Recipe: Russian Black Bread
Russian Black Bread is a bread predominantly made of rye flour, sweetened with dark beet molasses, leavened with a sourdough starter, and sprinkled with caraway or coriander. This bread is called either Black Bread due to it's color, or Borodinsky Bread because of the legend that surrounds its creation. The story goes that General Alexander Tuchkov died in the Battle of Borodino in the Napoleonic Wars, and that his widow founded a convent on the battle site. She became an abbess there and started making Borodinsky Bread in honor of the battle that took place there. Dark rye bread represents the mourning of the dead, and the caraway seeds represent the grapeshot that was fired out the cannons.
Whether or not this is true is debated, but Borodinsky bread remains popular in Russia today and has a government-defined recipe. Here is a version to try at home:
In a small saucepan, combine the molasses, vinegar, the rest of the water, and the butter. Let the mixture warm up and combine, then set it aside to cool to a lukewarm temperature.
measure out the whole wheat flour, rye flour, and all purpose flour into a large bowl. Add the wheat bran, half of the caraway seeds, half of the fennel seeds, and salt. Use a whisk to gently mix the dry ingredients.
Slowly add the dry ingredients and the molasses/vinegar/water/butter mixture to the large bowl with the yeast. Combine well until you have one dough ball- you may not need ALL of the dry ingredients. Knead the resulting ball for 5 minutes. Place the dough ball in a greased container, cover it, and let it rise at room temperature for 2 hours. It will double in size!
Add the tablespoon of flour and the other half of the fennel and caraway to the surface of a parchment paper lined baking sheet. Gently punch down the dough, and turn it out onto a clean, lightly floured surface. Cut the dough in half and form two balls by pulling the corners into the bottom, form a seam there. Place the two round loaves on the baking sheet, and use a serrated knife to cut two slits into the tops, 1/4 deep. Let the loaves rise for another 45 minutes to an hour and a half, they should again almost double in size.
Preheat the oven to 350°F. When the loaves have finished their second rise, bake them for about 50 minutes, or until the loaves sound hollow when you tap them with a wooden spoon. Let cool before slicing. Enjoy!
Sources: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Borodinsky_bread
recipe based on the one found at http://www.veggiesbycandlelight.com/black-bread-russian-style/
Whether or not this is true is debated, but Borodinsky bread remains popular in Russia today and has a government-defined recipe. Here is a version to try at home:
- 2 (¼-ounce) packages (1 ½ tablespoons) active dry yeast
- Pinch of sugar
- 2½ cups warm water (105 to 115 degrees), divided
- ½ cup dark molasses (not blackstrap)
- ¼ cup apple cider vinegar
- ¼ cup (½ stick) butter
- ½ cup (2.25 ounces) whole-wheat flour
- 3 cups (12 ounces) rye flour
- 3 cups unbleached all-purpose (12.75 ounces) or bread (13.5 ounces) flour plus 1 tablespoon unbleached all-purpose flour, divided
- 1 cup wheat bran
- 2 tablespoons caraway seeds, plus 1 optional teaspoon, divided
- ½ teaspoon fennel seeds
- 1 tablespoon salt
In a small saucepan, combine the molasses, vinegar, the rest of the water, and the butter. Let the mixture warm up and combine, then set it aside to cool to a lukewarm temperature.
measure out the whole wheat flour, rye flour, and all purpose flour into a large bowl. Add the wheat bran, half of the caraway seeds, half of the fennel seeds, and salt. Use a whisk to gently mix the dry ingredients.
Slowly add the dry ingredients and the molasses/vinegar/water/butter mixture to the large bowl with the yeast. Combine well until you have one dough ball- you may not need ALL of the dry ingredients. Knead the resulting ball for 5 minutes. Place the dough ball in a greased container, cover it, and let it rise at room temperature for 2 hours. It will double in size!
Add the tablespoon of flour and the other half of the fennel and caraway to the surface of a parchment paper lined baking sheet. Gently punch down the dough, and turn it out onto a clean, lightly floured surface. Cut the dough in half and form two balls by pulling the corners into the bottom, form a seam there. Place the two round loaves on the baking sheet, and use a serrated knife to cut two slits into the tops, 1/4 deep. Let the loaves rise for another 45 minutes to an hour and a half, they should again almost double in size.
Preheat the oven to 350°F. When the loaves have finished their second rise, bake them for about 50 minutes, or until the loaves sound hollow when you tap them with a wooden spoon. Let cool before slicing. Enjoy!
Sources: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Borodinsky_bread
recipe based on the one found at http://www.veggiesbycandlelight.com/black-bread-russian-style/