Rye Black Peasant Bread
CHEF
rise 12-24 hours
If using cold refrigerated chef (previously left over levain) about a half a day before baking your next loaf, allow it to come to room temperature. Mix the refrigerated previous chef with ⅓ cup of water and ½ cup of spelt flour. Allow it to sit out on the countertop in a glass jar for 12-24 hours or until it develops fine bubbles. For its rising I keep it in a glass covered jar with a rubber band to mark the beginning of the rising. Once it has fermented (12-24 hours) this becomes your chef for baking today. Adding almond milk to replace water in this recipe makes a softer crust.
Water Choices
Mineral water
Filtered water
Tap water that has been left out overnight to dissipate the chlorine.
Four steps to bake non-yeasted breads.
CHEF Step 1-Begin by making a CHEF
LEVAIN Step 2-Second is the LEVAIN
BAKING Step 3-Third step is BAKING
CHEF Step 4-The final step is caring for left over CHEF
CHEF Step 1 (Takes 4 days to make.)
Day 1
⅓ C. water or 5 Tbsp water
½ C. flour or 8 Tbsp spelt flour
Add water first then add flour. I have been told to add a tiny pinch of yeast (Sekowa Bachferment special) to assure a vibrant CHEF. I have not found this step to be necessary. For first time bakers, try a tiny pinch of yeast to assure that you produce a vibrant CHEF or STARTER. This yeast step may be omitted. Add all to a tall 2-3 quart clear glass container with a lid. Stir well to make a thick, soft dough. The exact consistency of the dough will vary with the flour. Do not add more flour or water. Scrape down the sides with a rubber spatula, cover tightly with a lid and let stand in a moderate area (about 70ºF) for 24 hours. Put a rubber band around the jar at the top line of the CHEF. With a rubber band in place, one can easily view the rising CHEF. 70º is the temperature in a wine cellar or basement. The refrigerator is too cold for a beginning CHEF. Try a cool corner of the kitchen counter top or the back of a closet. Avoid placing the CHEF on the top of the refrigerator as this area contains refrigerator coils, undesirably warming the CHEF too quickly. For tropical environments or in the summer months, one may wish to use a thermometer to find a cool area of the kitchen or place the CHEF into the refrigerator at night and remove it in the morning.
CHEF Step 1
Day 2
⅓ C. water or 5 Tbsp water
½ C. flour or 8 Tbsp spelt flour
When you first observe the CHEF in the morning it will have doubled in volume. You can tell this has happened by the previously placed rubber band marking the beginning volume. Add water first then add flour. Stir vigorously adding fresh oxygen to the CHEF. Place in a 70ºF draft-free place for 24 hours. The CHEF should have the consistency of soft dough. Consider adding a little more flour or water to create this texture.
CHEF Step 1
Day 3
⅓ C. water or 5 Tbsp water
½ C. flour or 8 Tbsp spelt flour
Add water first then add flour. CHEF will now have the texture of a thick batter and will have doubled in volume. Let it stand at 70ºF in a draft free place for another 24 hours.
CHEF Step 1
Day 4
CHEF is now fully ripe, with many bubbles and a batter like consistency, similar to pancake batter. It is ready to be added to the next step. If you do not want to bake bread today, refrigerate the CHEF up to 3 days. After 3 days, bring the CHEF again to room temperature, add 1/3 cup water of water and ½ cup flour, stir rapidly, aerating the 3-day-old-CHEF.
LEVAIN Step 2
rise 6-10 hours
1 ¼ C. rye flour
All the CHEF
Bring the CHEF to room temperature. 2 hours will bring refrigerated CHEF to room temperature. Add flour directly to the batter-like CHEF. Stir vigorously adding fresh oxygen to the mixture. This should make the mixture very stiff. This stiff form is important for ripening the LEVAIN. If the batter is too water-y it becomes very sour and tangy. Scrape down the sides and let stand in a cool 70ºF draft-free place for 6-10 hours, or until doubled. Inside a bread machine with the machine unplugged will do nicely. Do not let it rise beyond 10 hours or there will not be enough strength in the LEVAIN to encourage the bread to rise.
BAKING Step 3
Ingredients 15 minutes
1 Tbsp dark molasses
¼ C. warm water touch inside of the wrist
1 Tbsp Tupelo honey
¾ tsp ground coriander
1 Tbsp coriander seeds
1 C. LEVAIN
1 Tbsp Himalayan pink crystal salt
¾ C. rye flour
¾ C. spelt flour
water as needed
Knead 15 minutes
Bring LEVAIN, flour, water, and the mixing bowl, all to room temperature. If your flour is cold from being kept in the fridge, warm it a little. Taking these extra steps helps the bread to rise nicely. It behave quite differently when all ingredients are first brought to room temperature. Mix CHEF and water with a wooden spoon or a wire whip. Continue stirring until the mixture is slightly frothy and the LEVAIN is partly dissolved. Add 1 cup of flour and stir until well combined. Add salt and just enough of the remaining flour to make a thick mass that is difficult to stir. Turn out onto a lightly floured surface and knead. Add more flour until the dough is firm and smooth, about 25-50 times. Stop kneading when the dough is soft, and a little dough pulled from the mass springs back quickly. Shape into a ball.
