrooms…<\/p>\n

Tomorrow: the \u0440\u0435\u0446\u0435<\/span>\u043f\u0442<\/b>!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"\"\"

\u0412\u044b\u043f\u0435\u0447\u043a\u0430 \u043d\u0430\u0441\u0442\u043e\u044f\u0449\u0435\u0433\u043e \u0447\u0451\u0440\u043d\u043e\u0433\u043e \u0445\u043b\u0435\u0431\u0430 \u043d\u0430 “\u043f\u0438\u043d\u0434\u043e\u0441\u0442\u0430\u043d\u0441\u043a\u043e\u0439” \u043a\u0443\u0445\u043d\u0435: \u0432\u043e\u0437\u043c\u043e\u0436\u043d\u043e \u043b\u0438 \u044d\u0442\u043e? In one of her Easter posts, Yelena mentioned the challenge of making baked goods — such as the sweet Easter \u043a\u0443\u043b\u0438\u0447 — from \u0434\u0440\u043e\u0436\u0436\u0435\u0432\u043e\u0435 \u0442\u0435\u0441\u0442\u043e (“yeast dough”). And indeed, yeast loaves can take a bit more practice, and are more labor-intensive, than “quick breads” raised…<\/p>\n

Continue Reading<\/a><\/p>","protected":false},"author":94,"featured_media":2894,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"content-type":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[385636,1248,111747],"class_list":["post-2853","post","type-post","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-language","tag-russian-food","tag-russian-language","tag-useful-russian-phrases"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t