At The Fresh Loaf, my Frisian Rye post sparked a bit of a controversy - a Dutch user protested this were not a "real fries roggebrood": a pumpernickel-type bread, dark, and very slowly baked.
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| North Frisian Islands |
But the Frisian region stretches along the North Sea coast from the Netherlands to Germany and up to Denmark, and there is really no such thing as ONE authentic Frisian Rye.
A quick search on Google shows several different recipes, all with different amounts of rye, wheat, seeds, and what not. I was never able to find the original recipe again, but the guy who had posted it said he was from Frisia - so he should know!
Whether real authentic or not - this Friesisches Schwarzbrot tastes great! Over the years I tweaked the formula quite a bit to achieve a nice, thin crust and satisfying crumb.
Amrum - my favorite North Frisian island
The North Sea coast is lovely, dotted with islands, with white sand beaches and dunes, and definitely worth a trip - whether on the Dutch, German or Danish side. Close to Hamburg, this was a popular destination for our family vacations.
Fortunately, it's not sooo different from Maine, so I won't get homesick!
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| A typical sea coast resident - whether in Germany or in Maine! |
Starter:
100 g rye meal
26 g whole wheat or rye mother starter
200 g water, lukewarm
Intermediate Dough:
all starter
100 g rye meal
100 g whole wheat flour
150 g water, lukewarm
Final Dough:
all intermediate dough
100 g whole wheat flour
6 g salt
10 g honey
8 g molasses
25 g flax seeds
25 g sesame seeds
25 g sunflower seeds, toasted
50 g water, lukewarm (or more, as needed)
sunflower seeds for topping
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| Sunflower seeds, sesame and flax seeds for a nice crunch |
DAY 1
Stir together all starter ingredients in medium bowl. Cover, and leave at room temperature to ferment overnight.
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| The intermediate dough is very liquid |
DAY 2
In the morning, using a large spoon or Danish dough whisk, mix together all ingredients for intermediate dough until well combined. Cover, and leave at room temperature for 6-8 hours, until its visibly risen and puffed.
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| Wow - hyperactive intermediate dough! |
In small bowl, soak flax seeds in the water for final dough (longer soaking makes them better digestible).
In the evening, using a large spoon, dough whisk (or mixer with paddle attachment on low speed), mix together all final dough ingredients for a few minutes, until well combined - dough will have the consistency of thick pancake batter.
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| This is what the dough looks like after mixing |
Fill dough up to 3/4 in lightly oiled medium sandwich loaf pan (9-inch), smooth with wet rubber spatula, and sprinkle with sunflower seeds. Cover pan with aluminum foil (you will use it as cover for baking, later) and refrigerate overnight.
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| Ready for a cold night in the fridge |
DAY 3
Remove dough from refrigerator 2 hours before baking. The bread will have risen a bit, but not much.
Preheat oven to 450ºF/230ºC.
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| The dough is puffed, but has not risen much |
Place bread (covered with foil) in oven, reduce temperature to 425ºF/220ºC, and bake for 15 minutes. Remove aluminum foil and bake for another 40 minutes (rotate180 degrees after 20 minutes, if bread browns uneven). Internal temperature should be at least 200ºF/93ºC.
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| Freshly baked Frisian Ryes |
Remove bread from pan. Mist bread with water while hot (optional - this softens the crust a bit), and let it cool on wire rack.
To avoid a gooey mess on your bread knife, be patient and wait at least for 12 hours to cut into your bread - and it will have developed its full aroma, too!
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| Even if it's hard to resist - wait at least 12 hours before slicing! |
BreadStorm users (also of the free version) can download the formula here.
