There is probably nothing better than to start into autumn with a powerful whole grain statement.
With a vitamin hero. A nutrient and flavor champion.
ROGGY BALBOA
To explain the play on words of the recipe title: In German, rye means „Roggen”. Well and since this creation full of grain power, the connection to famous Rocky (Roggy) Balboa was not too far.
Roggy Balboa: This new #brotokoll creation is a freestanding 100% rye whole grain sourdough bread. No commercial yeast added. Made from 100% freshly mockmilled rye.
With a long-lasting freshness that (with proper storage) will last even after 10 days. With an amazingly deep aroma, which is tickled out of every single grain over 2 sourdough stages (I am sharing with you this method in the recipe notes!).
And with an oven spring and an open and airy crumb that you would never expect from a 100% rye loaf (without the addition of commercial yeast for stabilization – a very common method, however not our way here on #brotokoll)!
Rye sourdough
“My rye bread always gets flat and the crumb is always dense – what can I do?” – this problem has often been discussed in my #brotokoll workshops and e-mail inquiries.
With this recipe I show you a few hints on how to provide your rye loaf with more strength, how to „extract“ all the amazing flavor from your rye berries (without an overkill of added spices) and how to achieve an airy crumb – while at the same time we’ll improve our rye loaf’s oven spring! Are you in?
Roggy fights over 2 rounds
The refreshments of rye starters are very often done shabbily. The sourdough (levain) is often prepared directly with the (starved and over-acidified) starter from the fridge.
The result? A weak performance (poor oven spring, no harmonious taste, dense crumb: very often commercial yeast is then added to the main dough or folks work with a reduced amount of water to keep the dough compact. However, taste and airy crumb are gone).
Our #brotokoll solution: Similar to Open Crumb wheat sourdough breads, we refresh our rye starter at least 2-3 times before we start with the setup of our rye sourdough (levain). In addition, we use a much higher water temperature than usual (38 degrees Celsius – details can be found below in the recipe guide).
At next, we build our rye levain over 2 stages. This does not only push fermentation: We keep the 1st stage stiff, cool and extend its fermentation time. In this way we extract all the wonderful flavor from our rye berries. The 2nd stage takes place with a high hydration and at a very high temperature. This pushes a certain group of micro-organisms (loving higher temperatures) – affecting both oven spring and (open) crumb.
To extend our loaf’s freshness, we use an old bread soaker, which provides our bread also with a little extra flavor. Aroma, ovenspring, open crumb, freshness: Roggy Balboa will be the new star in your ring of breads. Whole grain, freshly ground and with an aroma that is unrivalled.
Just mill it
More information about the advantages of home milled grains can be found here on #brotokoll in an amazing interview with mill pioneer and Mockmill founder Wolfgang Mock.
So, turn on your mills and get into the ring – Roggy Balboa is already waiting for you!
Tag your results with #brotokoll on Instagram & Facebook. I can’t wait to see your bakes!
For even more tipps, tricks and recipes, join me in one of my workshops! Do you already know my individual #brotokoll Coach sessions? For more information just send me a message!
Happy baking!
I have to mention at this point that this is an unsponsored blog post – however, as for transparency reasons I inform you that the * marked links are affiliate ones. The final sales price for you doesn’t change in any way!
- 525 g Rye berries available at bongu.de
- 500 g Water
- 8 g Rye starter 2-3 times refreshed, see instructions below
- 40 g Old bread roasted and milled
- 14 g Honey organic or regional
- 10 g Salt
- 7 g Oliveoil
TA (Hydration) 195 (95%) Ingredients
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After the last refreshment, your starter should have at least doubled its volume, be at peak and should not have collapsed. The water temperature for the refreshments is 38-39 degrees Celsius. This will support an airy crumb structure.
160g Rye berries, freshly milled
124g Water (18-20 degrees Celsius)
Dissolve the starter in water, add the flour (medium coarsely ground) and place the mixture in a cooler place (20 degrees Celsius) for 12-20 hours until the volume has almost doubled
80g Water (boiling)
Soak the old bread in 80g boiling water, stir well and cover it with a plastic film on its surface (this prevents the soaker from drying out). Store the soaker overnight in the fridge. As soon as you start the 2nd sourdough stage the following day, remove it from the fridge to let it acclimatize.
156g Water (40-42 degrees Celsius)
100g Rye berries, freshly milled
Dissolve the 1st stage of your sourdough in water, add the flour (coarsely ground) and let the sourdough ferment for 2-3 hours at 30-33 degrees Celsius until it has at least doubled its volume and stands at peak.
265g Rye berries, freshly milled
140g Water(38 degrees Celsius)
120g Old bread soaker
14g Honey
10g Salt
7g Oliveoil
You can mix the main dough either by hand (with a spoon) or with your kitchen machine (on low speed level). At first, mix sourdough, water, old bread soaker and flour (medium to finely ground), then add honey, salt and last but not least the olive oil. It is important that you have a nice homogeneous dough at the end - but be careful and don't overknead the dough (if you use your kitchen machine)!
Before baking, we leave our loaf in the fridge for 30 minutes (without being covered)! This stabilizes the loaf, compresses the fermentation gas and will push our oven spring!
Bake now for 7-10 minutes at 250-270 degrees, then lower the temperature to 220 degrees for another 30 minutes. At the end increase the temperature to 240 degrees Celsius for about 5-10 minutes until you reach the desired crust coloring (a darker and thicker crust will support a long-lasting freshness). The core temperature should be around 98 degrees Celsius.
After baking, I recommend you, well knowing that it is torture, to wait at least 24 hours before cutting the bread. Rye needs this time to fully develop all its wonderful aroma. Give it a try, you will appreciate it!
The indicated recipe quantities are for 1 loaf of 1100g.
The indicated hydration includes the water amount of the old bread soaker!
Do you have specific questions or issues? Contact me via the contact form. I am happy to help you.
