Coming Through the Rye

[Mike Nolan]

Shipping costs have been going up because of increased demand. UPS has been advertising they're looking for more drivers. And cardboard boxes are in short supply, too, so they've also been going up in price. And I read in the Wall Street Journal the other day that more companies, including General Mills, Kimberly-Clark and Hormel, are planning to raise wholesale prices to reflect their increased costs, including COVID-19 mitigation. But the government still says inflation is under control. (Another Wall Street Journal article was talking about how the middle class is going to bear the brunt of the tax increases that are coming.)

I did actually find my wife's preferred toilet paper in the grocery store the other day, the first time I've seen it since last spring.

I've ordered from walmart.com, but they don't always have what I'm after, especially specialty flours. But Amazon doesn't have a lot of those, either.

[aaronatthedoublef]

On top of more demand for shipping their is more competition for drivers. For a while Amazon even had a program to loan money and help you start your own shipping company and they would pay you to deliver for them. There are tons of Amazon trucks around us.

And UPS used to have standout wages and benefits but Amazon is competitive now.

We are living in interesting times.

[Mike Nolan]

Report on Provençal Rye (Ginsberg pps 119-121):

This is a rye with a surprisingly sweet flavor to it, considering it has no added sugars.

I chose to make two smaller loaves rather than one 2.5 pound loaf. The recipe makes about 1200 grams of dough, but it was not coming together well, so I added about another 50 grams of AP flour to it. The finished loaves are about 10 inches x 4 inches x 2 1/4 inches and weighed 568 grams, I should probably have made them shorter so they had a bigger cross-section, as it is they're probably too big for a cocktail rye and too small for a sandwich bread. This is one of those times when I wish I had one of those 'deli rye' pans that Chicago Metallic used to make and King Arthur used to sell, it'd be a good shape and size.

If I make it again, I may make it as one or two boules rather than as oblong loaves.

It was cold in the kitchen today, the bulk proof and the final proof both took longer than the recipe calls for. I baked it for a total of about 30 minutes, the internal temperature was 208 at that point.

It doesn't have a really dominant rye flavor, though I think adding some caraway might change that. I used medium rye flour and the absence of any rye meal, rye chops or caraway means it is a fairly soft chew.

The flavor changes somewhat when it is toasted and has butter spread on it. I actually liked it better with some sharp cheddar cheese spread on it.

We decided not to use it for Reubens, it might make a good sandwich bread but it is going to be the supporting cast to whatever you serve it with.

Update: We did try making Reubens from this bread a few days later, its sweetness was more of a distraction than a complement to the sauerkraut. The Jewish Bakery Pumpernickel bread is better suited for Reubens.

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[Joan Simpson]

Mike your bread looks good.

[BakerAunt]

Yes, some breads are supporting cast to the filling rather than accentuating it. When we first got married, my husband didn't want to "waste" the bread I baked on sandwiches and initially continued to buy a 100% whole wheat one for his sandwiches, a bread that I thought rather bland. It took some convincing for him to realize that a great bread flavor can complement the flavor of the sandwich filling. It also helped that the price of the bread shot up. Within a year, my trusty stand mixer (bought mostly with wedding gift cards) and I had put him on the path to home baked.

Thanks for the reports on the Ginsberg recipes, Mike!

[Mike Nolan]

When I eat a ham on rye sandwich, I want the ham to be the dominant flavor, but the rye should still complement the ham, that's what I mean by a 'supporting cast'.

The sweetness of the Provençal rye bread may make it a bit challenging to pair it with foods, especially if you're expecting a typical sour/bitter rye flavor from it.

Pairing bread with food isn't an art practiced as much as pairing wines with food, though perhaps it should be.

I believe this is the 14th recipe I've reported on from the Ginsberg book, so I"m not even 20% through it.

[Italiancook]

Delicious-looking bread, Mike!

[Mike Nolan]

Report on Boston Brown Bread (Ginsberg pps 90-92):

This is a quick bread not a yeast bread, though it seems odd to describe anything that bakes for 3 hours as 'quick'.

The recipe said to bake it in an 8 inch bread pan, but the dry ingredients alone nearly filled up that pan, and I was concerned that after I added 2 cups of milk and 3/4 cup of molasses that it'd spill over the top, so I put it in my 4 x 4 x 13 Pullman pan. It has a lid so that simplified sealing it in the pan, too.

I forgot to weigh the finished bread.

I did put a pan of water below the bread just to make sure the air was a bit steamy.

I like the fact that the slices are 3 x 4, which is a good size for a slice. If I make it again (and that seems likely), I'll do it in the Pullman pan again.

Doing it in a sealed pan is a lot simpler than trying to find a way to steam it, and the taste is very good. We had it with Boston Baked Beans, and it was a great pairing. (That pairing, as I recall, gives you all 9 amino acids, which would make it a complete protein source.)

I tried a slice with some cream cheese, it totally changes the flavor profile of the bread. I liked it, my wife wasn't as fond of it that way. I don't know how well it would toast, it might fall apart in a regular vertical toaster.

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[Joan Simpson]

Looks like you Boston Brown Bread was a winner Mike!Looks nice!

[chocomouse]

Baked beans and brown bread is a very old traditional New England meal. It was (and probably still is) the standard Saturday night supper for many. Twenty or thirty years ago, I baked it in empty coffee cans - til that became a no-no. Then we searched out stainless steel cans, for example, kitchen utensil holders. I still have some of those, but no longer make brown bread.

[Mike Nolan]

Baked beans and brown bread is not a low-carb meal, that's for sure, but it was tasty!

The first time I made Boston Brown Bread, I think I used a jello mold, the second time I used a stainless steel utility crock, but I really like the shape I got from the Pullman pan, it made it easy to slice, too.

[cwcdesign]

Way back when B&M (which was the only brand of baked beans to buy) had a Boston Brown Bread in a can, we always had with our hot dogs and baked beans. Butter and/or cream cheese on it was also part of the ritual. We never found another brand that tasted as good.

Mike, I love your idea of using the pan de pie pan and I'll have to try it. I really didn't want to get into steaming it.

[Italiancook]

Your Boston Brown Bread looks wonderful & tasty, Mike.

[Mike Nolan]

The main reason I switched to the Pullman pan was because I was concerned the batter would overflow my 8 inch bread pan, but at this point I like the size of the resulting bread and the next time I bake it I will use the Pullman pan.

I did put a pan of water on the rack below the Pullman pan, just to make sure the oven was fairly moist. Don't think it is necessary when using a Pullman pan with a lid that seals fairly well, but it certainly didn't hurt things.

On my list of things to try at some point is a rye recipe (not one in the Ginsberg book) that is supposed to be baked/steamed for many hours in a double-walled lidded pan with water in the outer layer. I can't find such a pan anywhere, but I think if I use my big Pullman pan and put it in my big roaster with water in the bottom and the lid on the roaster, that may be close enough.

[skeptic7]

I did Boston Brown Bread last week, putting in pumpkin puree for part of the buttermilk and sweetened with maple syrup instead of molasses. I think the long cooking gives it a deeper and harsher taste unless thats due to the rye. I used the traditional flour mixture, cornmeal, rye and whole wheat. I know this is a quick bread but since I had time, I also added 1 teaspoon of yeast and gave it some time to rise before cooking.
No picture sorry.

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