Lithuanian Black Rye Bread

Lithuanian Black Rye Bread

This project took me a while to complete- my first natural yeast sourdough starter died & it takes the better part of a week for the yeast to multiply their numbers and create that signature sour flavor by eating up all the sugar.  My natural rye sourdough starter was simple- 100g of flour each day for 4 days, mixed on day one with 120 ml warm water, then on days 2-4 using just 100 grams of warm water.  You want to keep the starter in a nice warm place so the yeast will be very active.  I'm borrowing a tip from a friend of mine- she keeps her things for fermenting on top of the fridge: it's warm, it's out of the way, it's perfect.  I also covered my sourdough starter jar with a damp towel.  Once it has a nice vinegary/yeasty smell, you can start making your bread and put your jar of yeast in the fridge- just feed it every other week by adding about 100 grams of flour & 100 ml warm water.  or if you want to make some bread- after feeding the starter, put it on top of the fridge until it bubbles a lot and almost doubles, then measure out the amount of yeast you want, seal the jar and put it back inside the fridge.

Ingredients for Bread:

200 ml warm water (98 degree)

380 g Rye Flour

150 g Sourdough starter

100 ml warm water

2 Tbsp Sugar

1 Tbsp Honey

10 g salt

50 g wheat flour

Directions:
1. Add 100 Grams rye & sourdough starter to the warm water (98 degrees F).  Cover & put it on top of the fridge for 12 hours or until it doubles.
2. Dissolve the sugar, honey, and salt into 100 ml of warm water.  Add the water into the yeasted mixture (from the top of your fridge) with 230 g rye flour and 50 g wheat flour.  Dough will be sticky
3. Oil a baking dish and pour the dough into the dish.  let it rise for 3 hours (until it doubles).
4. Put the bread in the oven, then set temperature to 450.  Once it hits 450, let it cook for 15 minutes.  This high starting temperature makes the bread rise higher in the pan before it sets at the lower temperature. After 15 minutes, lower the temperature to 375 & bake it for 30 minutes more.
5. Once it's out, put a damp towel over it to soften the crust for removal from the baking pan.  let the towel rest for about 20 minutes on the bread.

~Enjoy!~

This was probably the yummiest rye bread I've ever had- the honey flavor was still present and the bread had the traditional sour flavor & rye bite- Absolutely the perfect bread for grilled cheese.  I ended up using most of my rye bread in making Gira, but I think I'll be making another loaf soon- after all, I have a jar of yeast in my fridge begging to be used in so many more breadventures.