BAKING Step 3
RISE THE DOUGH (2 hours)
rise 2 hours
Cover and let the dough to rise for 2 hours. Try a deep wide bowl, cover with a huge plate to keep drafts away. If you have a bread machine, lightly oil the inside of the machine. Keep the bread machine turned off with the door closed, a perfect place for a 2-hour rise.
LET THE DOUGH REST
rest 30 minutes
Deflate the dough by pushing down in the center an dpulling up on the sides. Knead the dough very lightly to form a tight ball. Place it on a lightly floured board. Cover with a clean damp canvas or linen cloth. Place in a moderately warm 74º – 80º draft free spot for 30 minutes.
SHAPE THE LOAVES
rest 5 minutes
Knead dough very lightly to form a ball. Flatten with the heel of your hand on a lightly floured surface into a disk about 8 inches in diameter. Shape dough into a torpedo or fit it within an oiled bread pan. Knead it tightly.
SECOND RISE OF THE DOUGH
rise 2 hours
Place the dough seam side down in a traditional bread-baking pan that has been lightly oiled or place the loaf seam-side up in a well-floured couche within a basket. A basket or bowl with a diameter of 8 inches and a depth of 3 – 4 inches will do. Lay inside a clean, lightweight even linen towel dusted with flour. By letting the dough rest in a cushioned, floured container, this will give a loaf that will take on the shape and markings of the basket. The crust will be thicker and bolder from the extra flour becoming embedded in the dough upon rising. This creates a rustic, earthy looking crust. Place in a moderately warm 74º – 80º F draft free spot until almost doubled in volume, approximately 2 hours. Sometimes I wrap everything with a thick towel to protect the rising bread from any drafts. Cover and allow it to rise for an additional 2-4 hours until doubled in size. Or place it in the fridge overnight if you wish to bake the bread the following morning.
Refrigerated Dough
rise 2-4 hours if refrigerated
When the dough is shaped it is at this point that the dough can be put into the refrigerator overnight. Refrigerating overnight is an important step to decrease the phytic acid content. The following morning (if you have placed the loaf in the refrigerator overnight) allow it 1-2 hours to come to room temperature and allow it to rise an additional 2-4 hours.
IMPORTANT STEP
score loaf
pre-heat the oven to 450º F.
Using a very sharp, serrated knife or a single-edge razor blade, score the loaf by making quick shallow cuts 1/4 to 1/2 inch deep along the surface. I always seem to forget to score the loaf. If baking in a basket or free form, use a well-floured smooth linen or smooth cotton towel (called a couche) as an aid, gently roll one loaf from the couche (towel) onto a lightly floured wooden plank (known as a peel) so that it sits seam side down. Use the peel to slide the loaf onto the hot baking stone. At this point if you want a free form flatter rounder bread, just place it on the heated stone. I sometimes prepare my breads free form by braiding the dough and allowing it to rise. Once I preheat the oven and pop it in, spray the walls, I pull up a chair and watch the show unfold as the bread beautifully starts rising taking on a golden brown color. This glorious piece of dough made with water, salt, and flour suddenly are transformed as they begin to expand, inflate and take on a life of their own. The aromas fill my kitchen.
BAKING Step 3
Creating Steam
Position the baking stone in the center of the oven. When the dough is first put into the oven spray the oven walls with water from a sprayer. The technique is to quickly spray the inner walls and the floor of the oven with cold water from spray bottle or splash water into the oven from a bowl. The idea is to create an abundance of hot steam. Avoid hitting the light bulb in some ovens, or it may burst. Close the oven door to trap the steam, wait three minutes. Repeat this in about three minutes and again in another three minutes. Alternatively get an old pan, place some clean rocks in it and fill it with water. I use both techniques.
Bake for about 20 minutes then lower the heat to 400º and bake another 20 minutes until golden brown.
Rap the baked of the loaf with the back of your knuckles. If it sounds hollow, it is done, if not bake for an additional 5 minutes. If you can wait, allow the bread to cool before slicing. 24 hours is best. I cannot wait and slice into it first thing. Then I do wait to put the entire loaf through a slicing machine.
BAKING Step 3
I try to bake bread on flower days according to the bio-dynamic methods described by Rudolph Steiner. There is an free online calendar here. Or Marie Thun’s calendar can also be purchased.
CHEF Step 4
Earlier you had some left over levain to save for another baking day. Take the left over levain and add to this ⅓ cup of water + ¼ cup of spelt flour; adding the water first. Mix well to aerate, adding fresh oxygen. Allow to rise a bit while you finish baking the bread then place in a cool area or in the refrigerator (I put mine in the wine cooler) for baking another day. This then becomes your new CHEF. Some have tried freezing the chef while they are traveling.
For a sweeter bread, fed the CHEF twice in a 24 hour period just before baking your next loaf. To bake your next loaf, allow CHEF, flour, water, and mixing bowl, all to come to room temperature. The process for making these non-yeasted breads is indeed a long one, but once you experience biting into a savory warm slice of spelt bread, made fresh from your own stone lined oven, you will be handsomely rewarded through your efforts. Early on I did a taste test. I thought my first loaves were flat and I assumed the taste would also be flat. I compared a slice from a commercially made loaf of non-yeasted spelt bread to my own, and my own won hands down.
