Coming Through the Rye

[aaronatthedoublef]

Looks good. I never really understood corn bread over rye bread. I remember deli ryes growing up but never saw corn bread until I came east.

[skeptic7]

Looks very nice. What did you think of the flavor?

[Mike Nolan]

It isn't really a corn based bread, there's a little corn meal dusted on the baking sheet and a cornstarch glaze, but otherwise it's made with rye and wheat flours. The book doesn't really explain the name.

The taste isn't all that interesting, it has a good rye flavor, not bitter but a bit of a soourdough tang to it, a bit chewy in the center and rather firm at the outer edges, especially the bottom, probably due to the long baking time though it did not appear to be burned.

If the cornstarch glaze is what was supposed to set this bread apart from others in the book, either I didn't do it right or it didn't succeed.

Would I make it again? Maybe, but there are others I'd probably make first.

[BakerAunt]

"Corn" was often used to mean "wheat" in Europe during the medieval and Renaissance period. Perhaps that name stuck. Keats uses it in the 18th century in "Ode to a Nightingale," when he speaks of Ruth "among the alien corn," which of course is the grain she was gleaning.

[Mike Nolan]

This article says that 'korn' is an archaic term for grain, usually referring to rye. (Rye was the grain of choice for peasants, because it was cheap.)

The bread pictured looks a lot lighter than the loaf I produced on Sunday, I'll bet it wasn't baked for an hour, too.

See corn rye

[BakerAunt]

I wonder if Ginsberg has an errata sheet?

[Mike Nolan]

Not that I've seen. More than one person making his recipes has commented that the baking times and temperatures both seem high.

He was putting together two tour groups to Europe for this fall, I suspect that's off now.

[aaronatthedoublef]

Yes. The people in the northeast who introduced me to corn bread called it just that. The first time they offered me some I was looking for cornbread and was very confused. "Secrets of a Jewish Baker" calls it Jewish Corn Bread...

[Italiancook]

Thanks for the photos, Mike. I don't think I'll use a cornstarch wash even if the recipe calls for it. There's a more rustic look to the bread with it, but I'll pass.

[Mike Nolan]

Report on Dakota Norwegian Rye (Ginsberg pps 83-86)

Although it uses five different flours (whole wheat, bread flour, fine rye meal, rye chops and medium rye flour), this isn't really a complicated recipe.

I chose to make two loaves about 475 grams each, about 10 x 4.5 x 2.5 inches, instead of one larger football-shaped loaf. This way the slices are closer to deli rye slices.

The dough came together quickly and rose well, though in retrospect I think I should have let the final rise run a bit longer, there are very minor blowouts on one side of both loaves towards the bottom. You may be able to see that better on a single slice. I baked it at a slightly lower temperature than what Ginberg's recipe calls for, I've found that many of his recipes seem to work better that way, I think my oven is just a bit hotter than his.

It passes the toast test superbly, and it made pretty good Reubens for lunch today. If I was after a soft rye with a good rye flavor, I'd certainly include this in the possible choices.

Given that it is only 29% rye, I was expecting a very mild flavor, but it is a bit stronger than that. The dark brown sugar in it gives it a hint of molasses, and the caraway adds some bitterness. I can also taste the sourness of the starter, though it is quite mild.

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[RiversideLen]

That looks wonderful Mike. I bet it would be great for a BLT or grilled cheese.

[Italiancook]

Your bread looks scrumptious, Mike. I'm glad you're documenting your journey with photos. Now that I've seen what a blowout looks like, I know I've had some. Mostly with dinner rolls. If I recall from reading this site, that means I underproofed them.

[S_Wirth]

Your bread looks awesome, Mike!

[Mike Nolan]

It went very well with the ham tonight. I like tuna salad on rye, this bread would be great with tuna salad.

When we were in college years ago, there was a deli a few blocks from campus that made really great baked ham on rye sandwiches, this bread is pretty close to that bread and the ham was pretty close to their ham, too.

If you overproof bread, it usually collapses during baking, for a free-form bread it'll flatten out, in a loaf pan it might have a cave-in at the top.

[Joan Simpson]

Mike your bread looks great!

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