Don’t you totally love it when a baker friend comes over to eat? Chances are he or she will bring bread and when, as is the case with Larry Lowary (of Tree-Top Baking), he is in full off-season research and development mode and has just spent a couple of days feeding starters, mixing and baking, he might get a bit carried away and arrive at your house with such an array of loaves that you just want to fall at his feet and kiss them. Okay, I am getting a bit carried away myself right here but I was truly thrilled when I saw what was in the big brown paper bag he put on the counter. I knew immediately that I couldn’t let him slice into any of these loaves without taking a few pictures first, so that you too can see what a baker bakes when he goes on a rye bender. My only regret is that I didn’t take a picture of the bread basket Larry put on the table. It was truly a thing of beauty but by the time I was done with the photo shoot, we were so famished that I couldn’t decently keep anyone waiting any longer. I guess we’ll have to invite Larry back…
Chad Robertson’s Danish Rye
Hanne Risgaard’s Spelt Rye
Jeffrey Hamelman’s 80% Rye
SFBI’s Finnish Rye
In case you are interested in making any or all of these breads to taste them yourself, here are the websites or books where you can find the recipes or formulas:
Chad Robertson’s Danish Rye Bread
http://www.foodarts.com/recipes/recipes/15988/danishstyle-rye-bread-rugbrt
Hanne Risgaard’s Spelt Rye Bread
Hanne Risgaard, Home Baked: Nordic Recipes and Techniques for Organic Bread and Pastry, p. 134
Jeffrey Hamelman’s 80% Sourdough Rye
Jeffrey Hamelman, Bread: A Baker’s Book of Techniques and Recipes, p. 213
SFBI’s Finnish Rye
http://sfbi.com/images/Finnish_Rye.pdf
Larry, thank you for sharing both your breads and your sources! You are not only a great baker but also (and even more importantly) a wonderful friend. We are privileged to have you in our lives.
Those were the most beautiful breads I have seen in a long time. The crumbs shot are awesome! How was the taste? I followed his bread pictures on Face book but have not seen the crumb shot before. Outstanding and I regret that I don't live in the area so I can buy it at the farmers market that he markets his products.
thaichef.
Hi Mantana! Thanks for stopping by. Yes, Larry's customers are sure lucky and from what I hear, they love their ryes. No wonder… 🙂
Hi MC,
What a good friend! I think of these as perfect winter breads. Dense and hearty to be eaten with a bowl of warm soup. Thanks for the virtual meal 🙂
JanetH
Hi Janet! Too bad you don't live closer. We would have shared the bounty… And yes, I too love to dunk chunks of rye bread in soup.
Interesting breads. I wonder, though, why Larry's Danish rugbröd looks so completely different from the photo in Chad Robertson's post.
Hi hanseata! Good to see you again. If you are referring to the photo that accompanies the Chad Robertson's post on the link above, then the answer is simple: the photo doesn't show Chad's rye bread. If I had to take a guess, I would say it is that particular website's generic photo for bread recipes. It threw me too when I first saw it…
That explains it! I looked at the recipe, and I am really astonished that the rye berries are only soaked and not cooked afterwards. I make a similar bread often, and the berries are still pretty hard after 24 hours soaking, and will not get any softer, even with an overnight fermentation (which I do, too), if they are not cooked for half an hour.
Hi again, hanseata! I emailed Larry about the rye berries and here is what he wrote back: "I boiled the rye berries for 10 minutes and then left them in the water overnight at room temperature. I might recommend boiling 15 minutes….to see if that would make them softer." I hope this helps. Best of luck!
My guess is that Chad Robertson was using a different variety of rye in the recipe he actually put online? Maybe a Nordic one that was softer? I would love to know if the recipe was developed in Denmark or in the US and in case it were developed in Denmark, if he had to adapt it when he came back to this country…